ICLP’s Approach to
Learning Chinese:
Taipei’s National Taiwan University (NTU) is home to one of
the most prestigious Mandarin language programs in the world. The International
Chinese Language Program (ICLP) focuses on improving students’ scholarly speaking
abilities. ICLP alumni praise the program for the dramatic results it produces.
So, what is the secret to ICLP’s success?
The program prides itself on its unique approach to
learning. ICLP bases its curriculum on “5 Principles” and “8 Actions.” Students
that adopt the “5 Principles” and consistently utilize the “8 Actions” are
guaranteed to drastically improve their Chinese speaking abilities in only a
matter of eight weeks.
Let’s examine ICLP’s 5 Principles:
Focus on Content
Relevant to You At ICLP, the
administrators and professors tailor the curriculum to their students’ needs.
With many students hoping to use Chinese in their academic coursework and in
their future professions, the program focuses on teaching Mandarin for
scholarly use. They have found students are better able to retain information
that is relevant to them. Ultimately, the program aims to prepare students to
use Chinese in their everyday academic and professional lives after leaving the
program.
Use the Language to
Communicate As students begin to
learn the language, it is critical that students use what they learn to
communicate. Students’ communications will reinforce what they learn in the
classroom. To encourage this principle, ICLP is a language immersion program.
Students must sign a pledge to speak only Chinese while at school and are
encouraged to continue utilizing Chinese as they explore Taiwan. In such an
environment, students learn from both their professors and their classmates.
Prioritize
Understanding the Message At ICLP,
learning is believed to come through understanding. When learning Chinese,
students are tempted to prioritize learning what characters look like before
learning their meaning. Ultimately, the message is more important for
communication. For this reason, the program is structured to emphasize
listening comprehension and speaking.
Emphasize
Physiological Training To reinforce
successful learning, it is critical that physiological training be a
cornerstone of your language study. Because Chinese is a tonal language,
students who pay attention to tones early on will have a more wholesome
understanding of the language and find greater success in their communications.
Your
Psycho-Physiological State Matters
The last, and what ICLP coordinators believe to be the most critical
principle in the study of the Chinese language is approaching the learning
process with passion and a positive mindset. We will all face our own
difficulties throughout the course of our language study, but only those who embrace
optimism and maintain their passion for Chinese language and culture will be able
to persevere.
Now, let’s examine ICLP’s 8 Actions:
Listen A Lot While beginners may not be able to
communicate effectively, they can improve their communication skills more
quickly through active listening. Listening can take place both in and outside
of the classroom. Also, because Chinese
is a tonal language, it is critical that students listen to perfect their own
speaking and pronunciation. ICLP creates a great environment for listening as
students and teachers each agree to speak only Chinese on campus. While
beginner students may be overwhelmed at first, they find themselves recognizing
new words and phrases each day to use in their own communications.
Focus on Meaning
before Words Instead of simply
memorizing what characters look like, ICLP encourages students to use what they
learn to increase their overall understanding of the Chinese language and
culture. When learning characters, it is critical that students learn the
meaning and history behind the words. This meaning-based approach to language
study reinforces the learning process and the student’s memory.
Start Mixing At ICLP, language instructors believe in
teaching roughly equal parts nouns, verbs, and adjectives. As you diversify
what you learn, you will be able to communicate more effectively and on a
broader range of subjects.
Focus on the Core Instead of teaching Chinese as a progression
from simple to challenging words and sentence structures, at ICLP the teaching staff
focuses on “the core.” To get students communicating in Chinese more quickly,
ICLP prioritizes teaching high frequency vocabulary that will form the core of
a student’s every day and professional communications.
Get a Language
“Parent” To reinforce what students
learn in the classroom, and to foster ongoing language use students are
encouraged to get a language parent. A student’s language parent is anyone they
can practice their Chinese with on a regular basis. Without a language parent,
students are more likely to not use their Chinese outside of the classroom. A
language parent is a critical part of the long-term learning process.
Copy the Face For students focused on improving their
speaking abilities, copying the face is important. Pronunciation can be
perfected by both listening and mirroring. Students that pay attention to
nuanced facial expressions and how words are enunciated will achieve quicker
success.
Establish a Direct
Connection to Mental Images While
ICLP emphasizes speaking, they do encourage students to attach mental images to
words to help remember the various Chinese characters. Creating such
connections will reinforce a student’s reading skills as well as speaking.
Focus on
Syntax/Syntactic Rules To
effectively communicate using Chinese, focusing on syntax is crucial. Without a
working knowledge of Chinese syntactic rules, one will not be able to master
the language. So, at ICLP students focus on learning these rules and applying
them to their daily communication. In the immersive environment, these
syntactic rules are reinforced and students begin communicating more
accurately. With the goal of producing academic speakers, ICLP instructors work
to diversify students’ knowledge of syntactic rules.
As I begin my summer studies at NTU, I will embrace ICLP’s
approach to language study. I can only hope that this method will improve my
speaking abilities as it has all the students before me.
Katelyn DeNap
George Washington University - Elliott School of International Affairs
M.A. Security Policy Studies
Organization of Asian Studies – Vice President
Sigur Center 2017 Asian Language Fellow
National Taiwan University - International Chinese Language Program, Taiwan
