Learning Mandarin part 2

 As I am just over a week into my studies at MTC NTNU, I thought I should provide an update regarding the process and how I am finding the course so far.

First, you will hear people calling the school one of three things, all of which are the same school:

• NTNU
• MTC
• Shide

My previous post covered everything up to the application and can be found here. First, the process. With my application submitted and having received what NTNU considers an invoice (prices in NTD), I had to decide between the following:

• Regular A (6-10 students) - $26,400
• Intensive A (6-9 students) - $36,000
• Regular B (13-20 students) - $21,600
• Intensive B (13-20 students) - $28,800

The above costs were for summer 2021, and on top there was a registration fee of $1,000 if paid on or before the registration date, and $2,500 if paid after the registration date, along with $300 for accident insurance.

The difference as I found out after I attended the registration day (via zoom due to lockdowns) between regular and intensive is as follows:

• Regular course - 10 hours a week (2 hours per day 5 days a week) and will not meet student visa requirements on its own as the student visa requires 15 hours a week. However, with this course, a student can attend additional classes free of charge and/or self study to make up the additional 5 hours. Hours are counted on a monthly basis, and as such can miss a few hours one week and make them up in the following weeks or vice versa.
• Intensive course - 15 hours a week (3 hours per day 5 days a week) and will meet the student visa requirements on its own, without taking any additional classes and/or self studying.
• The schedule for the additional classes can be found here.

As mentioned in the previous post, need to choose one of the above four options and pay prior to knowing which courses will actually run. The A courses are more expensive than B as they contain smaller class sizes. If you sign up for a course costing less, for instance Regular B, and for whatever reason the course does not start, and you are placed in A instead, you will receive an invoice to pay the difference.

The placement test - after your application is approved you can take the placement test which requires your student number. The test is required if you took over 30 hours of lessons previously. The test and instructions can be found here.

Fee payment can be made online here. Can also print off the actual amount one needs to pay from here and proceed to pay it at a convenience store. alternatively can pay the tuition on registration day at NTNU.

With all of the above done, on registration day can log into NTNU to find the course you are actually enrolled in. This can be done through My NTNU, or at the top of the additional class schedule. I strongly recommend using the My NTNU login as there are more details there including class room or zoom links.

All you will know prior to the first day of class is which of the four classes above you are registered in. There is no way of telling at what level you have been placed. I was places in the beginner class, but I only knew this when I attended my first class.

With the process covered, the following is my experience with the class and school itself:

• First and foremost be ready to be treated as a child. For classes and for those with student visas, you will need to scan your student ID card before and at the end of each class for them to track hours. As my course is being delivered over zoom due to the lockdowns, attendance is taken virtually and the classes are recorded
• Self study - when classes take place in person, there is a section of the school marked as the self study area. Need to scan the student ID card when entering and leaving for them to track self study hours. over zoom, need to submit 3 pictures to the teacher, once when starting self study, in the middle and at the end.
• During the first class we were told that for those that will be seeking employment in Taiwan after taking courses, employers not only get the transcript but also the attendance record.
• Homework - there is daily homework given, and it needs to be submitted to the teacher daily for marking
• There will be a line group set up for your class, and the teacher will add you as well. The homework is comprised of speaking and writing, which gets submitted through line to the teacher.
• 
  While my course may be called beginner level it is anything but beginner. If one is an absolute beginner and interested in enrolling at NTNU I highly recommend you take some courses to prepare. At least to know pinyin, the tones, and some characters. As classes are daily, the pace is rapid. You will learn vocabulary, sentence structure and characters from day 1. The expectation is to be able to pick up around 50 words and characters a week. 
• The fact that you only choose between A and B groupings, means there are no actual predefined courses or levels. The school has the ability to alter everything based on enrollment.
• A portion of the test at the end of the first week is in the images.
• The textbooks for the courses can be found in PDF form here. Alternatively, the textbooks can be purchased from the following stores:
• NTNU bookstore - https://shtabook.com/
• NTU bookstore - https://www.eslite.com/
• ebooks and actual books - https://www.linkingbooks.com.tw/

My overall experience and summary:

• Taking courses in Taiwan is definitely a culture shock. I am not used to having daily classes, having attendance and homework tracked, and not knowing what course I am enrolled in
• In a certain way it does feel like a university course, as you are required to do most of the work outside of the classroom
• Unless something drastically changes, I have decided that following this course, I will study mandarin by signing up for Canadian courses, instead of taking them locally for the following reasons:
• Universities and colleges in Canada all offer mandarin courses via online learning most using Blackboard
• Each school offers 5-6 courses from beginner to advances and you sign up at the level that matches your abilities, either on your own or by taking a placement test
• Each course is delivered by classes twice a week, each being 2-3 hours long depending on the school
• The cost of a course in Canada is about a third of the cost in Taiwan
• A few schools that offer mandarin courses are:
• University of Toronto - https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/languages-and-translation/language-learning/mandarin
• George Brown College - https://coned.georgebrown.ca/courses-and-programs/subject/chinese
• University of British Columbia - https://extendedlearning.ubc.ca/study-topic/chinese