Today I'm gonna write my experience attending mandarin class in Taiwan. I'd like to let you guys know that the Mandarin class I attended wasn't a university language course or a language program offered by foundations or universities in Taiwan. Some of you probably have no idea that Taiwan's immigration actually provides a Mandarin education program for new immigrants, and its completely free. I learned about this Mandarin class through TETO Indonesia while applying for my visa and also when I was getting my ARC done at the local immigration office. They recommended that I take this Mandarin class.
I attended this class from September to November 2023, held at one of the Elementary Schools, specifically at ååŪåå°. I was very excited when I found out that Immigration opened a class at a school quite close to my house because in previous batches, Immigration only opened classes in other districts. I immediately rushed to register because they only accept around 25 students and it's a 'first come, first served' system.
The reason why I signed up for this class is mainly to level up my Mandarin and hopefully meet some Indonesians fellow. Luckily, my name made the cut, phew!
But then, I checked out the other names on the list, and man, they were all new to me! I spotted just my Indonesian name and there was another that seemed like it could be from Indonesian. The rest? Well, they were either Vietnamese or sounded totally English but I still was keeping my hopes up, thinking maybe those English names actually belonged to some Indonesians in disguise.
On the first day of class, it hit me for real – As I predicted, there were actually two Indonesians in class but the other one was never around for the entire class duration. So, I ended up being the sole Indonesian soul in the room ðĒ my quest to find Indonesian pals crashed and burned. The majority of the students hailed from the Philippines and Vietnam. They effortlessly formed their own squads, sticking to their native tongues for conversations. It felt a bit isolating being the odd one out.
By the way, I totally misjudged this Mandarin class at first! I thought it would be for foreigners clueless about Mandarin, but nope—it's all about teaching first-grade level Mandarin for kids in Taiwan, and the entire instruction is in pure Mandarin ð It's completely different from what I expected. My Mandarin skills are a bit of a disaster, but thankfully, I had some prior exposure back in Indonesia (although I've forgotten a bunch), which surprisingly helped me keep up with what the teacher was saying.
What's been a lifesaver during class are my classmates from the Philippines. They're angels who always lend a hand by translating the teacher's words into English for me. I just found out that English is their second language in the Philippines, which explains why they're so fluent in it! So, during class, I can only converse and connect with these Filipino friends because they're the ones who speak English.
At the beginning of the class, we were given textbooks and exercise books from the school. The books they gave us were literally meant for first-grade elementary students in Taiwan, so they're filled with lots of cute and colorful pictures.
In the first few weeks, we learned Zhuyin Fuhao æģĻéģįŽĶč, commonly known as Bopomofo. By the way, for those who don't know what Zhuyin Fuhao or Bopomofo is, according to Wikipedia, Zhuyin Fuhao is the national phonetic system in Taiwan used to teach Chinese, especially Standard Mandarin, to Mandarin-speaking children who are not yet literate. In short, Zhuyin Fuhao is like the concept of the alphabet, but it's used to spell out words in Mandarin. In Indonesia, we know our ABCD, while in Taiwan, they learn ã
(be) ã (phe) ã (me) ã (fe), which is why it's often called Bopomofo.
Actually, back in Indonesia, I once briefly learned about the concept of Bopomofo, but it was just a passing thing. Now, it's like I'm diving headfirst into learning Zhuyin. It's a bit of a struggle for me because I'm still not used to reading those Zhuyin characters.
I thought we would learn Zhuyin Fuhao until the end of the class, but it turns out the material only goes until the middle of the class, and then we were given a new book by the school.
In the second book, we started learning about Hanzi. Hanzi refers to the Chinese characters we often see and read. Back when I was learning Mandarin in Indonesia, reading these Hanzi characters was usually aided by Pinyin written underneath them. However, here in Taiwan, for beginners and children, reading Hanzi is assisted by Zhuyin characters placed to the right of them.
You can see on the side of each Hanzi, there are Zhuyin symbols that help us read the Hanzi characters. It's actually not much different from Pinyin, but for me, who isn't used to reading Zhuyin characters, it feels like an extra step to read the Hanzi above it ð
Reading a Mandarin paragraph also follows the pattern of starting from the top right, moving downwards, and then continuing from right to left."
Oh, we're also taught about the origins of Hanzi characters. It's fascinating how these characters evolved from depictions of objects over time, culminating in the complex script we use today. However, the stark contrast between the original depictions and the current characters makes it quite challenging to commit them to memory. It's a bit of a headache, to be honest! ð
I find learning Hanzi easier compared to grasping Zhuyin. Perhaps it's because Zhuyin is entirely new to me, and I haven't quite gotten the hang of reading it yet. In my everyday life and from the start of learning Mandarin, I've been more accustomed to memorizing Hanzi. So, encountering Hanzi material feels like revisiting familiar lessons, even though there are occasional new characters and words whose meanings I'm yet to discover. Nonetheless, it's been beneficial—my Mandarin vocabulary has notably expanded in this class..
On the final day of our class, we were requested to bring traditional foods from our home countries. It's a bit awkward to admit, but the Filipino and Vietnamese groups really went all out by bringing these lavish buffet-style dishes. With their larger groups, they could easily contribute and prepare meals together. However, as the sole Indonesian in the class, I could only manage to bring a small snack ðĒðĒðĒ It's genuinely embarrassing, but realistically, it was impossible for me alone to prepare a grand dish like theirs.
So, that's my experience in this Mandarin class. Actually, this class would be more wothwhile if my Mandarin were better than it is now, but since my Mandarin is still a bit messy, keeping up in class has been somewhat challenging. In the future, I'm considering seeking out a class more suited to my current abilities
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