10/04/2016．Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages Signs Agreement with Rotary Club, Assisting 37 High School Students from 12 Countries to Learn Chinese

 




　
　

　

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Group photo of the students
 







 


October 4, 2016







 【News release: Public Relations Office】
     The effectiveness of Chinese language education of Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages has won the approval of the Rotary Club International. The Rotary Youth Exchange Program, organized by the Rotary International District 3510, helped arrange for 37 high school students from around the world to visit Kaohsiung for the purpose of conducting exchange learning. It commissioned the Department of Applied Chinese and Graduate Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language of Wenzao University to assist in the planning of Chinese language coursework. Today, the two sides organized the signing ceremony and opening ceremony. In the future, these international high school students will appear at the campus of Wenzao University every week to learn Chinese. Wenzao University has also made arrangements for instructors to assist each student in their individual learning.
     This time, the Rotary Club International arranged for 37 high school students from countries including France, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Italy, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Thailand and Croatia to visit Taiwan and take part in a 1-year-long exchange student program. The participants are assigned and will attend different high schools and vocational schools across Kaohsiung. An interesting thing to note is that many of these students took the names of famous artists, celebrities and poets. For example, there are students who took the name "Pauline Lan", "Jeff Chang", "Hu Ge" and even individuals called "Li Bai" and "Chang Chun-ya." This fun topic became a center of attention during the opening ceremony.
     Laura is a participant from France. The surname of her host family is "Lan". Seeing Laura"s attractive and lively appearance and noticing her passion for singing, they decided to name her "Pauline Lan". Vittor, an exchange student from Brazil, ended up taking the name "Li Bai" because the surname of his host family is "Li" and the Chinese character of "Bai" is easy to write. Vittor remarked that Li Bai was a famous poet, and he aspires to be like Li Bai in the future, seeking to exercise his influence in a specific discipline. Vittor hopes to enter the business world in the future. Believing that Chinese is a very important language, he decided to apply to the program and visit Taiwan as an exchange student. Vittor stressed that from his four week stay, he believes that Taiwan is a very safe place and also a country that is ideal for living.
     At the signing ceremony between Wenzao University and Rotary Club International, the Dean of Research and Development Kit Lam represented the school and Director Dean Liu of the Rotary International District 3510 Youth Exchange represented his organization. Other dignitaries showing up at the venue included several board members from Rotary Club International, the Dean of the College of Cultural and Education Innovation Hsu Chang-mo, Director of Department of Applied Chinese Hsiang Li-ping, and several professors from respective departments. Arrangements were also made to have Chinese language teachers conduct one-to-one interviews with the students for the purpose of Chinese class assignments. Over the coming six months, these high school students will visit Wenzao University every Monday and Thursday afternoon to take a total of six hours of Chinese classes. At the end of the program, Wenzao University plans to invite the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Hanyu to visit Wenzao and arrange the TOCFL exam to help the students evaluate their individual Chinese language skills. In the future, they can apply to study in Taiwan based on the score from this examination.        






Photo provided by Olivia Hsieh




 







Wenzao University and Rotary Club International sign an agreement
to promote quality Chinese language teaching program. 


International students Li Bai, Pauline Lan and Jeff Chang (from left to right)
 become classmates












International Students attend Wenzao University to learn the Chinese language. 

Address by Dean of Research and Development Kit Lam  






 




Address by Hsu Chang-mo, Dean of the College of
 Cultural and Education Innovation 


Address by Dean Liu, Director of Rotary International
District 3510 Youth Exchange Commission










Address by Hsiang Li-ping, Director of the Department of Applied Chinese

International students have a chance to meet each other.






Reporter Ko (left) from Chinatimes conducting an interview at the event site.
International students like the learning environment at Wenzao University.