The growing interest among Indonesian students to pursue their studies in Taiwan has prompted the Faculty of Humanities at Universitas Indonesia (FIB UI) and the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) Indonesia to support efforts that enhance students’ readiness for academic life in Taiwan.
As a concrete form of this support, FIB UI has collaborated with TETO to produce an educational video series titled “Survival Taiwan: Contextual Mandarin Conversations for Beginners”, which was recorded in June.
In 2024, FIB UI had already produced a Taiwan Culture video series that introduced topics related to Taiwanese culture, history, and society—content that attracted attention from both the public and students. The 2025 program builds upon this foundation by focusing on introducing Mandarin for practical use in real-life situations, particularly for beginner-level students planning to continue their studies or participate in exchange programs in Taiwan.
“Survival Taiwan” presents simulated dialogues across five episodes that reflect everyday situations commonly experienced by international students in Taiwan. The first three episodes portray scenarios, such as arriving at Taipei International Airport, checking into a hotel, and shopping and dining at a local night market. All conversations are designed using basic sentence structures and beginner-level thematic vocabulary, accompanied by introductory and concluding narration by Faculty of Humanities (FIB UI) lecturers to provide added context.
In addition to the three main simulation videos, two supplementary videos offer informative and reflective content. The fourth video introduces common everyday Mandarin expressions, including greetings, asking for help, and practical vocabulary frequently used in social interactions. The fifth video highlights basic idioms (成语 / 慣用語) in Mandarin that relate to the experiences of new students adapting to life in Taiwan. This covers themes such as motivation, navigating change, and overcoming early awkwardness.
With its communicative and practical approach, “Survival Taiwan” is expected to serve as a relevant and enjoyable learning resource. The series not only equips students with essential language skills, but also familiarizes them with the unique culture of everyday communication in Taiwan, thereby strengthening their preparedness for academic, social, and cross-cultural experiences in an international setting.
The videos will be publicly available on the official YouTube channel of the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia.
