Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract/Objectives

Since 2006, the U.S. Department of State has implemented the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) to cultivate critical language skills and enhance cross-cultural understanding among American youth. Since 2022, the Master's Program in Chinese Language and Culture at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, NTHU, has hosted the NSLI-Y Summer Chinese Program. Held annually from late June to early August, the six-week program enrolls 22 to 30 American high school students. It offers 120 hours of intensive Chinese language training, 12 hours of cultural courses, and activities such as language partner exchanges, cultural visits, homestay experiences, and school visits. Faculty and students specializing in Chinese language actively contribute to teaching and community engagement, integrating language education with local cultural promotion, community tours, and cross-cultural exchanges, thereby fulfilling the university’s social responsibility.

Results/Contributions

From 2022 to 2025, the Master’s Program in Chinese Language and Culture has consecutively hosted the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), administered by American Councils for International Education, for four years.

 

This six-week program centers on intensive Chinese language instruction and integrates diverse cultural experiences, including language partner exchanges, homestays, high school visits, and cultural excursions, enabling students to rapidly improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.

 

Participants consistently report significant language gains as well as deeper understanding of Chinese culture and Taiwanese society. Most students successfully advance one level in the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) upon completion, demonstrating strong learning outcomes.

 

During program implementation, faculty and students with expertise in Chinese language education actively engage in community-based activities, linking language teaching with cultural heritage and local experiences, thereby extending learning beyond the classroom and fulfilling the university’s social responsibility.

 

Overall, the program not only strengthens students’ Chinese proficiency and intercultural communication skills but also fosters meaningful Taiwan–U.S. youth exchanges, cultivating international perspectives and collaborative relationships that contribute to educational cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

 

Keywords

Teaching Chinese as a Second LanguageTOCFLTeaching PracticumChinese Language Courses

Contact Information

人社院華語文碩士學位學程黃小姐
clcul@my.nthu.edu.tw