Written by Apay Ai-yu Tang.
Image credit: Indigenous language e-dictionary Facebook page.
Taiwan is home to 16 officially recognised Indigenous languages, most of which are, according to UNESCO’s classification, severely endangered, since they are primarily spoken by older generations and there is little to no transgenerational transmission. Though the teaching of local language in Taiwan was officially introduced into the primary school curriculum in 2001, it only effectively started in 2003.
Language teaching is inherently a complex process. Its goal is to enable beginners to acquire the basic elements of a language they do not know and to learn how to communicate effectively in that language.
The success of this process depends largely on two factors. The first concerns the teaching methods employed. Effective language instruction must consider the gradual progression in grammatical structures, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The second factor lies in the learners’ willingness and motivation to engage with the language. Therefore, in addition to effective teaching methods, it is necessary to take into consideration the cognitive processes, learning strategies, and intrinsic attraction towards the language that facilitate language acquisition.
In Taiwan, the teaching of “local” languages, and the Indigenous languages in particular, is even more difficult because many children, who are now at the age of learning their heritage language, have parents who were barred from this learning process due to the Kuomingtang’s imposition of a Mandarin monolingual policy for nearly fifty years. As a result, many parents have become detached from their culture and language, making it difficult to provide children with the motivation to learn their ancestral language. The results of a 2021 survey study on Indigenous language proficiency and use by the Foundation for the Research and Development of Indigenous Languages (FRDIL) show that 61.3% of all Indigenous people in Taiwan use Mandarin as their first language, while the first language of 34.6% is their Indigenous language, and of 2.4% is Southern Min.
There are a variety of pedagogical approaches, each reflecting different assumptions and emphasising various aspects of language learning, but there is not a single, universally accepted teaching method, and new approaches continue to emerge, while older ones are often re-interpreted. Several methods have played a central role in language pedagogy. Among the most influential are the Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct Method, the Audiolingual Method, Situational Language Teaching, Total Physical Response, and the Communicative Approach.
In brief, the Grammar-Translation Method focuses primarily on the explicit teaching of grammar and translation. It prioritises reading and writing skills. The Direct Method, on the other hand, emphasises immersive learning through the exclusive use of the target language. As for the Audiolingual Method, it relies heavily on repetition drills to develop accurate language habits.
There are more recent approaches, such as the Communicative Approach, which prioritises communicative competence and the ability to use language in real-life situations, as well as alternative methods like the Silent Way, which offers a distinctive perspective on the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom: the teacher remains silent as much as possible, thus allowing learners to take greater responsibility for producing and learning how to apprehend the target language themselves. This method was developed by Caleb Gattegno in 1963. It was later adapted for other language revitalisation contexts, such as Māori language teaching by Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira and Ngoingoi Pewhairangi in the late 1970s. In practice, this method often uses a structural syllabus organised around grammatical patterns and related vocabulary. Instruction typically begins by developing learners’ oral and aural abilities, with particular attention paid to the sound system and the intonation of the target language. A distinctive feature of this method is the use of specialised teaching materials, including coloured rods, colour-coded pronunciation charts, vocabulary charts, and pointers.
As a Truku speaker myself, I take to heart issues related to language policy, revitalisation, and teaching methods, and I seek to evaluate them in order to determine which approaches could help reinforce the use of the Indigenous languages in Taiwan. This paper represents a very small step toward understanding the effectiveness of an Indigenous language teaching approach, the Silent Way, particularly in a multilingual context such as Taiwan, using Truku Seediq as an experimental case. Many other significant teaching methods, which were outlined briefly above, require in-depth investigation and cross-regional comparison to achieve the shared goal of supporting the revitalisation of Indigenous languages in Taiwan and around the world.
Seediq is an Indigenous language spoken in central and eastern Taiwan, comprising three major dialects: Truku, the largest in terms of both population and speakers, Tgdaya, and Toda. Like many Indigenous languages in Taiwan, Seediq is facing a significant language shift toward Mandarin Chinese, with younger generations increasingly losing proficiency.
The present study examines the potential success of the Silent Way in teaching Truku Seediq. Using both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of two beginners, the study aims to explore whether this method could provide an effective pedagogical solution for revitalising Truku, as well as other Indigenous languages in Taiwan’s multilingual context. The results suggest that the Silent Way may support language learning by engaging learners’ cognitive strategies and promoting active use of the language, even in contexts where motivation and exposure are limited. In particular, the teachers who participated in this long-term experimental observation emphasised that the Truku students were able to develop both oral and written skills in a low-pressure environment. This environment fostered their self-confidence in using the language by encouraging exploration, experimentation, and self-correction without direct teacher demonstration. While this approach, which uses artificial situations to stimulate learners’ reasoning strategies, could represent a serious drawback in the teaching of English, it was found to align well with the sociolinguistic context of Truku Seediq, where opportunities for authentic language use are limited.
The Silent Way method, therefore, offers a promising perspective for addressing some of the challenges surrounding language transmission in Taiwan’s historically shaped and linguistically diverse society. By encouraging learners to explore patterns, test hypotheses, and reflect on their own learning process, the method places cognitive engagement and problem-solving at the centre of language learning. For Indigenous languages such as Truku Seediq, where opportunities for daily use may be limited, this type of learner-driven discovery can help rebuild confidence and competence in meaningful ways. By placing discovery, reflection, and problem-solving at the heart of learning, approaches such as the Silent Way remind us that revitalising Indigenous languages is not only about preserving words but also about empowering new generations to think, explore, and reconnect with their linguistic heritage.
Please read the full article in the International Journal of Taiwan Studies 9.1 (March 2026): https://brill.com/view/journals/ijts/9/1/ijts.9.issue-1.xml.
Apay Ai-yu Tang is a linguist whose research focuses on the revitalisation, documentation, and conservation of endangered languages, with particular attention to the indigenous languages of Taiwan. Her work examines the complex relationships between language, culture, education, and community practices in contexts of language shift and intergenerational transmission. Through interdisciplinary approaches that combine linguistic analysis, language education, and community-based collaboration, she explores issues related to indigenous language attrition, language teaching and learning, language policy, and the broader sociocultural dynamics that shape language maintenance and revitalisation.
This article was published as part of the International Journal of Taiwan Studies-Taiwan Insight special issue on ‘Indigenous Language Policies in Taiwan and Beyond’.