Academic Life in ICLP--Q and A
Hey everyone! In my previous posts, I have shared the extracurricular travels and food culture of Taiwan that makes studying at ICLP all the more fantastic. But today, I’d like to cover the most important aspect of all; academic life in ICLP. Below are ten questions that I hope offer insight on the program’s key elements and help you decide if the ICLP experience is right for you!
1. What is the average class schedule in ICLP?
Once everyone’s placement scores have been evaluated, everyone receives their personalized class schedule and textbook list. Generally, every student is assigned to a homeroom class of two hours, a reading class of one hour, and a one-on-one tutoring hour. Classes are every day, Monday through Friday. The earliest possible class starts at 8 am and the latest possible class ends at 6pm. My schedule, for example, consisted of a homeroom class from 8-10am, a reading class from 2-3pm, and one-on-one tutoring from 4-5pm.
2. How does ICLP determine what classes to put you in?
Prior to classes starting, every student takes a placement exam covering the four core language skills (i.e. Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Listening). The oral portion consists of a fifteen minute interview with an ICLP staff member who will ask questions ranging from casual (ex: What is your major? Why did you choose to study Chinese?) to complex (ex: What is your viewpoint on China’s current economic situation?) based on the quality of your answers.
3. What are ICLP classes like?
Besides the one-on-one session, class sizes are purposely minimized to four students to reinforce the program’s highly participative and immersive goals. In other words, it’s basically impossible as an ICLP student to get away with not speaking in class or turning in homework late--the class size is too small for your instructors to not notice! Expect to talk and be called on a lot. Though this may sound intimidating, I can ensure you from experience that the high expectations of ICLP’s teachers come from kindness and passion; they only want to push you to be your best.
4. What kind of homework do ICLP students have?
It depends on what classes you are placed into. From what I personally noticed, homework difficulty and amount had a direct correlation with a student’s level placement. But as a general rule, all students have homework every night. Common assignments include studying certain passage sentences for the “listen-writing” quiz (i.e. the teacher says a sentence and students write the characters they hear) as well as weekly oral speeches on a certain topic. And, of course, you learn lots of new vocabulary.
5. Do ICLP students have to study traditional Chinese characters?
Yes and no. Most class textbooks have simplified character versions. All students can choose to write in simplified on homework and exams. The placement exam has a simplified and traditional version. However, especially at the higher levels, it is expected for students to learn to read and recognize traditional characters. For flagship students who intend to go to capstone, this is a good thing, as pre-capstone exams will include traditional articles whether you are accustomed to them or not. When I first arrived in Taiwan, my traditional character recognition was very poor. It was near impossible to read street signs or the labels of convenience store products. But immersion can do crazy things for the language-learning brain, and because I saw these signs and was pressed to read traditional articles in class every day, my traditional reading fluency skyrocketed. One day, I read halfway through a news handout my teacher gave before I realized it was written in traditional--I felt so elated and accomplished! So no, you are not denied access to simplified materials, but as fundamental nature of being in Taiwan, you will study traditional characters to some degree.
6. What should I do if I need study help?
The teachers and staff of ICLP recognize that the demands of their program pose a challenge to many, and in response have gone out of their way to ensure students have access to help. All students have a “homeroom” teacher who lives in the same apartment complex and meets with you at least once a week. These meetings are designed for students to get extra practice or help with harder assignments. If your homeroom teacher is not available, every student is also assigned a native language partner who you can contact for help. Even among fellow classmates are opportunities to study as a group and help one another on homework questions. No matter the day, there will always be someone to reach out to for guidance, school or otherwise.
7. What study spaces are available for ICLP students?
We actually get our own lounge and library, which is very nice. The lounge includes lockers for each student, water dispensers with different temperature settings (tea bags are also available to add to hot water), couches, and even a few board games tucked beneath the coffee tables. The library keeps the latest newspapers in stock and house a bunch of quiet study desks. If even these don’t suffice, the university has two other main libraries that flagship students can access and the benches of “Drunken Moon Lake” ’s tranquil campus park.
8. What is the “Final Research Project”?
As a key demonstration of your studies and growth of ICLP’s two month program, each student is required to write a research paper on a topic of one’s choice, followed by giving a speech pertaining to this paper’s content--all, of course, in Chinese. The research paper can be on any subject one wishes to investigate, but it is strongly encouraged that the topic be related to your major or career goals. Since I am a business major with an interest in astronomy, I chose to investigate the business aspects of Taiwan and Mainland China’s Aerospace Industry. Other topics my classmates chose ranged from illegal fishing, traditional Chinese medicine, Taiwan dialects, and even local coffee and shave ice culture! I highly recommend selecting a topic that is relevant to your future and sparks your interest, as it will gear you with specialized vocabulary and rewarding career knowledge.
9. What is the “24 Hour Language Pledge”?
ICLP requires each student to sign a 24 Hour Language Pledge in the week before classes start, which is a contract stating you will abstain from speaking English and strive to only communicate in Chinese for the duration of the summer. As stated in the document, any one caught speaking English outside excused circumstances (i.e. in an emergency or when having private conversations with family members inside the apartments) would incur a strike on their record, with three strikes meaning expulsion from the program. Though highly daunting and strict, it is this immersion enforcement that catalyzes the sheer success of ICLP.
With this extra push to speak Chinese at all times, I learned to effectively communicate in a variety of spontaneous circumstances. When I got a stomach bug and had to see a doctor, I used Chinese to explain my symptoms and recognized new words like “draw blood” and “dull” vs. “acute” pain from our dialogue. When I visited the Longshan temple, I pushed my speaking abilities to ask a kind woman about why some locals were throwing wedge-shaped stones at the ground. After several meal transactions, I picked up on how to convey a variety of requests such as whether my order was “for here” or “to go”. And when I browsed a bookstore on a whim one Saturday afternoon, this practice in awkward but persistent conversation allowed me to talk with the storekeeper about random topics like calligraphy and foreign imports. It’s not easy to follow, but the effort is worth it!
10. What is the “Language Mission Week”?
Towards the end of the program, ICLP holds a special weekend of field trips called the Language Mission Week. Students get to sign up for one of several off-campus activities such as going to the anthropology museum, making traditional pineapple cakes, or exploring a local radio station, after which you write a report on what you learned from the experience. It’s an exciting, hands-on event that instills new vocabulary in a way textbook learning never can! I chose to go to Taiwan’s High Court and role play in a mock trial for my language mission. It was so much fun, and I learned all sorts of law-related terms I otherwise would never know.