International Chinese Language Program
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Many applicants for Blakemore Foundation grants are unfamiliar with the Mandarin program offered by the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University, Taipei (the "ICLP"). Click here to read an analysis of the ICLP program by a 2008 Blakemore Freeman Fellow.
Originally established in 1963 as the Stanford Center, the program has offered intensive language training to students for over 40 years. Though the Stanford Center (now known as the "IUP") moved to Beijing's Tsinghua University in 1997, the program in Taipei continues under the aegis of National Taiwan University. It maintains its reputation as one of the finest programs for advanced Mandarin study in Asia.
Click here to read a comparison of the IUP-Tsinghua and ICLP-Taiwan programs from the perspective of a Blakemore Fellow who attended both programs during 2003-2005. Click here to read a comparison of the two programs from an individual who attended fall quarter 2004 at the ICLP and summer 2006 at the IUP.
Comments from Blakemore Fellows at the ICLP
"In my 8 years of formal Chinese language training, I have run the gamut of language programs, from American academia to Chinese (mainland) academia. ICLP is the best Chinese language program I have participated in. It is an elite Chinese language program for serious, driven students of the Chinese language. I have nothing but praise for ICLP: the teachers, the materials, the resources, the curricula, the technology (listening labs, audio-video equipment, etc.) the environment, etc., etc., are all top-notch. As such, the caliber of this program attracts a particular kind of student, i.e., the studious, curious, highly motivated kind! "
"I believe the ICLP is the best place in either China or Taiwan to study Chinese, and it certainly exceeded my expectations. . . Although I still need to consult dictionaries to completely understand a particular text, I have discovered that I can now scan articles and book chapters and get a good sense of their main arguments without having to rely on the dictionary. . . As for the teachers at ICLP, I must say that I have been extremely impressed not only with their enthusiasm but also with their training. These are teachers who for the most part are making a career out of teaching at ICLP, and many of them have MA degrees in language pedagogy or teaching Chinese as a second language, and this, coupled with the fact that many of them have years of first hand teaching experience, makes them extremely effective."
"My experience here at the ICLP has been very rewarding, both academically and personally. The teaching system and materials are excellent; the teachers are dedicated, well-trained, and personable; and the administration is warm, thoughtful, and organized."
"I came to Taiwan several weeks before classes started and found myself able to take care of basic tasks but struggling to have any kind of conversation. I listened to the radio, but only caught occasional phrases. I was reading Chinese, but often relying on a dictionary to get even the basic point of a sentence. So the first thing that struck me was that my Chinese was much worse than I had thought. I felt a little hopeless, suspecting that I was just bad at languages. When I first arrived at the ICLP, I spoke to the head of the program and she told me I would make rapid progress because I had a broad background in Chinese. She said this in Chinese, so I hardly understood her, and certainly did not believe her. Fortunately, her prediction came true . . . my Chinese made more progress than I ever thought possible. On my exit exam, I actually doubled my listening comprehension score, a result that even surprised my teachers. I think there are several reasons for this progress, the primary one being the excellence of the ICLP. All of my teachers were very skilled and almost all were very dedicated. They were particularly good at just the thing I needed – moving from passive to active knowledge of Chinese . . . I think that it was the most grueling period of study that I have had, and I think this intensity is the greatest strength of the ICLP program."
"The structure of the ICLP program, with its small class sizes and frequent teacher contact, is ideal for the advanced student. It allows the student to utilize literate vocabulary in a critical context while challenging the student to communicate in ever more complex ways."
"This continues to be the best language education I have ever received, and I believe that the intensive nature of the program is the foundation of the success of the ICLP curriculum. The students are all bright and motivated people, and the teachers are universally excellent. This is precisely the type of learning environment I have needed for quite some time."
"The teachers, as a whole, are skilled at doing two very difficult things at the same time. They help students understand their individual weaknesses and endeavor to work toward ameliorating their most pressing language problems, and they simultaneously take students from their strengths to their next strengths, encouraging the students to speak when they are engaged with the material and to pursue aspects of the language about which they are the most enthusiastic. This is rare. I can honestly and openly say that this is the best language instruction I have ever received."
"I arrived in Taipei in September expecting to enter a language program similar to the one offered through Sichuan University, in Chengdu, P.R.C., where I studied Chinese for the duration of last year. However, the program at ICLP is incomparable to any language program I have ever enrolled in before. It far surpasses the level of instruction offered on the mainland as well as language classes offered at the college level in the U.S. The teachers are excellently trained, with a thorough understanding of the Chinese language, in addition to a solid background in teaching Chinese as a second language. The pace of instruction is rapid, at times overwhelmingly fast, and the workload is exhausting, but as a result I have seen definite progress in my Chinese language ability."
