Matematik

You're over-estimating the amount of people in Taiwan who can speak good English.

Yeah, educated graduates might speak it quite well, but most normal working class people like taxi drivers, bus drivers, shop workers, etc can not speak it very well at all beyond a few stock phrases.

Also, you've brought up another problem. Learning Mandarin in Taiwan is extremely difficult for a white person because the typical attitude is that it is not possible for a Westerner to speak Mandarin.

In fact, when you speak Mandarin many will out right laugh or snigger at the Westerner trying to speak Mandarin, because in their mind it is so rediculous that a white person is speaking Mandarin. Many believe it is impossible for Westerners to learn a high level of Mandarin, so they believe that by trying you're just making yourself look silly.

Many Westerners have given up learning Mandarin for this reason, the Taiwanese and Chinese as well just don't want to speak to Westerners in it. It seems there's almost a mental block, Westerns just can't speak it as far as they're concerned. It's just not possible.

Mitzyboy

Matematic .... you seem to be an expert on nearly every culture you post in on these forums ...... please tell us where you get these wonderful insights

petrichor

Have you had some kind of negative experience living here? I'm sorry for that but you're speaking complete nonsense and in fact contradicting yourself. In your previous post you said it's difficult to get around and buy food because no one speaks English. Now you're saying the less educated service workers only speak a few stock phrases. Which is it? Those stock phrases are all that is needed to serve you.

If the Taiwanese won't speak to Westerners in Mandarin which language is it do you think they're speaking to them in? I agree it can be difficult for foreigners to learn to speak Mandarin, as I mentioned in my previous post, but that isn't relevant to this discussion. The OP's daughter doesn't want to learn Mandarin, and nor does she need to.

uk_vette

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Hi PriMarina.

Changed the mind again, ??

Is it back to Taiwan now, no more Austria?

Are you confused?

vete

uk_vette

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Austria is a little different than Taiwan.

In fact, I can't think of places that are much more opposite.

Vette

TsukinoDeynatsu

Sorry for replying so late...

(Hey petrichor! )

I would not recommend Taiwan for university study at all. It's cheap, and communal, but that's about the only thing it's got going for it.

If you speak good Chinese and are willing to learn the culture you can make friends for life. I cherished that about my university experience!

But if you actually want to learn something...nah. 99% of the student population write assignments using google, copy and paste. And the teachers don't care. One teacher in my department just passed everybody who had the required rate of attendance to show that they were 'serious' students - half of us didn't hand in the final report and I have a sneaky feeling he just threw away the exams rather than mark them.

And this was in a top university.

There were a few good teachers, but unfortunately they're the exception rather than the rule. I imagine it would depend on what she wants to study though - maths, engineering or computer science would be fine fields to study here, as they can be taught by rote learning. Anything slightly interpretive (including medicine!) should be avoided, IMO.

And petrichor and matematik are selling the place short, to be honest. Very taipei-centric views - Taipei is Taipei and the rest of the island is Taiwan! I've encountered the type of people Matematik seems to hate so much, but only in Taipei. And there are PLENTY of decent schools around the island outside of Taipei - in fact, the top three universities are National Taiwan University (Taipei), National Cheng-Kong University (Tainan), and National Jiao-Tong University (Hsinchu) (in that order). National Taiwan Normal and Cheng-chi are famous for certain departments, but they're not in the top 5 as far as I can remember.

Overall, though, your daughter will get a far better education in a European country (I'm wiling to go as far as to say in almost ANY European country - even Slovakia has a better education system than Taiwan).

petrichor

Hi TsukinoDeynatsu!

Thanks, I had no idea the quality of education was so poor. I take it when you say there are other decent schools around the island you really mean not-so-decent schools, though, (compared to Europe, anyway)?

Supernoodles

That is rubbish about the usage of Mandarin in Taiwan, one of my close friends lived there for 1 year to practice his Mandarin and he had no problems and I myself went on holiday there for 2 weeks last year and my husband speaks a bit of Mandarin and it was fine, no body laughed at him to put him down.
And to say the Chinese in general don't like westerners speaking Mandarin, even bigger crock of **** our experience (at least in more 'city like' areas) has been that they don't bat an eyelid if you do or if you don't! and this is from living here and traveling in China/Hong Kong for 4 years...Now if you speak Cantonese as a Caucasian...that will raise a few looks simply because there are so few that learn it (no business motivation).

andrewrh

I agree with this. I often visit on business and my conversational Mandarin helps me a lot when I am not with a local colleague.
Though I have not been to the capital, I imagine that there would be more English speakers there. Around the rest of the country there are not too many English speakers outside of the student population and away from the big hotels and bars.

PriMarina

I absolutely agree with you, on another it maybe called "positive discrimination" I like it !

PriMarina

A little, yes.
It is very difficult to persuade a child is that she can get a good education, not only in own country. These were dark days for the two of us, because all my efforts were in vain.
I did everything I could - to make all the documents for admission to an Austrian uni and need to get her consent only. But she refuses to leave Russia, afraid of the unknown and to be independence.
Now she enjoys studying at a local university, have fun from student life, and I look at it as a 90 year old mom and sometimes grumble. My plan did not work.
But in any case I know Taiwan and Austria warm and friendly countries for living and study! Thank you very much for reply.