As early as 1996, the Educational Reform Committee of the Executive Yuan proposed that the Ministry of Education include English in the primary school curriculum. After taking office the former Minister for Education, Wu Ching, put forward the idea of a "nine-year integrated curriculum" encompassing primary and secondary education.
早在民國八十五年，行政院教改會就建議教育部將英文列為小學學科；前任教育部長吳京上任後，即針對中小學課程提出「九年一貫課程」的構想。