Canadian students furthering their education in Taiwan

Burnaby South secondary teacher Tina Tsai sees the value of challenging her students. So to throw them in the deep end, so to speak, she decided to take five Mandarin-
language learners on a two-week trip to Taiwan. There, they had to immerse themselves in the culture and take turns leading the group around the capital city of Taipei.

In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Tsai said that she wanted her students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life experiences. The students were from grades 9 to 12, and they met for two hours every Tuesday after school to prepare for the trip, which occurred during spring break in 2014.

“They really bonded as a group,” Tsai said. “They understood that they all played a part in this program.”

Tsai, who was born in Taipei, set a strict budget and let them know that they would have to use their Mandarin skills to buy tickets, ask for directions, and read maps. Once they arrived, she told them that they each had to act as tour guides. She wasn’t going to help them navigate their way around the city.

“Originally, the idea was ‘How can we make an overseas experience really focus on the students?’ ” she said. “The outcome has become so much more than that.”

One of the Grade 12 students, a Caucasian female, went on to study second-year Mandarin in her first year of university. According to Tsai, this student is planning to spend a year in China or Taiwan to continue improving her Mandarin skills. Another student subsequently planned a graduation trip with friends to different parts of Asia. A third student on the trip later went on a one-year exchange program to Germany.

“He has talked about his experience in Taiwan and how that made him feel comfortable and independent,” Tsai said. “He knew that he could do this one-year overseas exchange at such a young age.”

This is just one of several ways in which Canadian students are furthering their education in Taiwan, an East Asian island nation of 23 million.

Grace Ou, director of the education division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, told the Georgia Straight that the Taiwanese government offers two types of scholarships. Canadian students can apply to enroll in a master’s or PhD program in Taiwan and receive 25,000 new Taiwan dollars (CDN$1,000) per month to offset living and tuition costs. Those in master’s programs receive these payments for up to two years; PhD students can collect the money for up to four years. Many of the students receiving these scholarships attend National Chengchi University or National Taiwan University.

“Most of them are doing an MBA,” Ou said. “These courses are taught in English, so it’s convenient for them.”

Undergraduate students can apply for enrichment scholarships to study Mandarin in Taiwan. Ou said that they also receive 25,000 new Taiwan dollars per month for a maximum of two months.

There are also opportunities for young Canadians to go on working holidays in Taiwan through the Youth Mobility Program, which is open to people between the ages of 18 and 35. Each year, approximately 100 Canadians take advantage of this, according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver.

One-year visas are available to Canadian citizens living in Canada who have not previously gone to Taiwan under the Youth Mobility Program. The main purpose of the trip must be an internship, work placement, pre-employment training, or travelling in Taiwan while working to supplement existing financial resources. Successful applicants are not allowed to bring dependents.

For more information on working holidays and scholarships in Taiwan, visit the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver website.