Taiwan’s Ministry of Education hopes to introduce a certification system for teachers of Mandarin as a foreign language. David has already stated what I would:
It would be interesting to know whether knowledge of Hanyu Pinyin and simplified characters is necessary to obtain certification. It does seem like a good idea, but unless the standards for certification are set at a high level then it won’t achieve much.
sources:
- Ministry initiates certification for teaching Chinese, Taipei Times, February 10, 2006
- Certifying Chinese teachers, David on Formosa, February 10, 2006