Taipei: A five-year high of 23 foreign nationals took Taiwan's Taiwanese language proficiency test on Saturday, including an Indian couple hoping to deepen their understanding of Taiwan and improve their career prospects.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Ministry of Education (MOE) reported that 11,911 people sat the second Taiwanese-language proficiency test of 2026 at 18 testing sites across Taiwan. Students accounted for the largest group of applicants, with 7,149 registrants. Those aged 13-15 made up the largest age group, followed by children aged 7-12.

One of the foreign applicants, Indian graduate student Anlin Shaju of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, shared her motivation for taking the exam, stating that learning the local language would help her better understand Taiwanese culture. She became interested in Taiwanese after frequently hearing it spoken in markets and restaurants, noting that learning the language had made her life in Taiwan more meaningful.

Her husband, Vineeth Jacob, who also studies at the university, mentioned that he learned Taiwanese through campus courses and hopes it will help him build stronger relationships with colleagues if he finds work in Taiwan. Jacob expressed his admiration for the language's expressive and concise nature, recalling that a 17-page English report he translated into Taiwanese required only 10 pages to convey the same content.

The MOE announced that results will be available online beginning Oct. 12, with certificates for successful candidates issued starting Nov. 2.