The NTU-IU Mandarin Learning Center is offering a two-part Mandarin language class on workplace expressions and conversations. The classes focus on several practical language skills; crafting resumes in Mandarin, introducing oneself in business settings, talking about strengths and weaknesses in interviews, and navigating conversations with different power dynamics and in various situations.

Ms. Yawen Tsai, NTU’s visiting Chinese language lecturer at IU, facilitated the first class session on October 29, 2024. Aside from language skills, Ms. Tsai incorporated discussions on differences between interview etiquettes and questions in the United States and Taiwan. The Center received positive feedback from students, and looks forward to the second installment of the class on November 19, 2024.

The NTU-IU Mandarin Learning Center hosted two study abroad information sessions this fall semester at IU. All full-time enrolled students at IU are eligible to apply to study at one of NTU’s Mandarin language programs. Through the Huayu BEST study abroad program, students also receive financial support from both NTU and IU to help offset the cost of the program and make immersive language learning experiences possible. In addition to the information sessions, the manager of the NTU-IU Mandarin Learning Center made classroom visits to share the study abroad information with students taking Chinese language courses at IU.

The CLTA-IN 2024 Annual Professional Development Workshop brings together K-12 and post-secondary Chinese language educators in Indiana to engage in workshops, roundtable discussions, and conversations on critical pedagogical topics. A key collaborator and sponsor, the NTU Huayu BEST Program lecturer and staff both participated and promoted Mandarin language resources and study abroad opportunities in Taiwan. Taken place on October 12, 2024, the day of conference featured a keynote talk from Ms. Ning Wei, the 2024 Teacher of the Year by Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers, and two roundtable sessions that addressed AI technology in Chinese language pedagogy and study abroad/international collaborative opportunities in Taiwan.

The annual Lotus World Music & Arts Festival in Bloomington, Indiana, celebrates cultures and music from all around the world. Organized by the Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, the event not only features one of the United States’ oldest world music festival concerts, it also invites community partners to offer programming on diverse cultures. This year, on October 6, 2024, the NTU Huayu BEST Program was invited to facilitate a cultural activity. The program staff taught participants how to write with Chinese calligraphy brushes and showed them the beauty and art of traditional Chinese characters.

This year, the celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival goes beyond the IU campus! In collaboration with the Monroe County Public Library (MCPL), the NTU-IU Mandarin Learning Center hosted a cultural experience for K-12 students in Monroe County. The MCPL has a dedicated teen space in which students of ages 12-19 can utilize and often hang out after regular school hours. 

On September 13, 2024, the teen space welcomed an early celebration of the Chinese holiday Mid-Autumn Festival, and students learned about the holiday and made a popular Taiwanese snack called 「雪Q餅」. Students also made bookmarks with the Chinese character「月」after learning the central role of the moon in this holiday’s timing and folklore.

“Here is how you pour the tea…” Students of the IU Chinese Flagship Program were engaged in making tea using traditional and modern Chinese tea sets. This program on Chinese tea culture was a collaborative event organized by the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office and the IU Chinese Flagship. The program aimed to introduce fundamental elements within Chinese tea culture; it also addressed how tea culture has evolved in modern Taiwan. During the workshop, students followed along the presenter in learning the names of the tools that make up a traditional tea set. And with the guidance of the graduate interns and associate instructors in Chinese pedagogy, students tried their hands at both making traditional tea and bubble tea, a classic Taiwanese treat. 

On February 6, 2023, IU students gathered at the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Study Abroad information session to learn more about opportunities of studying Chinese at NTU. Through the current NTU-IU partnership on Chinese language teaching and learning, IU students are eligible for the Huayu BEST scholarship for long-term and short-term studies at either the Chinese Language Division (of Language Center) or the International Chinese Language Program (ICLP). At this information session, students learned about the intensive language training and cultural experiences of this program, as well as NTU’s campus resources.

In collaboration with the IU East Asian Studies Center, the Institute for Korean Studies, and the Chinese Flagship Program, the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office co-sponsored a Lunar New Year celebration at IU Bloomington. This collaborative event introduced traditions and holiday activities from Korea, Taiwan, and China in celebrating the Lunar New Year. The NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office presented the activity of writing spring scrolls (春聯), inviting students to try Chinese calligraphy. In practicing the calligraphy, students also learned about the commonly displayed Chinese characters, such as spring (春) and fortune (福), and took home their own spring scrolls with the help of experienced Chinese calligrapher writers. It was a quite meaningful collaborative event as it presented the diverse ways this significant holiday is celebrated in different East Asian cultures. 

