Indigenous Language Education in Taiwan: From Language Preservation to Community-Based Learning 

Written by Yang-Hsun Hou, Nikal Kabala’an (a.k.a. Margaret Yun-Pu Tu), and Huiyu Lin 

Image credit: 南王Puyuma花環實驗小學民族教育資源中心的「族語教學演示」by Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan)/Wikimedia Commons, license: CC BY 2.0 DEED.

As the bedrock of Indigenous knowledge, culture, history, and worldviews, Indigenous languages are vital to Indigenous sovereignties and communities and have perpetuated despite numerous colonial erosions and ruptures. With the Taiwan government’s recent turn towards multiculturalism, there is now an enhanced focus on the Indigenous Language Revitalization and Reclamation (ILR2) movement. Yet, what does multiculturalism provide and leave out? How are Indigenous sovereignties and self-determination in conversation with governmental initiatives? This article provides a brief overview of the ILR2 movement to date while pointing out a few challenges and opportunities moving forward. 

Over the past three decades, Taiwan has implemented a range of policies aimed at preserving and acknowledging Indigenous languages and cultures. Notably, the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples, enacted in 1998, was designed to foster the growth of Indigenous education and safeguard Indigenous cultures and languages within formal educational frameworks. In 2017, the Indigenous Languages Development Act (ILDA) was introduced, officially recognizing all Austronesian languages as Taiwan’s national languages. Subsequently, the Taiwanese Congress initiated an amendment to the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples, reaffirming its commitment to supporting the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous cultures and languages. These legislative actions underscore the ongoing efforts of the ILR2 movement in Taiwan. 

In practice, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, established in 1997, has collaborated extensively with the Ministry of Education of Taiwan on initiatives such as the two stages of the Six-Year Indigenous Cultural Revitalization and Development Project (1999-2004 & 2008-2013) and the two stages of the Six-Year Indigenous Language Revitalization Project (2008-2013 & 2014-2019). These projects have instigated significant transformations across various sectors, including teacher professional development, formal K-12 education, higher education, and Indigenous-led language learning endeavours. Since 2001, specialized coursework has been developed to prepare Indigenous language teachers, while more than twenty Indigenous language immersion classrooms have been established in formal education settings. Higher education institutions have also launched programs like Indigenous Studies, Indigenous language teaching, and Indigenous Education and Research Centers to facilitate the teaching and learning of Indigenous culture and language. Additionally, in 2019, Indigenous Education Resource Centers were expanded to urban middle and high schools to support Indigenous language programs in urban areas. Furthermore, Indigenous communities and local organizations receive funding from the Council of Indigenous Peoples annually, collaborating with local governments to implement a diverse array of language learning projects, such as the “language nests.” 

While there have been numerous implemented policies and programs, ILR2 efforts in Taiwan have seemingly peaked in the past decade. Much of the work has been conducted at governmental levels, with few progress assessment reports. In addition, research findings do not consistently inform practical strategies. Despite research identifying urbanization as a key factor in Indigenous language loss, few programs target this issue. Finally, most Indigenous language immersion classrooms are at the kindergarten level, with minimal provisions in primary schools. These limitations exemplify how ILR2 faces urgency and obstacles, including limited implementation and curriculum constraints, underscoring the need for continued action. 

In the context of multiculturalism, the Taiwan Ministry of Education advocates that all students, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, must be provided with equal opportunities to reach their fullest potential. However, the reality is that classroom curriculum designs, textbooks, languages, and teacher demographics are dominated by “Han-ness.” Despite efforts towards multilingualism and multiculturalism in Taiwan, policies and programs are shaped by Han-dominant ideologies. In contrast to the mostly Mandarin-taught classes in public schools, there is only one 40-minute Indigenous class offered each week. Some policies also have to compromise with the mainstream emphasis on exam-oriented education. For instance, many Indigenous youth and children take tests for the Indigenous Language Proficiency Certificate (原住民族語言能力認證) but find few opportunities to speak and use their ancestral language in their daily lives. The exams divert their focus to studying their ancestral language and passing the examination. 

Similarly, there are a variety of Indigenous language literacy competitions, such as competitions for reading a literary piece (朗讀) or giving a speech (演說). The performativity of these competitions does not necessarily map onto daily proficiency in the language. All in all, these efforts are seemingly created with good intentions yet fall short of providing sustainable language learning. 

