Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network-New Taipei City New Immigrants: Sharing their native languages

100 new immigrants in New Taipei use their “Native Dialect” and join hands to film, call and protect each other!

The New Taipei City Education Bureau (新北市政府教育局) has recruited the "New Immigrants Multilingual Service Team" (新住民多語服務隊) to provide voluntary care and service to new immigrants’ families. More than 100 new immigrants have responded to provide multilingual, diversified assistance and the latest information during the epidemic. Using their native language and support to help the new immigrants to properly settle down, physically and mentally.

New immigrants use their native dialect to make phone calls to their sisters. (Photo/provided by the New Taipei City Government)

Director of Education Chang Ming Wen (張明文) said that the New Taipei City Compulsory Education Advisory Group’s (新北市國教輔導團) New Immigrants’ Language Teaching Group (新住民語文輔導小組) launched activities. The multilingual service team recorded films about epidemic prevention in 7 different languages including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. There are versions for parents and children to remind them of the new rules of epidemic prevention. This is for the new immigrants to understand the importance of epidemic prevention by using their native languages, and for them to cooperate with the government’s rules like wearing face masks when outside and other regulations. This is to protect themselves and their families.

During the pandemic, parents stay at home with their children to learn together and tell them stories. (Photo/Provided by the New Taipei City Education Bureau)

In addition, to promote multicultural education and to reduce the bad effects on the students’ vision due to online classes, the service team also launched alternative activities like story telling by the new resident mothers. These include multicultural stories from various countries, such as stress relieving, real life stories. During the epidemic, parents spend more time with their children at home to learn together, and to tell hometown stories to appease and encourage the new immigrants to move forward.