TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung City Government has unveiled new plans to promote English education at all 348 schools in the city.

To meet the goal of developing Taiwan into a bilingual nation by 2030, Kaohsiung City Government will set up a "Bilingual Education Cultivation Center" this year to train aspiring teachers so they can conduct bilingual classes at different levels. English clubs and foreign student teaching programs will also be introduced at schools that were not covered in the government's previous bilingual programs.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday (May 6), Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the city government will collaborate with National Sun Yat-sen University and Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages to equip Taiwanese teachers with bilingual education skills and improve their English proficiency. Both universities will also recruit foreign students to serve as bilingual teaching assistants at secondary and elementary schools, he explained.

Meanwhile, he said bilingual clubs can offer stress-free learning environments for students to gain more exposure to English. He added that schools in the city are also encouraged to hire native speakers to teach physical education and art-related subjects.