Mandarin Training Center, National Taiwan Normal University

[etm001]

Hi,

For anyone studying at the MTC at NTNM: have you needed to a computer specifically to support your class work and/or homework? I am enrolling in the fall of 2012, and I'm considering taking just my 3G iPad, along with a bluetooth keboard (such as a Zagg Portfolio). The things that can't be done from the iPad are:

• Print to a printer (unless it supports AirPrint).
  
• View Flash content or potentially some other specialized web content.
  
• Listen to (i.e., an audio CD accompanying a textbook, etc.)
  

I like the idea of traveling light to Taiwan. With a wireless keyboard, there's a lot that can be done with the iPad. I'm intersted to hear everyone's thoughts.

Thanks!

[OneEye]

There is a computer lab on the 6th floor, and maybe on other floors (I don't use them except to print stuff). You can do all of that from there is you want. There are also two listening labs too. Personally, I couldn't possibly imagine moving here without my laptop, but to each his own. Then again, I don't own an iPad either.

[Robotea]

Dear OneEye,

Thanks for an awesome post, very helpful. I'll be starting my class this fall and I'm looking forward to it.

Regards.

[etm001]

As always, thanks OneEye. And yes, not having a laptop does make me a little nervous, but I think I can do almost everything on my iPad that I can on my laptop (excluding the items I noted).

[etm001]

Hi,

This might not be the appropriate thread (mods, feel free to move this post), but it'd be great to know who is currently attending MTU or who will be starting this autumn.

• OneEye: currently attending
  
• Robotea: fall 2012
  
• etm001: fall 2012
  

[doggylover14]

OneEye~

I just got to Taipei a couple days ago just finished registration from MTC today. I had a question about classes. So I only learned in class how to write in simplified characters (not standard). I can read standard, which is how I've been able to get by these last couple days, but I was wondering, do I need to teach myself standard within these next 7 days (class starts July 2nd). I'm kinda freaking out because that's like A LOT to try and relearn. Will teachers at MTC accept simplified?

[OneEye]

If I were you, I'd start learning how to write the traditional characters now. It's not too hard to adapt, though of course there will likely be some characters that give you problems. The teachers at MTC know, of course, that most people who have studied Chinese anywhere else in the world will probably have learned simplified characters. They're pretty understanding about that, but they'll also encourage you to adapt to the "correct" characters (正體字 as my first term teacher called them) as quickly as you can. And by encourage, I mean they'll start deducting points from your 聽寫 tests. That's not a big deal though, and I have known of people who told their teachers that they wanted to stick with simplified since they will only be here a short time. Some teachers are completely cool with that, some aren't.

Don't waste your 端午節 weekend worrying about it though. Go see the dragon boat races and eat some 粽子!

[Meng Lelan]

Are there summer grad courses there?

[kimmieting]

Hi..Is there anyone attending this September?I would like to look for people to look for a place to stay together ;)

[OneEye]

Meng Lelan,

What I meant when I talked about grad students here in the summer was that I thought they might come here for the summer to brush up or improve their language skills, not that they're actually taking graduate courses (as in, for graduate credit). MTC only teaches non-credit language courses, and whether the credit for those courses will actually transfer or not is up to your university.

kimmieting,

Post #45 in this thread has a short list of those of us who have said we'll be at MTC this fall. When you're looking for a place, make sure to check the bulletin board on the 7th floor at MTC, as there are always a lot of ads up for apartments.

[etm001]

Hi,

If anyone else is starting in September and looking for a place to stay, please post a message. Perhaps a few of us can rent an apartment together.

[itsvince]

Thanks! good information.

[Meng Lelan]

MTC only teaches non-credit language courses, and whether the credit for those courses will actually transfer or not is up to your university.

So are you planning to take graduate level courses in Taiwan or in the US eventually?

[kimmieting]

Yeap i know about the bulletin board...but i will b in taipei next month for holiday for a few days..and i thought of looking for a place during this trip. But its kinda abit of a rush if i have to go look at the board and make appointments last minute do theu rent out for only 3 months?

[kimmieting]

Etm001...can i have your email add?

[OneEye]

So are you planning to take graduate level courses in Taiwan or in the US eventually?

The plan is to do another year at MTC, then my MA here in Taiwan, and then return to the US for my PhD.

kimmie,

There is another recent thread here with some helpful info, though perhaps you've already seen it. As far as whether they'll rent to you for only 3 months, that's going to depend on the individual landlord. I would imagine that if they're advertising at MTC they may be more willing to do shorter lease terms (a lot of people only stay for one term).

[OneEye]

I thought I'd put this here rather than starting a new thread. I'd like to extend an open invitation to anyone coming to Taipei this fall who is interested in joining our Classical Chinese study group. We meet once per week near the MTC and have read some really interesting stuff so far (for instance, a call to overthrow the empress, a letter from Zhuge Liang, and recently a zombie/ghost story). If you've never studied Classical Chinese before, don't worry. We had all levels over the summer and it worked out really well. If there's interest, I plan on holding a short session before the main meeting each week, during which we'll go over the basics of Classical Chinese grammar in an informal setting (there's good beer, too).

Anyway, if you're interested, send me a PM. If you want to take a look at what we've been doing with the group, you can check out the Grand 文言文 Reading Project here at Chinese-forums.

[etm001]

Hello,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank OneEye for the great write-up about MTC (i.e., the first post in this thread). I just finished my first day of class at MTC today, and everything was exactly as OneEye described it (including the interminable wait for the elevators). I'm going to emphasize a few points OneEye made, as well as add some thoughts of my own.

