Taipei
Language Institute has been a pioneer in Chinese language
education since its founding in 1956. In terms of course
design, teaching materials and teacher training, TLI has
become a model as well as a strong competitor in the language
education field. Since the end of 1996, TLI has expanded
its program location from Taiwan to mainland China and Japan.
In spring 2000, TLI established an American campus in San
Jose, California. For over half a century, TLI has provided
Chinese language education to foreign students from five
continents. More than 100,000 students have completed its
courses to date and have become bilingual experts in the
fields of business and politics.
With its broad and profound content, Chinese culture has a long history and is considered an important and unique culture in the world civilization history of the last 8,000 years. More than one fifth of the world population currently uses the Chinese language . As one of the six official languages used by the United Nations, Chinese language imposes far-reaching influence throughout the world on culture, economy, politics, technology, literature, arts, and military affairs. Therefore, Chinese is becoming more important than ever for those who intend to study Chinese culture in the 21 st century.
Do you dream of accessing and controlling the Chinese market? Do you wish to become a dynamic member of the new economic era. If you master Mandarin Chinese, your future is in the palm of your hand. Discover your potential, study Mandarin Chinese at TLI, it's your best choice.
Cultural Study Tour at Roosevelt Center
Every summer, TLI organizes a 4-week or 8-week cultural study tour for young students. The mission is to improve Chinese language skills and cultural awareness for youths by providing an intensive study program in a pleasant atmosphere. Last summer, there was an intensive summer class with a small group of three cadets, who were Daniel Weitzenfeld, Julian Lam and Michelle Lam.
When ask about the reason of coming to Taiwan for Mandarin studies, Daniel said, "My uncle lives here, I ought to take advantage of it. It would be a million times more interesting than suburban New Jersey ; you can only go bowling so many times."
As for Michelle and Julian, they wanted to change the method of studies,instead of taking private lessons in Hong Kong , their parents chose TLI because of its reputation. Since their Chinese levels are not compatible, Director Yeh at Roosevelt Center arranged them into different classes. Besides three hours of Mandarin classes a day, they have the opportunity to get together for cultural classes and a series of cultural excursions. Weekly calligraphy classes were also held for the students and even Chinese martial art, taiji quan, was successfully attempted by them. A Chinese tea drinking class led by Ms. Belle Lee, was also arranged to help the students more thoroughly understand Taiwanese culture.
Students also were taken to visit to local sites of cultural interest every Tuesday afternoon. They visited the Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center and National Concert and Theater Halls, the National Palace Museum, Lungshan Temple, the Taiwan Folk Arts Museum, and the
Pei-Tou Hot Springs Museum. At the end of the program, the students found it hard to say goodbye to each other. Michelle said she would encourage anyone to participate in TLI's summer study tour. She found that it was the perfect opportunity to learn Chinese and meet friends. "My uncle and my mom both speak Mandarin, and they both warned me that I would need a sense of humor. Words like mamahuhu (so-so) and e (hungry) sound funny to the Western ear, as I am sure many English words do to the Eastern ear. Learning a foreign language also makes me realize a lot of things about my native tongue. ! never realized just how much I use tone and inflection when speaking English," says Daniel. Julian says friendly teachers and fellow students have made it easier to be away from his family. He already looks forward to his future Taiwan trips! (Language
• Spring 2001 • A Publication of the Taipei Language Institute)
包餃子
STUDENT LIFE IN BEIJING & SHANGHAI TLI-IYU Chinese Language Center student Ly Kimbery in Beijing finds extra curricular activities to be an important part of her studies. One of the many reasons I enjoy studying at TLI is because •••【continue→】
訪問市長馬英九Tour to Taipei City Hall TLI Students Grill Mayor Ma Ying-jeou-- On July 7% 2000, Taipei Language Institute took over 64 students on a tour to the Taipei City Hall to meet Mayor Ma Ying-jeou. Mayor Ma
, who is currently
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STUDENT PROFILE Learning a Language is Learning a Culture Amy Gibson is from the USA , and is currently studying Taiwanese with her husband at TLI Kaohsiung Center . In this article, she shares some of her experiences of learning •••【continue→】
Interview with Professor Branner from University of Maryland David Branner is a Professor of Chinese at the University of Maryland . During his short stay in Taipei , he has been coming to TLI Roosevelt Center to study Taiwanese. Recently Language Interaction had the opportunity to talk with Prof. Branner. •••【continue→】