Taiwan Huayu BEST Program at NCKU

The Chinese Language Center of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has received a grant to conduct the Taiwan Huayu BEST Programs from the Ministry of Education in May 2021. This grant aims to promote inter-university collaboration on Chinese language teaching and learning, including teaching materials, online resources/courses, Chinese proficiency tests, faculty exchanges, and study abroad in Taiwan.

NCKU has signed the collaboration agreements under the Taiwan Huayu Best grant with the following three universities:

1.     Auburn University (AU)Alabama, USA 

2.     Dixie State University (DSU)Utah, USA 

3.     The University ofCalifornia, Irvine (UCI), California, USA 

NCKU offers scholarships for 2 to 12 months to students of these three universities to study the Chinese language and Taiwanese culture at the Chinese language center. In addition, NCKU has also dispatched experienced teachers to the three partner universities to teach the Chinese language and promote Taiwanese cultures through workshops, fairs, and events. The three partner universities, in return, will send their faculty members from various fields to visit NCKU and help with faculty professional developments in bilingual education and English medium instruction.

The first group of scholarship awardees has started taking the Chinese courses at the Chinese Language Center in March 2022. During their free time, they also joined cultural exchange activities of different themes organized by local high schools and partner universities of NCKU. In the future, some scholarship awardees will take part in the bilingual education programs at nearby elementary schools as teaching assistants. Their participation will enrich the context of using English for learning and communication.

NCKU will open its first overseas Chinese language learning and teaching center at Auburn University in the fall of 2022. More cultural events and Chinese language courses will be organized for local communities. In addition, the Center plans to offer advanced placement courses of the Chinese language for high school students in the school districts around Auburn University and promote Taiwanese cultures to young American students. 

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