Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages is entering its fourth year of cooperation with Indiana University in holding Project GO, the US Department of Defense’s scholarship program for language learning. This year, Wenzao Ursuline University welcomes 21 students from Indiana University. These students, who are also reserve officers, arrived alongside their professors for a two-month-long immersive Chinese language learning experience.
Having been equipped with basic Chinese language skills, the students are looking forward to attending 8 weeks of intensive Chinese language classes and experiencing Taiwanese culture. Hopefully, being in Wenzao’s excellent Chinese language learning environment and having the opportunity to interact with Wenzao students will aid them in further improving their Chinese language proficiency.
Reserves Officer Lia Zimmerman, who hailed from Minnesota, is one of the participants of Project GO’s intensive class program and has high hopes for the cultural trips that will be held alongside the course. Lia has been diligently assimilating herself into the environment in Taiwan by having cultural exchanges with Taiwanese students and citizens alike since her arrival.
Though initially fearful that she would not be able to understand the Taiwanese accent, she has now gradually grown to master it. For her, this is evidence of a fruitful result from this Chinese language learning experience. Lia hopes to share her stories and experiences in Taiwan with her friends and family and improve their understanding of Taiwan upon returning to the US.
Project GO was initiated by the US Department of Defense for reserve officers at universities. As a scholarship program for language learning, the project provides them access to opportunities for globally popular language learning (Chinese) and international cultural exchange. The project hopes to increase future military officers’ linguistic proficiency, as well as their regional cognitive learning and cross-cultural communication skills through immersive language learning and cultural experience in a Chinese language and culture environment.
The Department of Applied Chinese and Foreign Language Teaching of Wenzao Ursuline University has been responsible for the organization and implementation of Project GO from 2018 to this day. In addition to allowing US students to learn in an immersive Chinese language environment, Project GO courses also emphasize the integration of cultural experience in the language classes by requiring students to use Chinese as the main means of communication during their time in Taiwan. While the language classes are mainly conducted for small groups, there is also an addition of one-on-one oral training. Not only that, the organizers have specially arranged for students of different expertise to become conversation partners during the one-on-one oral training sessions, allowing the project’s participants to practice their speaking skills and learn more about Taiwanese culture.
Meanwhile, cultural classes will be focused on localization, which will be advocated through language study buddies, cultural events, urban tourism, and cultural trips. This project is expected to encourage US and Taiwan relations to grow beyond the scope of language learning and interaction and deepen their understanding of each other’s cultures. Simultaneously, the project is hoped to further expand both the US and Taiwan’s perspectives on international culture while enhancing each other’s cooperative and competitive abilities.
