《TAIPEI TIMES》Council hoping to expand English volunteer program

Staff writer

A program inviting ethnic Taiwanese to volunteer as English-language teachers in Taiwan is to be expanded after setting a record this year, Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Hsu Chia-ching （徐佳青） said on Tuesday.

Since 2006, the council has worked with the Ministry of Education to organize a program recruiting overseas “compatriots” to teach English at under-resourced schools.

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About 6,500 people have volunteered through the program in total, benefitting more than 40,000 students, the council said.

The program utilizes immersive language learning through activities such as visiting restaurants to help students learn from their environment, while also allowing volunteers to experience life in Taiwan, Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng （羅秉成） told an event on Tuesday celebrating the end of this year’s program.

The government hopes to expand the program, with Hsu personally visiting local governments to encourage more school participation, he added.

A record was set this year, with 623 volunteers teaching more than 4,300 students at 94 elementary and junior-high schools across the country, Hsu said.

The volunteers aged 17 to 25 were selected from more than 1,000 applicants, and hail from 23 countries, she said.

The council hopes to break the record again next year with 800 volunteers teaching at 120 schools, she added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES