Hi ironlady
Unfortunately I am in Sydney, so wouldn’t be able to make it to the conference’s you mentioned. My Chinese unit co-ordinator that I wrote about earlier, would possibly be interested though? My university is starting a new unit next year on ‘Language Teaching and Bilingualism’ (birth-12 years).
I was searching around on the internet last night, and came across the ‘Centre for language Studies’ at Tzu Chi University, Hualien. Their programme looks reasonable, and they are certified by the MOE so I would be eligible for a visa by studying with them. There is also a generous ROC Government scholarship available for Mandarin studies, which is tied to MOE accredited institutions, but there are only two available for 12 months of study. Hualien does not seem to have too many study options, Tzu Chi University appears to be the only one. I am not fixed on Hualien, Kaohsiung would be my second choice. Time permitting, I would like to come up for a quick trip possibly in March to have a look around, but there are a few external factors possibly preventing me from doing so.
Regards