NTU Chinese literature, language and culture program

Language Learning Chinese
1

Hi guys! (and girls, of course)

I’m studying Chinese language and culture in France right now, I spent a year in Taïwan without following any program last year, and I’d like to go back there for my studies.
I’ve seen that NTU (not NTNU) offers a “Bachelor degree program in chinese literature for internation students”, and well… that looks like exactly what I want to do.
I have a few questions though, and I’d like to know if anybody here has been following this program and could help me with it :
-My current Chinese level must be around TOCFL level 3, and they require level 4, which is 3400 more words. So do you know if the level 4 is really necessary, or could I arrive (I’m gonna work until there, of course) with my level and make it still? Btw, I can’t afford bad grades, without a scholarship, I can’t afford the university, and without good grades, no scholarship.
-Is the program really worthy going there? I love Taïwan, I’m convinced that learning Chinese there is gonna get me a far better level than learning it in France, but I saw some posts about the NTNU program saying it was not a good idea to get a taïwanese degree. I asked my teachers in France, and they said I could just go take the exam of the French degree when I get back, pass it and get the certification. Also I assume that NTU is quite more prestigious than NTNU, does that change anything?
Oh, I’m aiming teaching or working in international relationships later, and I’m willing to get a master (not sure which one yet).
So yeah… I’ve got quite a lot of question about that, and the application deadline is one month ahead from now, so if anybody knew something about all this, I’d really really appreciate it :slight_smile: Reward : an eternity of servitude :notworthy:

Hugo

2

[quote=“HugoD”]Hi guys! (and girls, of course)

I’m studying Chinese language and culture in France right now, I spent a year in Taïwan without following any program last year, and I’d like to go back there for my studies.
I’ve seen that NTU (not NTNU) offers a “Bachelor degree program in chinese literature for internation students”, and well… that looks like exactly what I want to do.
I have a few questions though, and I’d like to know if anybody here has been following this program and could help me with it :
-My current Chinese level must be around TOCFL level 3, and they require level 4, which is 3400 more words. So do you know if the level 4 is really necessary, or could I arrive (I’m gonna work until there, of course) with my level and make it still? Btw, I can’t afford bad grades, without a scholarship, I can’t afford the university, and without good grades, no scholarship.
-Is the program really worthy going there? I love Taïwan, I’m convinced that learning Chinese there is gonna get me a far better level than learning it in France, but I saw some posts about the NTNU program saying it was not a good idea to get a taïwanese degree. I asked my teachers in France, and they said I could just go take the exam of the French degree when I get back, pass it and get the certification. Also I assume that NTU is quite more prestigious than NTNU, does that change anything?
Oh, I’m aiming teaching or working in international relationships later, and I’m willing to get a master (not sure which one yet).
So yeah… I’ve got quite a lot of question about that, and the application deadline is one month ahead from now, so if anybody knew something about all this, I’d really really appreciate it :slight_smile: Reward : an eternity of servitude :notworthy:

Hugo[/quote]

Firstly, why take a degree in a program for non-Chinese when your goal is to learn Chinese. I would go for a full-on Chinese program.

I wouldn’t study in the Chinese department. They suck. Trust me. The departments in Taiwan are ranked and the Chinese departments are always one of the lowest. The rankings are representative of quality. I wish someone told me that before I entered one. Another thing is that in a Chinese department, you’ll spend a lot of time trying to read Classical Chinese, which I’m sorry to say, is nearly worthless outside of research/interest. If you are interested in it, just studying it on your own. If you want to do research, don’t come to Taiwan. Go to Hong Kong or Bei Da. Look towards to US if you can’t get into those schools.

At NTU, I would study something related to science or math. Stats might be a good choice if they offer it to undergrads. At NCCU, I would look into law or business-related stuff. These are the best departments in terms of quality.

About NTU being prestigious, this only matters in Taiwan. Few people in France will know the difference. And when compared with schools outside of Taiwan, all the school here suck (even in comparison with just Asian schools). Don’t let the no-name school listing fool you, wherein NTU is rated above Oxford and Cambridge!

Good luck – Studying in Taiwan can be good; it just needs to be done the right way…