Since 2020, the Taiwan government has proposed new objectives to uplift Indigenous-led work and to centre community-based efforts in ILR2, hoping to transition from Han governmental-led practices to Indigenous community-oriented ones. This transition necessitates authentic understandings of Indigenous languages and how they are intertwined with Indigenous epistemologies and knowledge systems. Previously, ILR2 in Taiwan has long been a governmentally top-down approach and rarely seeks to learn about what practices might be or might not be beneficial to each Indigenous sovereignty and community. Scholars call for an independent system to train Indigenous language teachers and a more proper legislative framework to promote Indigenous languages at the preschool level. This absence of community perspectives misaligns practices and resource distribution with Indigenous worldviews and community needs. This scarcity of bottom-up approaches should be addressed through more community-based engagement work and through understanding the community needs and practices to ensure that the Indigenous communities are the ones leading the work. 

Indigenous languages are vital to Indigenous Peoples’ health, relationships, identities, cultures, and sovereignties. Practising ancestral languages is not solely a means for “preserving” Indigenous cultures but ensures collective well-being. For Indigenous Peoples, ancestral languages are intimately connected with ancestral lands and waters, strengthening community kinship relationships and Indigenous knowledge systems. Community-based language planning (CBLP) centres language learning in family and community contexts. Grounded in the concept of “linguistic ecology,” CBLP ensures that language is contextualized by the community’s sociolinguistic and sociohistorical ecologies. This approach centres families and communities in language revitalization efforts, calling for efforts grounded in the community’s needs and histories. 

In contrast to the stereotype of language “preservation,” this approach emphasizes how languages are alive, dynamic, and breathing. Languages play active roles in community events such as ceremonies. Thus, teaching and learning Indigenous languages must be closely connected with Indigenous Peoples’ social, relational, cultural, and spiritual contexts. This understanding of Indigenous languages could guide future ILR2 efforts. 

Today, there are increasing community efforts sustaining Indigenous languages and cultures. For example, Cou/Tsou Saviki Tribal Classroom is a community learning space founded in 2002 by a group of maainoconi (Cou mothers). Pinanaman Amis Immersion Classroom (阿美族河邊教室) was founded by LUMA Association in 2019. With a strong Pangcah (Amis) identity and the belief in Indigenous self-determination in education, the founder Mayaw Biho established Luma (homeland) and created a Pinanaman (learning space) at the riverbank to support the Amis language and culture learning. In 2022, LUMA Association initiated a second Indigenous-led learning space, the Rukai Immersion Classroom (全魯凱語山上教室) in Wutai, Pingtung.  

While ILR2 policies and efforts have responded to calls for multiculturalism in Taiwan, there is still a journey ahead to ensure that culturally sustaining practices are truly integrated into Indigenous language teaching and learning. The pathways forward include many opportunities to collaborate with and learn from Indigenous sovereignties and communities.  

揚洵 (Yang-Hsun) Susan Hou is ho̍h-ló/Hokkien Han Taiwanese who was born and raised in Makatao People’s lands and waters, now occupied by Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. They are a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington and a learning sciences researcher studying learning in social movements and resistance. Within learning, they focus on affect, the body, and mobilities and how they intertwine with resisting colonialisms and racializations. Their recent work focuses on learning with Ljavek, a Paiwan community in Kaohsiung City.

Nikal Kabala’an (a.k.a. Margaret Yun-Pu Tu) is from the Pangcah/’Amis Taiwan Indigenous community. She’s Ph.D. Candidate in Law, University of Washington (UW), focusing on Indigenous higher education in legal studies in Taiwan. She’s affiliated with the UW Taiwan Studies Program. She’s also an associate research fellow at the Centre of Austronesian Studies (COAST) and research fellow of the UW Center for American Indian & Indigenous Studies, leading a project for Taiwan Indigenous holdings at the Burke Museum. Nikal is the delegation of the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the United Nations. She learns the Pangcah language and culture with her daughters.

Huiyu Lin is born and raised in Chiayi, Taiwan. Huiyu’s research work focuses on Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization. She is working with the Cou Saviki community in Taiwan to understand the implications of Indigenous-led learning spaces in Indigenous self-determination and educational sovereignty. Huiyu’s inquiry process follows decolonizing methodologies that are grounded in Indigenous peoples’ intellectual sovereignty. During Huiyu’s time working with schools and communities in Taiwan, Alaska, and Seattle, she has practised culturally responsive teaching and asset-based approaches that advocate for students’ homes and communities. 

This article was published as part of a special issue on ‘Unsettling Multiculturalism in Taiwan‘.