The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a leading U.S. professional organization in language education, recently visited Chung Yuan Christian University under arrangements by the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan. The delegation engaged with CYCU’s Chinese Language Center and Department of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, gaining insights into its achievements in curriculum development, AI-enhanced teaching, and instructional innovation. They commended CYCU’s integration of technology and humanities in Chinese language education, highlighting new opportunities for Taiwan–U.S. collaboration.
Vice President Wu Tsung-Yuan noted that CYCU has actively incorporated AI to develop personalized learning materials, and expressed interest in expanding collaboration with ACTFL in teacher certification and curriculum innovation. He also emphasized CYCU’s balanced focus on technology and humanities, as reflected in its top ranking among Taiwan’s private comprehensive universities in the 2026 Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings.
During the exchange, ACTFL Board Chair Krishauna Hines-Gaither showed strong interest in AI-assisted teaching. She was particularly impressed by CYCU’s integration of AI into self-developed teaching materials and student projects. For example, the student-produced Taiwan lifestyle Mandarin guide Using “Tai” Steps to Explore Taiwan combines hand-drawn illustrations with AI-supported design.
Senior Chinese language instructor Lin Chien-Yu introduced a “page-by-page teaching” approach that rethinks conventional textbook structures. Following a “visual–audio–meaning” sequence, the method encourages students to speak from the very first lesson, building early confidence and engagement. During the session, ACTFL delegates were guided to introduce themselves in Chinese, and were highly impressed by the effectiveness of this teaching approach.
In addition, under Taiwan’s Ministry of Education program to enhance Chinese proficiency for international students, senior teaching supervisor Liao Wan-Chun demonstrated how AI tools can efficiently generate precise Mandarin teaching materials and lesson plans.
Assistant Professor Lu Chun-Yu also introduced the “U.S. Secondary School Chinese Textbook Development Project,” commissioned by the Ministry of Education.
Lu Chun-Yu explained that the project develops systematic, localized, and modern Chinese teaching materials tailored for U.S. secondary schools, co-authored with experienced American educators to better align with classroom needs. The project highlights Chung Yuan Christian University’s strength in international curriculum development and will be promoted at the 2026 ACTFL Annual Convention, advancing the Taiwan–U.S. Education Initiative.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages delegation also visited CYCU’s newly established MetaDisplay Interactive Classroom, an immersive learning space integrating AI, holographic projection, and multimodal collaboration. Designed around the concept of “humanities infused with technology,” the classroom uses 360-degree visuals to bring abstract language and cultural concepts to life. Delegates experienced student-designed advanced Chinese teaching based on Du Fu’s poem Spring View, and observed an innovative lesson by Luo Ming-Fang that adapts modern Taiwanese poet Hsiang Yang’s work into song—leaving a strong impression of CYCU’s integration of humanities and technology.
CYCU noted that the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages plays a pivotal role in global language education, advancing standards, teacher development, and multicultural learning. Through this visit, the ACTFL delegation highly recognized CYCU’s integration of humanities and emerging technologies in developing diverse Chinese teaching materials and pedagogies, injecting new momentum into future Taiwan–U.S. collaboration in language education.
