(1) Huayuworld.org
Having fully developed a system of research, teaching, and promotion of Mandarin and traditional Chinese characters, Taiwan is the best place for foreigners to learn the language as well as gain a better understanding of traditional Chinese culture. The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) has been utilizing and integrating digital learning resources into classes at overseas schools, greatly enhancing interest in learning Mandarin and gaining positive feedback from teachers. The Huayuword.org website, launched in 2007 by the OCAC, offers:
- Free online e-books, teaching plans, teaching resources, and downloads
- A Facebook fan page to share the latest information about learning and teaching Chinese
- Training programs for overseas Chinese teachers to enhance their teaching skills
- Chinese Learning Biweekly to provide information about learning Chinese language and culture
(2) Learning Program for Stroke Order of Frequently Used Chinese Characters
To facilitate the teaching of traditional Chinese character writing and to spread knowledge of such characters, the Ministry of Culture has established an online learning program entitled Learning Program for Stroke Order of Frequently Used Chinese Characters. This program introduces the stroke order for 4,080 characters and 37 Bopomofo symbols, all with accompanying audio files.
The Advanced Information section of this program includes information from other language-learning programs or publications of the Ministry of Education, such as the Concise Mandarin Chinese Dictionary, the Teacher’s Handbook of Standard Form of Chinese Characters, Distinguishing between Frequently Used Chinese Characters, and the Handbook of Chinese Radicals, forming a network from which users may learn the form, pronunciation, and meaning of traditional Chinese characters.
There are five ways to search for characters, i.e., by character, stroke number, radical, Bopomofo symbol, or Hanyu Pinyin.