News | Office of Global Mandarin Education

Degree students have once again been allowed to enter the Republic of China (Taiwan) again since February 8, 2021. In accordance with directions from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the Ministry of Education has announced that students in an additional four categories are allowed to apply to enter from April 1, 2021. These categories are: Huayu Enrichment Scholarship recipients, Taiwan Huayu BEST Scholarship recipients, students sponsored under a bilateral educational cooperation agreement, and students with special entry permits. This will affect approximately 1,400 students. The students in these additional categories must enter Taiwan from Taoyuan International Airport and present an official negative result of a COVID-19 test taken within three days before boarding the flight to Taiwan.  They will be met in the Arrivals area by personnel from their university or college who will assist them to report their arrival, and then board special transport to check-in at a quarantine hotel. After spending 14 days at a quarantine hotel, the students will then be retested for Covid-19 and if their test is negative, they will begin a further seven days of self-health management there before being able to begin attending their courses. If the pandemic situation and other circumstances permit, the Ministry will then consider also relaxing restrictions and allowing other categories of students, including Chinese language students, and students wanting to undertake an internship or post graduate research to enter Taiwan in an orderly fashion.

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/

2018 International Annual Conference of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language 2018/12/21~23 at Donghua University.  We cordially invite you to participate. Seminar Website: http://huayu.org/atcsl_2018/index.php Society Web page: http://www.atcsl.org/blog/  

Speaker:Ling Jie Jian Date: DEC 15th Time: 13;10~15:20 Venue: National Yunlin University of Science and Technology ESP CAFÉ(DH113) Organizer: National Yunlin University of Science and Technology Language Center Chinese as a Foreign Language Program Cost:NTD500   Website: https://goo.gl/forms/NPrc103nWd0Xz5883

Date: November 16-18, 2018 Place: New Orleans Morial Convention Center Topic: Where Language Educators Meet

NTDTV March 26th, 2018   Now let's take a look at the growing Chinese community in Houston, and police officers of the local police department will start receiving Chinese language training. Their Chinese Language Course for Police Officers is offered in cooperation with the Education Division of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston. This is the first institutional cooperation between Taiwan and the United States in offering this type of education.   The Chinese Language Course for Police Officers was proposed by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston. Teachers at the University of St. Thomas will offer Chinese language training for police officers of Houston Police Department to improve their communication ability in the Chinese language. The University of St. Thomas holds a welcoming party at the beginning of the course on March 22nd.   Mr. Peter C.Y. Chen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston: "We hope that the Chinese language course will help police officers in Houston use Chinese for better communication with communities while they are on duty, and that it will reduce the number of misunderstandings."   The Chinese Language Course for Police Officers is a one-year cooperation project. The course emphasizes basic communication in Chinese, and contents were selected based on the needs of the Houston Police Department.   Chief Art Acevedo indicated that the police hope to raise services to new heights in response to the rapidly growing Asian and Chinese community.   Chief Art Acevedo: "The Asian and Chinese communities among the fastest growing communities. We are promoting 'relationship-based law enforcement,' meaning that we need to build relationships, and the best way to do so is to directly and immediately communicate with communities. This is the first time a course like this is being offered in the United States, and we are very proud of ourselves."   Chief Art Acevedo: "(Speaks in Chinese) Hello! Take care!"   The Chinese Language Course for Police Officers is a 10-week elective course with 90 minute classes once a week.   Maria, who has a Ph.D in linguistics, is one of the course's teachers from the University of St. Thomas: "I've included 6 to 7 different topics here. Traffic, weapons, immigration, need for assistance and medical care are all basics and will allow them to communicate with locals whose native language is Chinese."   The first training course will begin next week.   NTDTV Reporters I Yong-Chi and Hung Yu reporting from Houston