VIEUX Fort Comprehensive Secondary School has received a donation of Mandarin textbooks and workbooks from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as interest in Mandarin continues to increase among schools.
During a ceremony held at the school on Thursday, November 7, 2024, H.E. Peter Chia-Yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, handed over the educational materials to Hon. Shawn Edward, Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, which will assist students in learning the language.
Ambassador Chen noted that the Mandarin Pioneer Program led by Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Education has been successfully implemented in two secondary schools in the north — St. Mary’s College and St. Joseph’s Convent. Moreover, collaborative courses involving the Taiwan Embassy, Ministry of Public Service in Saint Lucia, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College have significantly contributed to the remarkable achievements in this year’s Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) results. He said the pass rate was an impressive 98.61%, which underscores the success of the Mandarin Pioneer Program.
In September this year, TaiwanICDF assigned Mandarin teacher, Ms.Yuchin Peng, to the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, thereby offering Form 1 and 2 students in the south of the island for the first time an opportunity to learn Mandarin.
“Learning Mandarin opens up new worlds and opportunities, enabling young people to explore global markets,” Ambassador remarked at the handover ceremony. “The Mandarin textbooks, Let’s Learn Chinese, presented today were published by the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) of the Republic of China (Taiwan). These textbooks are designed to develop students’ abilities to use Mandarin in daily life, allowing them to immediately apply their language skills in real-life contexts. It is my honour to represent the Government of Taiwan in presenting and handing over this set of Mandarin textbooks to the Government of Saint Lucia.”
Ambassador Chen said the Taiwan Embassy remains committed to supporting Saint Lucian schools by leveraging Taiwan’s strengths in Mandarin teaching to develop a robust Mandarin language learning system, aligning with the educational goals of the Government of Saint Lucia.
Hon. Shawn Edward, Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, said the Government and people of Taiwan have proven repeatedly to be reliable friends and supporters in various facets of Saint Lucia’s development, including education. He said that with 20% of the world’s population speaking Mandarin, learning the language is important in helping to create global citizens.
“If you leave Saint Lucia at the age of 16 or 17, you should be able to function effectively in any country where you decide to reside,” he said. “One of the tools that you will need to help you function is a language in addition to the English that we teach in the formal school system. In other words, a global citizen must be someone who’s bilingual or can speak three languages. You may not be able to speak it to the point of mastery, but you should be able to communicate.”
Hon. Edward told the students invited to the ceremony that many of the recipients of Taiwan scholarships of late had been introduced to Mandarin prior to applying for the scholarship.
“Some of you in this very room might end up becoming university students in Taiwan,” he said. “If you can understand, appreciate and master the rudiments of Mandarin at such an early age, it will give you a profound and distinct advantage by the time you get to Taiwan, where you’ll be in classrooms together with students from Africa and other parts of the world.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Ava Peter, Principal of Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, said her school was pleased to be part of the groundbreaking Mandarin Pioneer Program, adding that staff and students have welcomed the opportunity with enthusiasm and commitment.
“Today is significant as it speaks to our shared vision of advancing education and fostering cross-cultural understanding among our young people,” Peter said. “At Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, our mission is to shape students who will make meaningful contributions to society. Exposure to diverse cultures is a vital part of this journey, broadening the perspectives of our students, deepening self-awareness, and cultivating an appreciation for the world beyond themselves. Only by experiencing the other can we truly understand our own place in the world.”
Speaking via pre-recorded video from Taiwan, Mr. Leonard Robinson, Curriculum Specialist for Modern Languages at the Department of Education, thanked the Taiwan Embassy for its continued unwavering support for and faith in the Mandarin Pioneer Program.
Robinson said many over 200 students and teachers who have participated in the programme have excelled at the TOCFL Exam. He added that principals, teachers and other public servants have been clamouring for inclusion in the programme.
“The Department of Education urges the remaining students who have not sat the TOCFL Exam to do so at the next sitting in 2025, as holding internationally-recognized language certification is becoming a prerequisite from graduation at many universities around the globe, including the University of the West Indies, as of the 2023/2024 academic year,” Robinson said. “In order to further support the Mandarin Program, the Department has started developing a Mandarin curriculum which it hopes will prepare students in both the TOCFL Examination and the CSEC Mandarin Examination when it is rolled out.”
Also present at the handover ceremony were Ms Beverly Dieudonne, Chief Education Officer, Ms. Lydia Charlery, Vice Principal of Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, Mr. Steven Auguste, Education Officer for District 6, teachers, and students.
Aside from being the official language of Taiwan, Mandarin also opens the door to a vast job market in all countries where it is the language used in commerce.
SOURCE: Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia