​Many international students who go to Taiwan to study and improve their Chinese language proficiency attend classes at Chinese language centers in the large cities, such as Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. But Chinese language centers can be found at universities all over Taiwan, each offering unique experiences.

Dannial Cardillo, a student from southwestern Pennsylvania in USA, who is taking a degree in Chinese Language and Culture, Turkish Language, and Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship in 2021 to study Mandarin in Taiwan. He’s currently studying Mandarin at the Chinese Language Center at Tzu Chi University in Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan. 

Hualian and the Chinese Language Center are providing an excellent environment for him to study Mandarin. “Hualien is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in Taiwan, and I love that I can go to both the seaside and the mountains—all within about an hour or two!”.  He appreciates the low hanging clouds he sees every day around the mountains just a few kilometers from his classroom and considers this one of the highlight of his mornings.

Living in Hualien, he uses his Mandarin with people in daily life where fewer people speak fluent English than in the larger cities. Taiwan uses traditional Chinese characters but Dannial found that the traditional characters he previously avoided are not as difficult as he thought they would be. 

He’s also very happy that, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, he was finally able to immerse himself in a Chinese-language environment and Taiwanese culture. Dannial says that studying at Tzu Chi is giving him insight into less obvious aspects of Taiwanese culture because of the unique values that the university upholds, and beginning to slowly understand the intricacies of Taiwan’s history and culture is very rewarding for him.

​On January 21, 2022, the US Government announced new immigration policies that will give a direct pathway to international students of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to study and complete professional training with an employer in the US. Government officials believe that this will help American companies solve their workforce shortage problems and it also will also help ease the decline in higher education enrollments.

The US Department of State and Homeland Security will add a total of 22 new fields of study to the STEM Designated Degree Program List under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows graduates in STEM fields to remain in the US for three years after they graduate and to gain practical work experience related to their degree. Students with an F-1 visa are typically eligible for up to one year of post-graduate OPT. However, for those who graduate with a STEM degree are eligible for an extra two years of OPT — STEM OPT. The 22 newly added fields of study include human-centered technology design, data science, data analytics, cloud computing, and business analytics. 

In addition, there is an early career STEM research initiative for scholars, specialists, students, interns, trainees, teachers, and professors with a J-1 visa. J-1 undergraduate and pre-doctoral students are currently eligible to stay in the US for up to 18 months to undertake post-graduate academic training. The US Department of State has announced that undergraduate and graduate students on exchange visitor J-1 visas in STEM fields will be able to double the amount of time and stay in the US for up to 36 months to undertake post-graduate academic training. 

Concurrently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy manual to give a wider interpretation of what constitutes STEM expertise and areas of extraordinary ability. It allows immigration officers to determine visa eligibility and it provides additional examples, which give professionals in STEM fields a clearer understanding of more types of evidence they can submit when applying for an O-1 visa. An O-1 visa is available to people with extraordinary ability or performance in the fields of science, business, education, or athletics, and now, for example, journal impact factors, relative citations, research experience with notable institutions, and unsolicited invitations to speak or present research at scientific conferences, are included in the listed regulatory criteria that applicants can submit. 

The Ministry of Education (MOE) launched the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program (TFETP) in 2021 to expand the recruitment of foreign English teachers and teaching assistants, to create more opportunities for Taiwanese students in primary and secondary schools nationwide to learn English. 

To qualify to teach English in public schools in Taiwan, candidates must be native speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree, a state-issued teaching license or credential, and a clean criminal record. The monthly salary for English teachers ranges from NT$62,720 to NT$91,420 — equivalent to approximately US$2,250 to US$3,300 subject to the exchange rate — and they also receive a travel subsidy, health insurance, and other benefits. Salary will be determined based on the teacher’s highest education level and years of full-time teaching experience. 

Candidates for English teaching assistant positions must also be native speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher degree, and a clean criminal record, but they don’t need to have a state-issued teaching license or credential. English teaching assistants work with local teachers to create an immersive English learning environment that encourages students to actively learn English and improve their overall English proficiency. Teaching assistants receive a monthly stipend of NT$45,000, equivalent to approximately US$1,620, and a travel subsidy, health insurance, and other benefits.

For more information, please visit https://tfetp.epa.ntnu.edu.tw/

Source: https://english.moe.gov.tw/cp-117-28801-5424e-1.html​