By The China Post, Taiwan/ Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network
【Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network】
According to The China Post, Trần Phước Hằng (陳福恒), a Vietnamese new immigrant who did not know a word of Chinese three years ago, was recently admitted into the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Feng Chia University (FCU, 逢甲大學) through her unrelenting efforts to overcome the language barrier.
According to local Chinese-language media reports, Trần had been studying part-time at her old high school to lessen the financial burden at home. In 2018, she came to Taiwan with her mother, though the language barrier and cultural differences left her feeling lost and powerless; her inability to understand Chinese also became the biggest obstacle in her studies.
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Trần Phước Hằng who did not know a word of Chinese three years ago entered Feng Chia University. (Photo / Authorized & Provided by Keelung Senior High School & 4-Way Voice)
At Keelung Senior High School (國立基隆高中), she recalled being unable to understand a single thing on her first test, which resulted in detrimental grades, and her Chinese composition work also saw her unable to squeeze a single Chinese character.
However, with the help of the school’s additional courses and assistance, Trần was met with a Vietnamese teacher who tutored her one-on-one after school and used pinyin to help her learn Chinese. Soon after, she was able to keep pace with her classmates in her studies.
Trần, who is very interested in materials science, regarded the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at FCU as her first choice and said that the department cooperates with many Vietnamese enterprises which would help with her job search in the future.
She pointed out that with her own advantage at being bilingual in Chinese and Vietnamese, she hoped that she could enter relevant businesses in the future which will allow her to play to her strengths.
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From getting only 30 points out of 100 on her first Chinese test, to gradually getting to 60 points, she was able to pass a Chinese proficiency test TOCFL at Level 5 during her second year in high school.
Her remarkable progress was witnessed by her counselor and teacher Wu Hui-chin (吳惠琴), who stated that as more and more students’ mothers are new immigrants, she began to learn Vietnamese to facilitate communication with the parents.
She added that she has both taught and learned so much, surpassing her identity of being merely “Ms. Chen, a teacher” but also becoming a friend to the parents.
Keelung Senior High School principal Chung Ting-hsien (鍾定先) also acknowledged and praised Trần’s efforts, saying that her Chinese improved greatly and lauded her ability to be able to converse with locals with ease now.
Authorization of this article from【The China Post】By Vivian Hsiao
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