CET Greater China

CET Taiwan was a well run program. At it's core is an intensive Chinese language program, 3 hours a day, everyday. There is no language pledge, so the program is suitable for all levels. There are internship opportunities available but the level of Mandarin needed varies. For students who want a full language immersion program, I might consider ICLP, literally upstairs in the same building where CET classes are held. Taiwan is beautiful and filled with friendly people. The food, travel and night life scene is very approachable and affordable. You can stretch the dollar a long way in Taiwan. Engaging with local Taiwanese students was also very cool as an American. If you are looking for an experience to expand your view of Taiwan beyond the televised military pressure, studying abroad in Taiwan will be worthwhile. Rewarding, challenging, well worth it.

I enrolled in CET Taiwan during the spring semester of my sophomore year. Initially, I felt a bit overwhelmed since it was my first time traveling abroad on my own, however, I quickly adapted to life in Taipei. Even as a beginner speaker I was able to easily navigate public transportation, which CET covers. My only criticism is that classes are very fast paced, so retaining information from past lessons might be an issue. Additionally, housing is left up to chance. Although I was lucky enough to live in an Airbnb close to campus, some of my friends had over a 30 minute commute. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Taiwan. I had the opportunity to explore, form friendships, and create lasting memories that I will treasure for years to come.

I enrolled in the summer 2023 term of CET Taiwan (located in Taipei) as a recent college graduate, and I will continue with the program through its fall term. I tried to manage my expectations for my study abroad experience before arriving, and I can honestly say that all expectations were exceeded. I selected CET precisely because of how much effort the staff appeared to invest in cultivating a rich extracurricular experience for participants. After studying Mandarin for several years, I knew that mere classroom learning would not lead to fluency, and I wanted a program that would offer me plentiful opportunities to use Mandarin 1) outside of the classroom and 2) with locals. CET Taiwan did precisely that! Every week a newsletter is sent out to program participants that contains a host of extracurricular opportunities for that week, from classical operas and experimental circuses to cooking and musical instrument classes. All of these extracurriculars are led or taught by local organizations/partners, providing participants with a more authentic experience of Taipei and Taiwan as a whole. Additionally, I was very surprised to discover that CET Taiwan reimburses students for outings with their language partners (more on those later), participation in weekly classes in their community (such as music lessons), and personal cultural excursions.

I also appreciated the academic challenge of CET. All CET Taiwan students take classes through the Chinese Language Department at National Taiwan University, colloquially referred to as the "Harvard of Taiwan." I had a very positive academic experience, and though I am not yet fluent in Mandarin (I have realized that attaining fluency will be a lifelong journey), I have progressed in every area of the language, and I can credit much of that growth to being under the tutelage of my specific instructor. CLD has first-rate Mandarin teachers; thus, CET students more often than not have a first-rate academic experience. As someone who exclusively studied simplified Chinese characters before enrolling in CET Taiwan, the transition to traditional characters in (and outside of) the classroom can be frustrating at times, but my instructor was personally very patient and supportive through that process. Additionally, my instructor allowed me to complete homework assignments and assessments in simplified characters, and I'm grateful that I can now (somewhat) comfortably navigate both writing systems as a result of that dual learning arrangement.

I can also credit much of my growth to my weekly meet-ups with my local language partners, a special feature of all CET programs. Language partners are local college students that engage in language exchange with CET participants through weekly meet-ups organized by both individuals. I know some people that were unable to cultivate close relationships with their language partners, but I was fortunate enough to have two partners, both of whom were eager to meet several times per month with me. I look forward to continuing to nurture those relationships next term.

I also greatly appreciated the constant support of CET Taiwan staff. It's a small group, yet they always make themselves available to help students with all of their needs. From day 1, they are willing to answer calls and messages 24 hours a day.

Finally, my housing situation this term does not warrant any complaints. All CET students are assigned to off-campus apartments with other CET participants, as well as one or two local roommates. It was safe, comfortable, and incredibly conveniently located. Some CET students are assigned to apartments much farther from the NTU campus, but there are benefits in that too, as those students were able to become familiar with and establish roots in another district/area of Taipei.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this program to any college students or recent graduates that want to challenge themselves personally and academically, improve their Mandarin fluency, and experience the beauty and wonder of Taiwan. 加油！

I honestly had an amazing time while staying in Taiwan and I really felt like I learned a lot. The program can get overwhelming and a bunch of students had major burnout by the end, but I think we all appreciated how much we learned. We get reimbursed for certain activities we do during our stay, but some of us thought we would have preferred paying out of pocket and just having a lower program cost. Housing is a kind of 'luck of the draw' in terms of quality and location. Lots of pressure in the last week as you have to move out immediately after you take your finals.

