CLC students come from different countries with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, learning how to use Chinese effectively is their goal. Whatever your reason for studying Chinese or which level you start with, the CLC will do all its best to ensure that you make rapid progress and improvement.
All classes at the CLC are conducted in Chinese. CLC focus on cultivating students’ basic language proficiency which includes listening, speaking, reading and writing. The class is conducted by the instructors who encourage students to participate all the learning activities in class. The instructors can use all kinds of teaching method according to the teaching materials and the students’ backgrounds. The teaching materials are widespread and flexible, including the Chinese reading matter and materials that are edited especially for foreigners. Basically speaking, everything could be the teaching materials as long as they are in accordance with students’ interest and level. The audio-visual materials such as television news and movie are also used in class. Many classes use other non-textbook materials in order to make studying at the CLC as interesting and varied as possible.
Regular Courses
The programs of CLC operate on the quarter basis, four quarters within one year and three months for each quarter. Each quarter is offered in March, June, September and December. A six-week Summer Intensive Program is also offered in July. Students who have ever learned Chinese will be given the placement test after the enrolment for the program. Classes are made small, with four to ten students, because "The fewer students there are, the more chances of practice students will receive", which is the basic principle for language learning. The classes are conducted 3 hours per day, 15 hours per week.
The one-on-one class and the other programs are also designed to meet the students’ request. The average length of programs is about 9 to 1 year, except for the summer intensive program which lasts 6 weeks only. The consultation from teachers will also be provided to students who encounter the problems while they are learning Chinese. The free pronunciation courses are also offered at the 2nd week of each quarter for helping students learn the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols.
Three kinds of courses are proposed according to the difference of students’ language proficiency. The first one is the integrated course. Second is the improvement course. The last one is the practical course:
Integrated Courses are divided into eight levels and aim to develop students’ general language skills, which are listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The improvement courses, based on the integrated course, focus on improving the proficiency of daily conversation and reading so that the conversation class which has three levels and the reading class which is divided into eight levels are offered.
Practical courses are for students who are above the advanced level. Besides, the cultural courses and individual class are also proposed to meet the needs of students. Placement evaluations are given to each student in order to determine his or her appropriate class level.
More information about the courses is as follows:
Date of Regular class is Monday through Friday.
1. 9:10～12:00
2. 14:10～17:00
※ The beginner class for children depends on if there are enough applicants and is only provided in summer period.
Cultural Courses
For making more foreigners understand the beauty of Chinese, history and culture, CLC offers the special courses such as Language and Culture, Business Conversation, News Reading and Taiwanese class to meet the needs of foreigners who favor Chinese Culture. These courses are sophisticated and taught with lively teaching method. Besides of the language courses, the introduction of politics, economy, religion, culture and arts is also conducted in class.
As to the Business Conversation class, the teaching materials focus both on the practice and theory. The authentic conversation about International Business is also included. All of the courses are designed elaborately and are expected to make more understanding between instructors and foreign students.
Each term the CLC offers culture classes focusing on certain aspects of Chinese art, history and society. Classes include Peking Opera, Calligraphy, Painting, Name Chop Carving, Taiwanese, Tea Customs, Chinese Culinary Art, Chinese Martial Arts, Folk Singing, Chinese macramé and other related subjects of interest. These classes help strengthen students' understanding of Chinese culture and will help them make the most of their stay in Taiwan. These classes are mainly taught in Chinese.
Short-term Intensive Mandarin Program (Study Tour)
The CLC offers tailor made Intensive Mandarin program (IMP). These 2-to8-week classes are specially designed according to the requirements of each group of 8- 15 students. The IMP aims to increase the Chinese language proficiency and the understanding of Chinese culture. Practical extracurricular activities are included for students to experience the unique cultural characteristics of Taiwan. Classes are taught by experienced teachers. Tuition and fees are adjusted according to class time and content. Please contact us directly for further information.
Mandarin Chinese Courses for International Exchange Students
In order to cultivate our faculty and students with “international perspective,” the National Sun Yat-sen University has entered into exchange agreements with well known universities from countries around the world, such as the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, France and Finland, just to name a few. Every year, there are more than fifty exchange students coming to NSYSU. In order to assist these exchange students with easing into their curriculum at NSYSU, and to facilitate their exchange with local students, the CLC offers Chinese language curriculum tailored for them. Students will be categorized into four levels: beginner, elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Classes will be held at noon two days a week (Tuesday & Thursday), for four hours.