LanguageNews
Language courses can be fun! Learn Chinese while Sightseeing in Taiwan “Mandarin On-the-Go in Taiwan!”
Have you ever felt unable to express yourself when visiting another country?
Is Chinese really the most difficult language in the world?
The Chinese language centers in Taiwan’s universities are working together with the tourism industry to offer visitors to Taiwan something new!
Taiwan is a beautiful island in the west Pacific, with an abundance of natural scenery, local snacks that are renowned near and far, and sophisticated culture. Whether or not you’ve heard about Taiwan, and even if you know something about this fascinating place, a visit to Taiwan will definitely be unforgettable.
Many university Chinese language centers and the tourism industry have recently created innovative tours that combine experiencing local culture with some language learning and let overseas visitors enjoy a trip to Taiwan that’s more than just sightseeing. The tours are designed to help visitors experience distinctive aspects of the local culture more intensely, from enjoying delicious foods to visiting historic sites, and make them want to linger longer. Here are just some examples;
Tours in northern Taiwan:
- Tamkang University’s Chinese Language Center offers a culinary tour. Participants buy ingredients in a traditional market guided by a professional Chinese teacher, and then cook them. The learning activities integrate [experiencing] the real local living environment. From cooking to enjoying popular snacks at the night markets, you can genuinely experience the tastes of Taiwan!
- The Mandarin Learning Center at Chung Yuan Christian University offers four quite different tours. One is for people who love visiting historical sites; one features exploring the aesthetics of modern and historical buildings; one features experiencing indigenous people’s culture; and another features characteristic local cultural celebrations, such as dragon boat rowing. Whether visitors love natural scenery or distinctive local culture, these interesting tours all offer experiences they’ll enjoy.
Tours in southern and central Taiwan:
- Would you like to personally experience a creative cultural locality and Feng Chia night market, a popular tourist attraction? Feng Chia University’s Chinese Language Center combines Chinese language education with themed cultural tours. You start by learning something about where you’ll be going and some basic related Chinese, and you then enjoy different tours where you can put what you’ve been learning to practical use in real life settings.
- The Chinese Language Center at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages has a strong focus on combining Chinese language courses with trips to enjoy Taiwan’s fine foods. Its Fo Guang Shan purification trip features a visit to the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, a building that combines Chinese and foreign, traditional and modern architectural elements, where you can enjoy vegetarian food in this tranquil religious setting, with a peaceful mind. Another trip looks at Hakka culture and Hakka foods, and the participants can cook and eat some On this trip, the Hakka architecture and natural wetland scenery offer a feast for the eyes, to accompany the taste treats. And Taiwan is surrounded by ocean and there’s an abundance of fresh seafood, so if you’re a food lover who wants to try all sorts of foods that Taiwan has to offer, this is the tour for you!
If you want a trip that will make a deep impression on you and leave you with lifelong memories, why not try a tour that combines language learning with hands-on local experience. This is immensely more satisfying than a short sightseeing tour , and you’ll learn to speak some of the language used by 1.2 billion of the world’s people.
To find out more about the tour courses outlined above, and for Mandarin education-related information, please visit the website of the Office of Global Mandarin Education: https://ogme.edu.tw/Home/tw and https://ogme.edu.tw/