Although my first time visiting Taiwan was in 2019, I never really connected with the island as much as I hoped to, as my Mandarin skills were subpar at best. When I learned that I could return as part of an intensive language program during the summer of 2023, I was quite excited, as I would not only be able to learn more about Mandarin – which I had been studying for 4 years – but would also finally be able to truly explore and learn more about Taiwan’s culture and scenery. Even though I was quite nervous about traveling alone for the first time in my life, I was still excited to be accepted into American Council’s TISLP program and finally start improving my Chinese.
Before the first day of class started, I was quite confident in my Mandarin abilities, as I had spent most of my time learning vocabulary in particular. However, during the first few days of class, I quickly realized that I struggled to comprehend our teachers as well as give out my opinions and beliefs. Our teachers quickly recognized that most of us were unable to comprehend them and state our opinions, so they quickly focused on improving our listening skills and giving us everyday topics that we could discuss among ourselves. By the end of our second week, this had enabled us to be able to easily comprehend the local dialect, as well as give us the ability to casually communicate with the locals at restaurants and in the night markets. After the second week, they started focusing more on information that we could maintain in the long term, including topics about Taiwan’s culture.
Even though I had done a lot of research on Taiwan’s culture before I returned, I still did not recognize the different cities and tourist attractions around the island, as well as some of the local and traditional cultures. Because most of us already had a basic understanding of Taiwan’s culture, the teachers taught us more about the Hokkien language and the history of the island, as well as the different cities and what makes them attractive destinations for tourists. This included some of the small islands around Formosa, such as Green Island – where scuba diving is popular – as well as some of the tourist attractions we were able to visit firsthand.
Before we went on TISLP trips around the island, our teachers would give us information on the background of the area as well as some Mandarin and Hokkien vocabulary that may be useful while we were there. One location in particular that we visited was Sun Moon Lake. Located right in the middle of Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is, in my opinion, the most beautiful place that I’ve ever been to in Taiwan. Although the mountainous terrain of Taiwan makes the island a very picturesque location, Sun Moon Lake in particular has a certain charm to it. The crystal-clear water and the local nature surrounding the lake make this one of the most beautiful areas in Taiwan to visit, as they complement each other well and make the whole area seem like an exotic location. Although I know that some areas of Taiwan – such as Green Island – likely rival Sun Moon Lake in its beauty, I am still quite sad that I wasn’t able to personally visit some of those regions, as I was more focused on improving my Chinese and learning the local dialect than exploring.
I am grateful that I was able to not only revisit Taiwan, but also significantly improve my Mandarin abilities and knowledge of Taiwan’s culture and scenery. From the teachers to the curriculum, the TISLP program is definitely a great program for rapidly improving the Chinese ability of students; however, the fact that they also gave us firsthand experience with Taiwan’s culture and scenery is really what brought this program up for me. I am hopeful that in the future, I can use the knowledge that I have learned in Taiwan to not only further my understanding of East Asian political and cultural relations, but also to help improve the United States relations with Taiwan and our allies in the region.
Fulbright-Hays Scholarship Recipient
Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program (TISLP) at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU)
Hsinchu, Taiwan, Summer 2023