CET Greater China

This was my first time traveling to Taiwan and it certainly did not disappoint! I studied abroad during the Fall 2022 semester when COVID-19 regulations were strict, so there were some notable differences. For example, I was required to stay in a quarantine hotel for a week after my arrival and I lived in an apartment with four other CET students as my roommates. During my quarantine, CET held orientation remotely, which made it difficult for me to connect with other students in my cohort. The transition from remote to in-person was stressful but also exciting. Because CET was unable to host a large start-of-program meal, they instead funded a meal for me and my roommates so we could get to know each other better. While my beginning study abroad experience suffered due to COVID-19, I applaud CET in its efforts to recoup the excitement that comes with starting one's time abroad.

Because Taipei is such a rich city with plenty of attractions and historical landmarks, I was extremely thankful for the cultural activity reimbursement CET offered. It encouraged me to explore everything Taipei and Taiwanese culture had to offer. In addition, CET also hosted some cultural excursions to places outside of Taipei which were packed to the brim with historical and cultural learning as well as social experiences with Taiwanese locals. My personal favorite trip was to Pinglin Tea Farm where we learned about the tea-making process!

As for Chinese language speaking opportunities, CET set me up with a Taiwanese language partner from NTU who was the perfect match for me. We shared some common interests but diverged in our cultural backgrounds allowing us to converse about our similarities and learn about each other's differences. While I was glad that CET offered language partners and daily 3-hour long Chinese language classes, I wished that there was a language pledge enforced in apartments, so I could improve my Chinese speaking even more. Regarding the daily commute, it was around 30 minutes to class for me (10 minutes to the subway station and 20 minutes by bike). However, I was fortunate enough to live directly next to an MRT station. Some students lived 10 to 15 minutes away from an MRT station, which made commuting much more time-consuming.

Towards the middle of the program, I was feeling pretty homesick at the time, so I sought out a therapist while studying abroad. The health insurance provider's app was extremely easy to navigate and helped connect me with an in-network therapist. While it took a few weeks to process at the clinic, the insurance provider covered five individual therapy sessions for me. It was a pleasant but welcomed surprise as most health insurance providers in the U.S. don't cover mental treatment and only physical ailments.

Overall, I had a terrific, unforgettable, and fulfilling experience with CET Taiwan and I would encourage other college students to seriously consider studying abroad in Taiwan when looking at Mandarin Chinese language programs abroad.

I spent the summer of 2023 with CET in Beijing, the first CET group back in mainland China after the pandemic. While I was initially nervous about going to China, it was clear that CET was fully prepared for the challenges we might run into, and had planned an amazing two months for us. Besides the intensive language courses, the two months included a five-day trip to Chengdu, optional weekend cultural activities, a forum with Renmin University, weekly extracurricular classes, and more. CET also helped us set up phones and bank accounts in China, one of the aspects I was most worried about before going.
CET's Chinese course was a challenge, but a challenge with clear rewards, which I would emphasize to students interested in language study but worried about whether it’s worth it to go abroad. Over the course of two months, I progressed from only being able to read short, artificial dialogues in a textbook, to being able to read Chinese short stories. Before I came to China, I couldn’t have an everyday conversation in Chinese; now, I have multiple friends from Beijing I keep in touch with only in Chinese, and I gave speeches in Chinese at the forum and at our graduation ceremony. In our first martial arts class, I could hardly understand what the teacher was saying; by our last one, I could be coached through a martial arts routine only in Chinese. While the day-to-day workload could sometimes feel overwhelming, we truly made progress every single day. Additionally, our wonderful teachers took us on excursions to practice Chinese in Beijing, such as a Chinese bookstore, a hutong museum, and a restaurant selling traditional Beijing foods. Every Friday, after our exams we had "Chinese Table" with them, eating authentic food at a local restaurant.
I also enjoyed that CET Beijing had a satisfying balance of pre-scheduled activities and free time. The scheduled activities were so unique--we ate takeout hot pot on a livestream for the restaurant Haidilao while in Sichuan, for example. This free time allowed us to become more confident and independent in experiencing Beijing ourselves, learning to take the subway, visit museums, even plan independent travel for the weekend. It also gave me more confidence in the possibility of returning to travel in China myself in the future. One small caveat, I do wish the CET program organizers had planned a trip for us to the Forbidden City and/or the National Museum, the two most famous tourist sites in Beijing, but which were difficult to get tickets for.
Finally, CET paired us with language partners, graduate students at the university, which might have been my favorite part of the program, something I wish I had taken advantage of earlier on. Only in the last few weeks of the program did I truly appreciate this special opportunity to make friends with people from completely different backgrounds than us, and I’m so glad I had that realization and then spent more time having meaningful exchange with Chinese students.
I would add: while CET sets up the opportunities and schedule to have a great summer abroad, it’s ultimately up to the individual student to take advantage of these opportunities, to keep an open mindset, and to fully immerse themselves in the experience in order to have the best possible experience. I’m so grateful that was my experience, and I would recommend any student interested in China or Chinese to consider this program.

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.