On October 11th, the Center for Taiwan Studies held a gathering for UT students considering or planning to study abroad in Taiwan. At the meeting, several students who have recently returned from Taiwan shared their experiences and advice. There are several scholarship programs such as the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) Program at National Taiwan University or the Huayu Enrichment Program that UT students can apply for to support a study abroad stay in Taiwan. To advertise these programs and prepare outgoing students, the CTS plans to conduct a range of similar activities in the future.

original: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/cts/news/taiwan-study-abroad-gathering

On Friday, October 21, the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office co-organized a Chinese pronunciation workshop with the IU Asian Culture Center (ACC). This pronunciation workshop has been highly requested by staff members as a professional skill development to accurately pronounce the names of many Chinese international students and scholars. Hence, this event was specifically catered to IU staff members, and the attendees (11) included academic advisors, recruitment staff, human resources staff, etc. Attendees were introduced to the Chinese pronunciation rules and practiced sounding out words with graduate assistants trained in teaching Chinese as a second language. Multiple attendees shared afterwards that the workshop was helpful and simultaneously challenging. Per the feedback of the participants, we strive to improve the workshop content/format and look to reach a wider audience when it is offered again next semester.

The Taiwanese night markets are well-known for their delicious street foods and incredible hospitality, and some IU students got to experience it first-hand. On Wednesday, October 26, the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office organized a small night market for students participating in the week’s Chinese Table event. The facilitator first taught students how to negotiate and bargain using various strategies in Chinese with vendors, and students were able to earn currency for the market by answering trivia questions related to Taiwan’s night market culture. Finally, the later half of the event opened the night market stations featuring common Taiwanese street foods to students for “purchase”. These included the scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), sugar calabash (糖葫蘆), sweet potato balls (地瓜球), and drinks such as 黑松沙士 and winter melon tea (冬瓜茶). Students overwhelmingly enjoyed the night market and asked for similar events in the future through the feedback form. Many shared that it was a creative way to incorporate practicing the Chinese language in a unique cultural activity.

Through the current NTU-Indiana University partnership on Chinese language teaching and learning, IU students are eligible to apply to the Taiwan Huayu BEST Study Abroad program and its scholarships. On Monday, September 12, the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office hosted an in-person information session for students interested in studying Chinese at NTU. The session featured the study abroad program content, NTU’s Chinese language programs, and perspectives from past participant in this program. Students were excited to learn what it was like to live and study at NTU and Taipei, and was in awe of the convenience and charm of Taiwan. During the Q&A session, the students asked many questions and expressed positive interest in the opportunity.

The NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program Office collaborated with the Indiana University (IU) Chinese Flagship Program to co-organize a culture session on the Mid-Autumn Festival with the IU East Asian Studies Center sponsoring this event. The event took place on Friday, September 9, 2022, and was well-attended by both current Chinese Flagship students and non-Flagship students. The presentation included the brief history, customs, and the legendary tales around this treasured holiday in the Chinese culture. Students learned new Chinese vocabulary associated with this holiday and one of the famous tales, 「嫦娥奔月」and how it related to the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the end, everyone who attended the event received at least one moon cake as they learned about the traditions of eating this sweet dessert on this holiday. 

The East Asian Studies Center provided one of the Chinese traditional games, 毽子, in the second half of the program, and students were taught how to play. Students learned that while not connected to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the 毽子 game required intricate balance and reflex to play continuously.

The Summer Language Workshop at Indiana University (IU) is an 8-week intensive language program for students to drastically improve their language proficiency. Students have the immersion option for the program, where they eat, sleep, and breathe the language they are studying by living on campus together with their peers. During this year’s Summer Language Workshop for Chinese, the NTU Taiwan Huayu BEST Program office, located on-site at IU, sponsored an extracurricular event for the students to learn more about both traditional and modern Chinese culture. Through the format of the online game, Kahoot, students competed to see who could answer more questions regarding Chinese language and culture correctly. Questions ranged from Chinese pop-culture to traditional holiday practices and cultural superstitions; students were both testing their pre-existing cultural and vocabulary knowledge and gaining new ones. The winner ended up sharing the grand prize – a basket full of Taiwanese snacks – with their peers. This activity was a fun and memorable way for students to engage with Chinese language and culture altogether!

National Taiwan University President Chung-Ming Kuan, Ph.D., and Executive Vice President Chiapei Chou, Ph.D., visited Indiana University on June 3 to discuss the institutions’ recently expanded partnership, and their new focus on Chinese language education.

original: https://blogs.iu.edu/hamiltonlugar/2022/06/08/national-taiwan-university-leadership-visit-to-iu-strengthens-academic-ties/

NTU Signs Memorandum of Intent to Cooperate with Indiana University in Furthering Mandarin Teaching and Inter-University Cooperation

本校與美國印地安那大學簽署合作交流意向書 深化華語教學與校際交流合作