The inbound exchange students in the English Department share their experiences about studying in Taiwan, studying in Fu Jen University, and their struggles of being international students in Taiwan.
Federica Bettoni, Coleen Godard, and Linda YE are three inbound exchange students in the English Department. Federica is a 21-year-old Italian girl, while Coleen and Linda are both from France. Coleen is still a 19-year-old sophomore student and Linda is a senior who is about to graduate. When asked about why they chose to come to Taiwan to study, two of the girls said it was because they wanted to improve their Chinese. “I study foreign languages for business purposes. I study English and Chinese, and that’s why I came here. It’s because I want to learn better in Chinese,” said Federica. As for Coleen, it’s also because of the desire to learn Chinese.
“I prefer Taiwanese culture, and I like Taiwan better,” Federica added. It appears to them that they prefer the atmosphere and the feelings that Taiwan brings to them more than the atmosphere of China. Therefore, they chose to learn Chinese in Taiwan rather than China. Coleen mentioned that she thinks China is stricter andhas less freedom. “I just didn’t want to go to China because it was too strict, and the political stuff…it doesn’t really suit me. In my mind, Taiwan is free, and it’s exactly what I’m looking for, so I came to Taiwan,” said Coleen.
However, studying in Taiwan is very different from how they used to study in their countries. The biggest difference is how the course is being conducted. Federica mentioned that there’s a huge difference in terms of class size. “In Italy, we have this huge classroom. When I attend the classes, there are more than 100 students. Teachers will just give lectures, and we have to take notes, but they won’t ask us questions about what they said. Here in Taiwan, however, teachers will ask you questions.” Therefore, in Taiwan, university’s lessons are more interactive. Students get to have more interaction with their professors. “In France, teachers don’t take attendance because there are too many of us,” Coleen added.
This phenomenon can also be seen in presentations. “We have a lot of presentations here (in Taiwan), which is something I feel a bit stressful because I’m not pretty familiar with this kind of work,” said Linda. Nevertheless, they all mentioned that they barely do presentations when they attend classes back in their countries. “You (students in Taiwan) have a lot of group presentations or individual presentations, but we don’t have any in Italy. We just have a final exam at the end of every course because the class is too big,” Federica noted. Interestingly, there is also a huge difference about how the presentations are being conducted. Linda mentioned that students are not allowed to look at their phones during presentations in France because they may receive a zero. Nonetheless, students in Taiwan tend to read their phones throughout the presentations, which is shocking to her.
Also, being an international student on campus sometimes is not easy for them. Communication and language barriers are some of the biggest obstacles they face daily. Federica shared one of her experiences, “I had some journals due last week, but I didn’t know that because I wasn’t in class. So, I asked my classmates, who I didn’t really know, whether there was any homework or not. They said yes, there is one. But actually, there were three. Therefore, I ended up getting zero.” Coleen further mentioned that “it is somehow difficult to let others understand what I’m saying. I don’t think that I have a terrible accent in English, so I don’t know why.”
Despite the challenges they have encountered, the girls seem to enjoy studying in Fu Jen a lot, and they also like the campus very much. The scenery and the view of the campus are something they love and enjoy the most about FJU. “The campus is so big, beautiful, and well-placed. Everything is so near,” Coleen noted. What’s more, both Coleen and Federica mentioned that the universities back in their countries are not that big. The buildings are usually located in different places in the city. “My university in Italy is not that big, so we don’t really have a campus. There are three different buildings around the city, so we have to walk around the city to go to different buildings. Yet, FJU is a big campus with all the buildings together. Not to mention, there are so many spots that people can gather, like café, food court, and so on. We don’t have these in Italy,” said Federica. Linda also noted that the food courts on campus are part of her favorites about FJU.
Federica Bettoni (Right 2) participated in the international cultural festival on Dec. 9, 2021. Photo provided by Federica Bettoni.
Moreover, FJU is dedicated in creating an international learning environment, and our foreign students have also noticed that. “I also like the fact that you have a lot of courses in English, which is something my university doesn’t have. For example, in my school, if someone doesn’t know Italian, they will have major trouble in class, but here, you provide business courses or administration courses in English so that everyone can understand,” said Federica.
As for Coleen, she mentioned that she really adored the atmosphere of the entire campus as well as the people here. “I have a friend who’s studying in NTNU, and sadly she can’t make friends there because people are kind of alienating her. However, in FJU, I’ve only been here for a month, and I have already known more people here than I do in France.” She then continued saying, “in NTNU, I know that they aren’t really that friendly. It’s not that they’re mean, but they won’t come to you and ask for your Instagram and stuff.”
As for Linda, she also enjoys the love and care that she has been receiving from the people on campus. “People here are really friendly. I was actually pretty worried about having mean roommates, but it turns out that my roommate is super friendly and cares a lot about us,” said Linda. “Even the teachers here and the administrations, they are more caring.”
Linda, Federica, and Coleen expressed their excitement about their remaining time in FJU, and they wish to have chances to join more clubs. They mentioned that they don’t have clubs in the university back in their hometowns. Therefore, they would like to join some clubs soon and make more new friends.
Finally, when asked about whether they would recommend any of their friends to come and study at FJU, they all said, “definitely! All of the events you’re having, all of the nice people, and the beautiful campus you’ve got... FJU is really the best!”