This was easily the best experience I've had during my undergrad years! Spending time in a country with a new language, new culture, and new people was so eye-opening and I know for sure that I grew personally and academically during my 3 months in Taiwan. I had never been away from home before going on this adventure and so the first couple of weeks there was a lot of re-adjusting and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. But after this experience, I am a true believer in the sentiment of "you can't grow unless you make yourself uncomfortable." I would not have met the amazing people and seen the beautiful places if I didn't go outside of my comfort zone and so my advice to anyone contemplating studying abroad and is fearful of so much 'new' at one time, it truly is worth it!

CET Taiwan was truly a great experience, although be warned that, while it is a study abroad program, it is much more academic intensive than many other programs. Students take three hours of Chinese classes per day, 5 days per week. The classes themselves do not feel like they take that much time, but the amount of daily homework often meant sacrificing time that could otherwise be used to explore Taipei, the rest of Taiwan, or engage in cultural activities. CET also requires either an internship or elective; I chose the elective. There are not many options to choose from, and while these only meet once per week for three hours, you can only miss one class because CET has such strict academic policies, and the amount of homework per week is not insignificant.

CET does provide a number of cultural activities for students which is especially great at the beginning of the semester when you don't yet know many people or feel comfortable exploring new places on your own. What really made the program great was that CET provided cultural reimbursements; while what qualified as a 'cultural activity' was sometimes a bit strict, it overall made it so that students on a budget could still explore the island.

The location of the program is amazing. Located right in Taipei, it is very convenient to take public transportation to classes or to go explore the rest of Taiwan. CET provided housing for all students, although even with public transportation, my provided apartment was still 45 minutes away from the classroom building. Taiwan has lots of things to do, whether you like exploring nature and going on hikes, swimming in the ocean, or finding museums and trying new foods.

CET Taiwan was a very fun and memorable program. On the program, you undergo an intensive Chinese program, where you are learning and practicing Mandarin on a day-to-day basis. The classes are fun, and CET prepares many resources for students, such as off-campus living arrangements, local roommates, an internship option, elective course, and optional cultural activities and field trips sprinkled throughout the semester. Taipei is a very big, fun, and convenient city, and it's great for students to both learn and experience. However, the semester is condensed into three semesters, so having a CET elective course on top of the Chinese course can feel a little overwhelming. However, if you're looking for internship experience, then CET is a great opportunity.

I loved CET Taiwan mostly for the reason that it was in Taiwan. Classes were overall fine, and I made a couple really close friends, but the island's food, activities, and different cities all were the most memorable.

You only take a Chinese language course and an elective course, so the academic course load isn't that heavy. I really enjoyed the Chinese course because I had an understanding and capable teacher and my classmates were all fun to be around. My professor for this class made an effort to get to know each of us on a personal level. I love to sew and so did she, so we would talk about this during break times, and she even gave me a Qipao sewing pattern that I could take back with me to the states. The class moves very quickly, but this wasn't a huge deal to me because the language placement test was pretty accurate. I took the internship class for my elective course, and if you're planning on doing this program, this is the course I'd recommend. The internship class itself felt like mostly busy work, and I don't think I gained a whole lot from it. However, the internship placement was a lot of fun and really hands on. I interned at a news station, and was out in the field shadowing reporters every shift, so I gained a lot from that experience.

Even when I wasn't in class or internship, I still found that I was busy all the time. Honestly, I was exhausted and sleep deprived most of the semester, but because I filled my whole schedule, I got to experience a lot of Taiwan. I went on day trips or overnight trips on the weekend (most of which are pretty affordable), and during the week, I would go to new places in Taipei. My all time favorite trip was a weekend trip with my roommate to an island in the south called Xiaoliuqiu and a city called Taizhong. Travel was a bit stressful, but the train system is pretty convenient. We spent about half a day at Xiaoliuqiu, which had perfect warm weather for snorkeling and some good street snacks. Then at night, we traveled back up to Taizhong where we spent the whole next day touring. The Gaomei wetlands were super cool though a little rainy. We also went on a two hour bike ride in the pouring rain to get to a subway station to take us into the city, which in theory does not sound fun, but looking back it is my favorite part of the semester.

Its really hard to manage time while abroad, especially since everyone back home was on a complete opposite time zone, so phone calls always ran really late into the night. Time went by fast, so I felt a pressure to do as much as possible, which has it's upsides and downsides. I could have balanced my time better, but I know I would have regretted not doing some activities, so I wouldn't change anything even if I could.

My favorite part about being in Taiwan was the food. It is really yummy, affordable, has lots of options, and usually pretty quick and convenient. If I ever found myself doing nothing in my apartment, I would go out with a friend to a new place to eat. There are so many boba shops around Taipei, I had it so many times I got sick of it (did not think that was possible).

CET also gave us reimbursements for daily public transportation, meeting with language partners, and doing cultural activities. All of these motivated me to try things that normally I wouldn't because I didn't have to worry about the cost of it. I loved going to tea houses, but they tend to be on the pricier side, so the cultural reimbursement made it possible for me to go more than just one time.