Registration and Placement

As OneEye noted, you will be given a placement test during registration, consisting of a one-on-one interview in Mandarin, as well as a computer-based, multiple choice listening and reading comprehension test. All aspects of the test (answers, reading passages, etc.) use traditional characters (of course), which tripped me up a bit. If you are ambitious and/or want to improve your score on this test, start learning traditional characters before you arrive. Traditional characters may feel a little overwhelming at first, but you get used to them fairly quickly.

My next recommendation (based partly on a chat I had with OneEye) is this: it's not necessarily a bad thing if you don't place into a level as high you wished. For example, in the week before class started, I got a copy of Practical Audio Visual Chinese, Level One, and read the entire book. "Hey, I know most of this vocabulary and grammar," I thought to myself, "I think I should place into Level Two". Well, I was placed into Level One. And although I've only had one class so far, my placement was correct - at the end of class my head was positively spinning. Why? Well, memorizing vocabulary and studying grammar is not too hard (IMHO). But being force to speak - and I mean really speak - and listen to the teacher talking at normal conversational speed was a real eye opener for me (and for my classmates as well, as judging by the looks on their faces). I would say my teacher spoke in Mandarin 98% of the class, and in English for the other 2% (only when it seemed really necessary). I'm not ashamed to admit that, at best, I only had the bare gist of what my teacher was saying during many parts of the class. And, even though this caused occasional panic, it's really for the best - what better way to learn, no?

My last comment about placement: MTC did a good job putting my class together. All eight of us seem to be right at the same level of proficiency; to that end, we're starting off at chapter six in PAVC1.

Your Teacher and Classmates

Again, OneEye said it all. Your teacher obviously had a huge impact, so don't be afraid to switch classes if you think it necessary. That said, I was really pleased with my teacher today - she was very energetic, upbeat, and engaging.

Your classmates are another factor to consider. If it seems like none of your peers really want to be there (and some of them don't, for sure), then you might want to consider switching your class. In my opinion, it would really suck to have to spend everyday, for three months, with a group of people who are unmotivated. And, yes, I'll agree with the Asian stereotype OneEye referenced in his first post - I've had several current and former MTC students say essentially the same thing to me, unprompted. And, although I've only had one class, I can say that the five Japanese students in my class were definite focused and engaged.

Another thing I found interesting was hearing my classmates speak Mandarin. We all had our own native accents and/or influences from prior teachers, etc. (I positively could not understand one of my Japanese classmates when she told me her age (55). Her "wu3" (五) was completely unintelligible to me. (I'm sure the same could be said of me as well. On a positive note, though, I was convinced I was going to be the oldest student, which I'm not). And, yet again, as OneEye noted, Mandarin is really the common language for most of us in class (excluding the other American and Brit. The Japanese students seems to know little English (or maybe they know more but are embarrassed to speak).

Pace of Advancement through each Level

I can't say much about this at the moment, other than that our teacher said we would complete one chapter every three to four days (I'm in the intensive class).

Supplementing Your Class Studies

I'm taking OneEye's advice and supplementing PAVC with Far East Everyday Chinese. I also have the complete Integrated Chinese series, which is a popular textbook in the States, and one which I find well written for native English speakers. I also recommend "Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar - A Practical Guide" by Claudia Ross and Jing-heng Sheng Ma. (An accompanying workbook is also available). I also have the "Chinese Breeze" graded readers, although they are written with simplified characters.

• Pro Tips
  
  • The best thing I ever did was scan all of the Mandarin study materials that I had collected back home for reading on my iPad. This saved me from having to lug those books to Taipei.
    
  • Pleco is the best thing that ever happened to Mandarin students, IMHO. It's available for iOS and Android. There's a free version, but I think it's well worth paying for the full version.
    
  • "Chinese Writer" is an iOS app that uses a game format to teach stroke writing and stroke order. I find it an entertaining way to learn characters and strokes (it's not a flashcard replacement, though). It's based on the HSK, which contains most (if not all) the characters a beginning student is likely to encounter.
    
  • Although you can practice writing and stroke order on an electronic device (iPad, etc.), you really need to practice on paper too. For me, there's something different about writing on paper, and the characters seem to sink in better, for whatever reason. (And besides, you'll need to write answers to quizzes and test on paper, so you might as well get used to it).
    

Things I Don't Like (So Far)

I should have more to say at the end of the quarter. For now, my biggest peeve is that PAVC includes Tongyong romanization, along with bopomofo, and pinyin. I think the legibility of the book suffers for this, and I hope Tongyong will be eliminated in future editions. Also, it's clear that PAVC is showing it's age a bit (disclaimer: I've only reviewed book one) and is due for a refresh.

Well, that's it for now - hope you found it helpful. Good luck!

[Meng Lelan]

I would say my teacher spoke in Mandarin 98% of the class, and in English for the other 2% it's really for the best - what better way to learn, no?

I agree. The first year Chinese classes at the Middlebury Summer Chinese School are conducted exactly like that and the results are impressive. Hopefully next summer or summer after next I can take class at MTC (or something similar).

[cpsm]

Hi all,

Thanks for the informative thread.

Is hanyu pinyin used at all in the curriculum? I'm from Malaysia and am thinking of going to MTC for a semester or two next year. All the (minimal) mandarin I've learned has been in simplified characters and hanyu pinyin. I'm not familiar with bopomofo, and am wondering if I should pick this up before going?

Also, would any of you happen to have Malaysians classmates?

I have a few local/visa related questions, and it would be great if I could ask someone with prior experience.