NTU CLD level groups

Hello !
So I’m going to Taiwan for a few moths to learn a bit of chinese and I chose de CLD (Chinese Language Division) program at NTU to do so !
The problem is, it seems to be a bit hard to find recent info on the CLD program… Did anyone do this program for just one semester ? If so, how was it ? How many level groups are there?
I’m asking because I already took an introduction to chinese course at NTU 2 years ago (6 hours a week for 3-4 months) and so I already did 3/4 of the firs book of “Practical Audio Visual Chinese” (the book that’s apparently used in a lot of universities in taiwan). I would’nt want to waste a month of my stay there learning things I already know so I need to know if there are level groups for people who already did a bit of the program (I’m working hard at the moment relearning the part of the program I did 2 years ago).

They’ll make you take an exam a week before classes start. They will slot you into a class ostensibly based on how you do on the test. The only thing they seem to care about is writing characters so if you know your level one characters and can write them, you’ll be fine. In any case, when the class starts you will have an opportunity to switch to another level or teacher.

Okay got it, so no oral or reading parts in the test ? Just writing ? How is this test structured (like what types of questions are asked) ?
Thank you very much by the way ! I’ll try to get as many characters from book 1 as I can !

Yeah, perhaps that was a bit too hyperbolic on my part. In fact, there is some reading and grammar on the assesment test. It’s simple multiple choice. There may be a tape recorded listening thing but I can’t remember exactly. I think they want you to write a few sentences – this is where they test your ability to write characters. And then you sit down one on one to chat with a teacher who then will place you in a class. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but if you can write most of the level one characters then you’ll be a shoo-in for Level 2.

But like I said, there will be some flexibility on your class. They give you a few days to move around to other classes, assuming that there is room in the other classes. My view is that the level matters less than the teacher and also your fellow students. Try and get into a group where it’s mixed race and nobody is jabbering away in English all the time.

It’s not the greatest pedagogy in the world, so be prepared for that. But it can be fun in the right group. Good luck!

I did the intensive program (3 hours/day, 5days/week) at CLD for a year. On registration day, when filling out the forms they will ask you to gauge your own level of Mandarin. If you say you’re a complete beginner, you start off at the lowest level and begin with the basics (“My name is blahblahblah…”, I am from blahblahblah). If you say you have some experience, the teachers will give you a small written and oral test to see where you should be placed in the program.

The first four levels use the Practical Audio/Visual Chinese books (one level for each book). Since you already did most of Book 1, you would be ahead of everyone in the Level 1 class but slightly behind the Level 2 classes. Your teacher would probably ask you to do some extra studying to catch up on the characters from book 1. Overall though, I would agree that it’s less about the level and more about what teacher you get and how your classmates are. You are free to try to transfer to another class the first week of the semester but that rule only applies if another class has an empty spot. I had a great teacher and great classmates so I never tried to transfer but from what I hear, more often than not all the classes are full.

Alright ! Thank you so much for your answers it’s very reassuring !
And yeah I know it’s not the best type of pedagogy, but I’ve read some comparatives of the different mandarin schools in Taipei and from what I understand they’re mostly the same type of program with some differences in teacher experience and class sizes. Do you have a school/program preference (no need to go into a big comparative of the schools ^^) ? Maybe a program that focalizes more on speaking and reading than writing ?
I don’t have any specific goals in learning mandarin, I just want to learn actually useful thing !

No preferences for me, I reckon they are all the same in terms of their approach but what drew me to CLD was relatively small class sizes. Also the campus facilities are a bonus. Others on this forum might have more informed opinions about other schools though – I only did a single semester at CLD to review my Chinese after being elsewhere for a few years.

I reckon you should try to live close enough that the commute doesn’t feel like work, practice writing as much as needed to placate the teacher and no more (unless your goal is to become a Chinese calligrapher), and spend as much time as possible outside the classroom trying to interact with the locals to improve your spoken Chinese. You could also get a tutor for one-on-one lessons at a private school like TLI for pure speech practice where you tell the teacher exactly what you want.