Best University to learn chinese?

[headhonchoII]

Well it happens quite a lot, as I said it happens to other capable Chinese speakers too and it seems to go up for me the more American I look IE if I am wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses (even though I am not America). There's a segment of the population that doesn't like to speak Chinese to Westerners, that's it. They be mumbling some crap back to me instead of talking normally in Chinese because they are too busy looking at my white face and thinking of something to say in English instead of listening to what I am actually saying. The white face clicks the switch in their heads that says must...practice....English....now....

There are of course other cases where the listener can't understand the strong accent or the bad tones or has poor situational comprehension skills (the last one being most service staff here).

[archylgp]

Well it happens quite a lot, as I said it happens to other capable Chinese speakers too and it seems to go up for me the more American I look IE if I am wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses (even though I am not America). There's a segment of the population that doesn't like to speak Chinese to Westerners, that's it. They be mumbling some crap back to me instead of talking normally in Chinese because they are too busy looking at my white face and thinking of something to say in English instead of listening to what I am actually saying. The white face clicks the switch in their heads that says must...practice....English....now....

There are of course other cases where the listener can't understand the strong accent or the bad tones or has poor situational comprehension skills (the last one being most service staff here).

Yeah -- I get what you're saying...I've been spending most of my "outside time" in the country side around Taichung these days and the people there couldn't care less about English. I do recall people doing this when I lived on campus; we would talk in English until they gave up and then just speak Chinese. I think they appreciate it if you give them a chance....If they speak English well, I don't care which language we speak: we usually start mixing the two up, anyways.

I guess the most fun I've had is when speaking to a certain Bi-lingual American with phenotypically Asian characteristics; we were mixing the two languages like there was no tomorrow.

[yusuf]

I would like to study at Providence University...I assume it is a good university to study language..Other people comment like that..

[Feiren]

I would like to study at Providence University...I assume it is a good university to study language..Other people comment like that..

All the Chinese centers are about the same although Shi-Da has more advanced classes and I have heard good things about the more up-to-date teaching methodology at NCCU (Zheng-Da).

Personally, I would choose an inexpensive and pleasant place to live and study. Like Hualian (Ciji/Tzuchi). Or maybe Minsyong (Zhongzheng U.).

[ehophi]

I've met some of the professional translators and watched them speak Chinese quite impressively. I never saw a dismayed face among the Taiwanese natives who spoke with them.

Every breakfast shop owner in my neighborhood practically gives me a "利害唷!" for reading from their wall menus.

[Baas Babelaas]

I was just in Taiwan and most everybody understood English.

That said, I was speaking Chinese most of the time. Didn't realize my Chinese had come this far.