The official language for Taiwan is mandarin Chinese also called "Guo Yu" (national language) by the locals. Mandarin is used and understood by the majority of the population in Taiwan.
However, many Taiwanese are descendant of southern Fujianese, thus Holo is widely spoken. The language is used by 73% of people in Taiwan. For most people, Mandarin is the language used in workplace while Holo are usually spoken within family and friends.
A small percentage of the people speaks the Hakka language. Although the language still survives in Hakka communities, proficiency in Hakka has been decreasing among young people.
Not to forget about the indigenous people who have their own indigenous language classified as Formosan languages. However, native speakers of indigenous languages are decreasing in numbers as new generations who grow up in cities are not fluent in their ancestral language.
Some elderly people who were born before 1940 could speak some Japanese due to the Japanese rule in the past. English is also learned in Taiwan and is part of the regular school curriculum.
Mode of education
Taiwan possesses a flexible education system, depending on students' need. In addition to a nine year compulsory education, a variety of options are available to enter senior high schools, colleges and university , all which offers high quality of education. The present educational system supports 22 years of formal study.
Elementary School
The primary education are taken in elementary school where children receive 6 years of compulsory education. They study subjects such as Mandarin, Mathematics, Science, English, Social Studies, Music and Art.
Junior High
Secondary education is taken in junior high school where they receive another 3 years of studies. It is the last half of compulsory education and junior high students only have a single goal in there, which is to score well in national senior high school entrance exam at the end of their third year. They are than assigned to senior high schools based on their score.
Vocational School
Some students might also take a separate vocational school entrance exam. Vocational schools is similar to senior high school but it places greater emphasis on practical and skills. Students select a subject that they want to major in such as engineering, science or business. They than proceed to a college for further studies after graduation. However, this choice is more uncommon.
The junior high education is similar to Singapore's secondary schools where students take the 'O' level exams to get into Junior College or polytechnics.
Senior High
Senior high school education takes 3 years to complete. Again, the main goal of students is to score well on national university entrance exam at the end of their third year. However, in senior high, students are grouped base on the different learning tracks they choose, each focusing in different areas of subjects.
University
Taiwan has many universities which can be public or private. About 66% of the students taking the national university entrance exams are accepted to higher education institutions. University undergraduate programmes require at least four years of study. The university most popular among students is National Taiwan University, a famous public university in their country
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