I was wondering what would be the best city to learn Chinese.
I am aiming for the South, like Kaoshiung, but I have heard that a lot of people prefer using Taiwanese instead of Mandarin Chinese. I don’t want to stay in Taipei becuase I want to be in a cheaper place :P, but If mandarin chinese is typically only spoken there then I guess I’d have to study there?
Anyone have any experience in learning mandarin chinese in the South? How much Taiwanese is exactly used in the big capital cities like Kaoshiung?
I learned the bulk of my Mandarin in Tainan, which has the advantage over Taipei that it’s cheaper, has no winter and not so many English speakers. Most of my local friends there were university students/recent graduates who spoke Mandarin among themselves rather than Taiwanese - something which is not true of the older generation.
It’s true that a lot of locals over a certain age will prefer to speak Taiwanese, but for foreigners most are very understanding and will switch to Mandarin as they realise that’s what most of us learn. Folks over retirement age might not speak much Mandarin, but other than that group most people speak it natively, albeit some with more of an accent than others. I imagine the situation in Kaohsiung is similar.
If you’re committed to learning, living in the south is certainly no barrier to being able to pick up the language.
[quote=“Taffy”]I learned the bulk of my Mandarin in Tainan, which has the advantage over Taipei that it’s cheaper, has no winter and not so many English speakers. Most of my local friends there were university students/recent graduates who spoke Mandarin among themselves rather than Taiwanese - something which is not true of the older generation.
It’s true that a lot of locals over a certain age will prefer to speak Taiwanese, but for foreigners most are very understanding and will switch to Mandarin as they realise that’s what most of us learn. Folks over retirement age might not speak much Mandarin, but other than that group most people speak it natively, albeit some with more of an accent than others. I imagine the situation in Kaohsiung is similar.
If you’re committed to learning, living in the south is certainly no barrier to being able to pick up the language.[/quote]
I think Hualien would have many of the same advantages. Tzu Chi University has an accredited program. language.tcu.edu.tw/en/
Taiwan is a bilingual society. You won’t have any problem finding native Mandarin speakers anywhere. Finding something to say to them, at least at first, may be more of a challenge. Good luck!
[quote=“Feiren”][quote=“Taffy”]I learned the bulk of my Mandarin in Tainan, which has the advantage over Taipei that it’s cheaper, has no winter and not so many English speakers.
[…]
If you’re committed to learning, living in the south is certainly no barrier to being able to pick up the language.[/quote]
I think Hualien would have many of the same advantages. Tzu Chi University has an accredited program. language.tcu.edu.tw/en/
Taiwan is a bilingual society. You won’t have any problem finding native Mandarin speakers anywhere. Finding something to say to them, at least at first, may be more of a challenge. Good luck![/quote]
(Added 2 years later:)
URLs have changed - the current URL for the language center at TCU is language.tcu.edu.tw/detail.php?recordID=3
3-month terms start at the beginning of Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec respectively
Their e-mail address is cltc@mail.tcu.edu.tw
Their phone number is 03-857-2677 轉 (extensions) 1681-1683
I would try and figure out which city fits your lifestyle best. While there is much more Taiwanese spoken in the South, it is still really easy to use Mandarin there and most younger people prefer it.
If you like surfing, hiking, river tracing and a slow pace of life Hualien is your choice.
If you like clubbing or team sports, you’ll be happiest in Taipei.