2021/05/26．Wenzao Cultivates Cross-disciplinary Talents through EMI Program to Connect with Industries and the World

The Best with 55 Years of Expertise

Back in 1966, Wenzao was the first college of languages in Taiwan.

Now in 2021, Wenzao is still the only university of languages in Taiwan.

What has not changed over 55 years is the same mission and spirit of education.

See the world at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages.

Use languages as a bridge that connects you and the world.

     The Ministry of Education (MOE) is zealously promoting the establishment of benchmark bilingual universities and international colleges to realize the goal of “25-20-20” by 2024. “25-20-20” means at least 25% of sophomore students in a school should show English fluency and proficiency by achieving CEFR B2 in listening, reading, speaking, and writing; and at least 20% of sophomore students and first-year graduate students in the school should take all-English courses that account for at least 20% of the credits they take in a given year. While schools are still working toward realizing that goal, Wenzao is already able to exhibit its achievements of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) over the years with great confidence.

     Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages is the first and only university of languages in Taiwan. Established by the Roman Union of the Order of St. Ursula in 1966, Wenzao takes providing diversified education to students as its primary mission. At first, Wenzao’s faculty consisted mostly of foreign clergy, making the school the most internationalized school in the 1960s. Holding up the philosophy of whole person education, Wenzao provides professional language education and training to students, striving to cultivate language professionals with international perspectives to serve society and the country. Apart from having all language departments teach classes in their respective target languages, Wenzao also requires all students to take courses of the “general English program”, so as to integrate its English teaching resources, promote English and digital learning as the characteristics of its education, and improve students’ communication skills to connect with the world. Students must complete 24 credits to graduate. Such a requirement enables students to have more intensive and immersive language-learning experiences than the 6 to 12 credits required by other universities. All courses in the program are taught in English to sharpen students’ English abilities.

    In addition to making English a common subject across all language departments, in response to the MOE’s plan of cultivating international talents, after its transformation into a university, Wenzao has been encouraging teachers to offer EMI courses. Since the 2014 Academic Year, Wenzao has opened as many as 495 EMI courses across all departments, institutes, and centers of its four colleges, including English reading and writing for children, German cultures, basic Spanish, economics and trade of Europe, international integrated marketing and public relations, U.S. government and politics, and English for mass media. Wenzao’s Department of Foreign Language Instruction is the only department among universities in Taiwan that cultivates talents to teach English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The Department of International Affairs focuses on offering knowledge of international affairs. Both departments teach classes in English to develop students’ abilities to grasp situations and trends in the international community. Students of the Department of International Affairs are constant winners of scholarships provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Department has seen the highest number of award winners among universities and colleges in Taiwan since 2019. Lin Wen-dong, a graduate of the 5th graduating class of the master program of the Department of International Affairs, has even been admitted to the doctoral program in political economy of the Department of Political Science of National Cheng Kung University as the top candidate, setting an example for other younger students to follow.

      EMI courses have long been a critical part in all departments and institutes at Wenzao. They have attracted international students to study at Wenzao and provided local students with opportunities to interact with peers from across the world. Wenzao has won the recognition of Cheers Magazine and Global Views Monthly with its exceptional performance; it has ranked No.1 among private universities for eleven consecutive years in the category of global view and foreign language capacity, which is one of the nine major ability indicators in the evaluation. Wenzao has laid a solid foundation for its all-English campus. In addition to the nine-level English proficiency rating system, Wenzao has also been providing students with free online language courses and consultation through the one-of-a-kind Language Diagnostic & Consulting Center (LDCC) established in 2017. It has also encouraged interactions between multilingual volunteers and international study companions, as well as provided complete teacher empowerment mechanisms and Taiwan’s first ever “teaching through English” certificate and training to facilitate the development of the all-English campus and improve its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market.

      With more than half a century of experiences, Wenzao has cultivated 38,000 outstanding Wenzaorians through its EMI program and seen them contribute in such areas as language teaching, international trade, tourism and hospitality, academic research, and foreign affairs across the five continents. Diego Wen, the newly appointed Ambassador from Taiwan to Honduras; President Yu Nai-fong of Mandarin Power International Enterprise Co., Ltd.; President Yuan Yun-jie of Kiss Radio; General Manager Owen Chiu of Andaz Xiamen Hotel of Hyatt Group; and Founder Nana Li of the World Without Suffering Organization are all Wenzao alumni. In the face of the transformation in higher education, Taiwan is in need of a large number of professionals with foreign language abilities. With its excellence in EMI and internationalization, Wenzao helps students stay relevant to the time and the world, thereby realizing the goal of “bringing the world to Wenzao and leading students to the world.”