Wenzao or NSYSU in Ktown

Language Learning Chinese
1

Cause this topic hasn’t been asked before, right? : )

Already slated to attend NSYSU’s CLC in March, but I figured I’d look a little more into Wenzao, since it seems that a lot of folks here have experience with both schools.

Wenzao’s supposed to have a slightly slower pace to language instruction. I also like that they teach pinyan instead of Taiwan’s phonetic system.

NSYSU has a great location. There are more open apartments around Wenzao though, but it’s not that big of a deal. I am, however, a little worried about the larger number of foreign and exchange students that attend NSYSU, since it’ll make it easier for me to get away with speaking in English, instead of going all in with Mandarin.

Which school would you recommend? What are the students like at NSYSU and Wenzao, and are there any differences?

I’ll be honest, I’d really, really like to go to one of the school’s on the east coast, like NTTU, but I’m worried that there would be absolutely nothing to do in Taitung or Hualian. Not a nightlife person, but I do like to go out once and a while.

2

Heard back from NTTU in Taitung. Apparently they offer Mandarin courses, but they don’t offer a 15 hour a week equivalent, so no visa.

Kind of sucks. Still trying to decide between NSYSU and Wenzao. I don’t know if there’s anything else on the east coast worth looking into.

3

OK, couple of facts for you here.

  1. If you’re a beginner, you will NOT be speaking all in Mandarin anyway. You won’t be able to. You may appreciate being able to, oh, I don’t know, eat and take care of basic necessities while you’re getting up to speed. :wink: The whole going-native thing is vastly overrated.

  2. Virtually all language schools in Taiwan are basically the same. There are individual micro-differences depending on a specific teacher, a specific group of students, a specific administrator --but they are all cut from the same basic mold. Just because someone says they use Pinyin doesn’t mean it’s accurate Pinyin (though it may well be).

4

Thanks! In other words, it sounds like I should choose the school that’s most convenient and not worry as much about the quality of instruction. I think I’m still leaning towards NSYSU at this point.

Is there anyone out there who attended Wenzao and would like to put a good word in for their program? : )

5

Hello, I came across this topic when I was searching for comparisons between the two schools. Was wonderingly if anyone can provide their experience on the programs at Wenzao or NSYSU?

Is the Gushan area less convenient than Wenzao? Which school would have a larger proportion of mature students?

Thanks a lot!