Historically, education has been a deeply respected field in Taiwan, and within Taiwanese American community, schools and educators continuously refine their methodologies to support dual-language learners. This dedication to professional growth was on display on Saturday, August 29, in the San Francisco Bay Area when visiting teachers from Taiwan engaged directly with local overseas compatriot education institutions.
The Accelerated Bilingual Education Initiative is hosting Bilingual Momentum: Accelerating the Future of Education, a program by the National Association of Teacher Cultivation and Education, advised by the Youth Development Administration, Ministry of Education of the R.O.C.(Taiwan). The program consists of 15 participants, aged eighteen to thirty years old. They are all bilingual teachers or teachers in training. They are led by two lead teachers, Shu-yi Liu and Britney Cheng, who brought them to the Bay Area to visit several schools and local spots. A stop on their itinerary was Fremont Chinese School, located at Irvington High School in Fremont, California.
For overseas compatriot schools, which often rely on weekend community models to preserve heritage language and culture, this exchange provided a mutual platform to examine language acquisition in an English-dominant environment. The delegation split into groups to observe Mandarin language classes, gaining direct insight into how local heritage schools adapt strategies for students growing up in North America. Visiting participants observed how overseas teachers navigate varying levels of heritage fluency, integrating dual-language strategies tailored to English-speaking environments.
The participants also got to witness the Fremont Chinese School’s diabolo class. Over forty people were in attendance while lead teacher Britney Cheng demonstrated techniques to young students, highlighting how traditional performance arts serve as effective cultural and linguistic anchors in overseas Chinese schools.
Local teachers noted the benefit of cross-strait and international dialogue. Passerby teacher Katy Wu shared her thoughts on the program. “This is a great opportunity for the younger generation of teachers to understand how overseas generations of students learn language in a different setting. I believe this was a good experience and beneficial for both teachers and students. Everyone is energetic and has a good heart, so they will be able to bring back a wealth of knowledge that will be put to good use in their home turf.”
Lead teacher Britney Cheng explained the program's goals. “We want to prepare our teachers to interact with learners from diverse cultural backgrounds, using a structured, systematic curriculum framework that is customizable to meet different student needs. Teachers can use different teaching methods and integrate rich multimedia resources with specialized techniques for an immersive classroom experience. We also want to nurture our teachers, fostering genuine passion for Mandarin while staying on top of trends to deliver modern and innovative language instruction.”
Through immersive site visits to established community institutions like Fremont Chinese School, the initiative bridges theory and practical application. It equips emerging educators with the tools and cultural perspectives required to support diverse learners across global and local contexts.
