Learning Foreign Languages at NTU: Featured Programs at a Glance

NTU offers a wide range of foreign language courses in Taiwan. Students here have access to more than 20 foreign languages besides English, and such a variety of choice is unrivaled in Taiwan. Foreign language courses at NTU are mainly provided by three institutions, namely the Foreign Language Teaching & Resource Center (FLTC), the Department of Japanese Language and Literature (DJLL), and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (DFLL), apart from the Department of Chinese Literature (for Manchurian, Tibetan, and Mongolian) and Department of Philosophy (for Sanskrit). Over these years, we have altogether offered courses on 24 different languages besides English. These languages can be divided geographically into European languages (e.g., French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Czechs, Latin, Modern Hebrew, and Ancient Greek) and Asian languages (e.g., Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Tagalog, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Arabian).

In addition to Freshman English courses offered by DFLL, NTU’s English language learning programs also include courses provided by FLTC, which can be divided into two categories: (1) Advanced English Program and (2) Online English Programs. The Advanced English Program is designed to facilitate students to achieve the level of proficiency required for graduation. The Online English Programs include Advanced English (I & II) and specialized courses such as English for Medicine, English for Technology, and four Online English Programs for Postgraduates, which specialize in Advanced Reading Strategies and Practice, Humanities, Technology and Medicine, and Economics and Business. Students may select courses according to their levels of proficiency, interests, and specialties. In addition, some student-centered activities such as English Corner are held by FLTC regularly to help students improve their English skills through small-group exercise.

As for other languages, regular European and Japanese language courses are offered respectively by DFLL and DJLL. Also, FLTC provides a total of 11 courses on other Asian languages. In fact, the College of Liberal Arts has started to offer courses on Korean and Southeast Asian languages long before our government launched the New Southbound Policy in 2016.

NTU also offers advanced language and culture courses, including the Japanese Studies Program directed by DJLL, and the European and EU Studies Program, which is offered jointly by DFLL, Department of History, Department of Philosophy, Department of Drama and Theatre, Graduate Institute of Musicology, College of Law, and College of Social Sciences. More importantly, in Fall Semester 2017, DFLL starts to offer two language interdisciplinary specialties, one in German, the other in Spanish.

Foreign languages are the best tools to broaden our horizons and nurture our cross-cultural skills. The great variety of language courses at NTU manifests the university’s primary focus on cultivating students’ international outlook and global mobility. In this fast-changing world, a good command of two or three foreign languages will soon become necessary for the new generation to confront global challenges and to lead future developments.