Taiwan rocks January 05, 2023
By A student (Chinese, Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/24/2023 to 11/18/2023 with
CET Taiwan
Improved conversational fluency, made friends and connectionism Taiwan. It was worth it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very modern, clean, had a small kitchen. A little far away from campus (about 30 minute metro commute), but not a big deal. |
| * Food: |
CET did not provide food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There wasn't any programming that I can think of to link CET students with the host university. However, CET did recommend joining NTU clubs, which I did, and was very integrating. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any health issues. |
| * Safety: |
Taiwan is incredibly safe. As a young woman who has grown up in the city, I've never felt so safe walking around at night, alone. I had not a single issue in 3 months. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I am returning in the spring and I will attend ICLP. I chose ICLP because I was disappointed in CET's elective course and the lack of langauge pledge. ICLP teaches all its classes in Chinese, is known to be more intensive, and requires a language pledge. Additionally, ICLP is much cheaper, even not including housing. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I was able to live on $80/week, but could have lived off $60/week if I cut out unnecessary spending. The average meal is about $1-5 USD, CET offers a transportation stipend and housing is included, so costs are minimal. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 80 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Unlike in the US, cooking your own food is not cheaper than eating out. So feel free to eat out every meal guilt-free. The cheapest food will be at night markets. To save money, buy any household needs from local stores, not foreign stores like IKEA. In fact, any foreign staples you're used to will be more expensive. Take advantage of CET's language partner and cultural reimbursement programs, or you're just leaving money sitting on the table. Finally, if you want to go out, make sure to go early so that you don't have to pay a cover. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
No language pledge outside of the CLD building. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Chinese 3 (over the summer) |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | SPEAK CHINESE WITH YOUR ROOMATES. Better yet, agree on a Chinese language pledge from the get-go. I was lucky enough to be rooming with two classmates above my level, so I could learn a lot from them. Depending on your daily habits, your roommates can well end up being the people you spend the most time with. So, if you want to improve your conversational fluency, here's your chance. Likewise, TALK TO TAIWANESE PEOPLE. It seems obvious, but when you're actually there it can be very intimidating. However, I found that almost every person I spoke to was incredibly accommodating and excited to talk to you in Mandarin. Likewise, set boundaries with people who want to speak English with you all the time, Taiwanese or otherwise. You traveled awfully far to keep speaking English in Taiwan. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You need to join and be invested in host university clubs from the start if you want to integrate on campus. Use a spaced repetition strategy (I use Anki) and study a little extra *every day* if you want to keep up with all the new vocabulary. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
TP/LADE 350 Intermediate Chinese 2 |
| Course Department: | NTU Chinese Language Department |
| Instructor: | 劉燕凌 ／Liu, Yanling |
| Instruction Language: | Mandarin Chinese |
| Comments: | The Chinese class was taught by a NTU Chinese Language Department teacher with many years of experience. She was engaging and promoted tons of in-class practice. The pace was slower than Middlebury Chinese classes, but otherwise I was very satisfied. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
TP/EAST 330 Taiwanese History, Culture, and National Identity |
| Course Department: | CET |
| Instructor: | 廖克杭 / Liao Ko-Hang |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The elective class (taught in English) hosted by CET was 3 stars. The elective was taught by a graduate student who notably did not have much teaching experience. While he was very knowledgeable, his lecture style was all over the place and unengaging. We did not have any in-class discussions. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | My advisor approved this course to sub for a Chinese major course. |
