# Mandarin for Studying Abroad in China or Taiwan: A 14-Day Speaking Plan You register at the international office, order at the canteen, ask your teacher how to say a word and find a language partner. For learners starting from zero who are off to university in mainland China or Taiwan. Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/mandarin-for-studying-abroad-14-day-speaking-plan ## At a glance - Level: Beginner · HSK 1 - Format: Workbook · PDF · 16 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/mandarin-for-studying-abroad-14-day-speaking-plan. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 我是来学中文的留学生。 (Wǒ shì lái xué Zhōngwén de liúxuéshēng.) — I'm an international student here to learn Chinese. ## By the end you can - Find your dorm and register at the international office. Start a question to a stranger with 请问, say you're here to register with 报到, and understand staff requests with 一下. 请问，留学生宿舍在哪儿？ (Qǐngwèn, liúxuéshēng sùshè zài nǎr?): Excuse me, where is the international student dorm? - Meet your roommate and eat at the canteen. Ask someone's major with 你是哪个___的？, order by pointing with 这个, and count bowls with 两, never 二. 你是哪个专业的？ (Nǐ shì nǎge zhuānyè de?): What's your major? - Get through your first class and ask the teacher a question. Ask if a seat is free, address your teacher as 老师, and ask how to read, write or say a word with 怎么 + verb. 这个字怎么读？ (Zhège zì zěnme dú?): How do you read this character? - Make friends and find a language partner. Make a plan sound casual with verb + 个 + noun, as in 加个微信, and offer a language swap with a time, ending in 怎么样？ 你想做我的语伴吗？ (Nǐ xiǎng zuò wǒ de yǔbàn ma?): Would you like to be my language partner? - Borrow a library book and join a club. Ask how long you can keep a book with 多长时间, and say how well you play with verb + 得: 打得不太好. 我可以借这本书吗？ (Wǒ kěyǐ jiè zhè běn shū ma?): Can I borrow this book? - See the campus doctor and plan a weekend trip. Say what's wrong with 有点儿 and ask about class, then set a meeting with time + 在 + place + verb. 我头疼，还有点儿发烧。 (Wǒ tóu téng, hái yǒudiǎnr fāshāo.): I have a headache and a bit of a fever. - Get through exam week and say goodbye at the end of term. Say you're ready with verb + 好, suggest studying together, and make a warm promise with 会 + verb + 的. 我会想你们的！ (Wǒ huì xiǎng nǐmen de!): I'll miss you all! ## What's inside - Day 1: Arrive on Campus - Day 2: At the International Office - Day 3: Meet Your Roommate - Day 4: Eat at the Canteen - Day 5: Your First Class - Day 6: Ask the Teacher a Question - Day 7: Make Friends with Classmates - Day 8: Find a Language Partner - Day 9: At the Library - Day 10: Join a Club - Day 11: See the Campus Doctor - Day 12: A Weekend Trip with Classmates - Day 13: Exam Week - Day 14: Say Goodbye at the End of Term ## How to use this book One day, one page, one campus exchange. Play the audio and say every line out loud in the pause, then use the day's lines for real that week: at the office, in the canteen, with your roommate or in class. - Days 1–4: Arrival week. Find your dorm, register at the international office, meet your roommate and order at the canteen. - Days 5–8: Class and new friends. Find a seat in your first class, ask the teacher a question, swap contacts with classmates and find a language partner. - Days 9–12: Campus life. Borrow a library book, join a club, see the campus doctor and plan a weekend trip with classmates. - Days 13–14: End of term. Plan to study together in exam week, then say goodbye warmly and promise to stay in touch. - Every day: Say it for real. Use one of the day's lines with a real person that week. Saying a line once in real life beats reading it ten times. ## Who it's for Students heading to a university in mainland China or Taiwan for a semester or a year, or already on campus, who want Mandarin for the dorm, the international office, class, the canteen and new friends. Before you start: Nothing. Every line has characters, pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each one with a pause to say it back. The book prints simplified characters. ## What do the fourteen days cover? One campus exchange a day. Arrival week is your dorm, the international office, your roommate and the canteen. Then come your first class, a question for the teacher, classmates and a language partner, the library, a club, the campus doctor and a weekend trip. Days 13 and 14 are exam week and goodbye at the end of term. ## Do I need any Chinese to start? No. Every line has characters, pinyin and English. The book prints simplified characters. ## Does it work in Taiwan as well as mainland China? Yes. Every line works in both, and where students use a different word, the day's tip gives both: 食堂 or 学生餐厅 for the canteen, 打印 or 列印 for print, WeChat or LINE for swapping contacts. Taiwan writes traditional characters. ## Is there audio? Yes, free on the book's page on saymei.app: one track for each day, with every Chinese line recorded and a pause after it so you can say it back. ## Does it cover setting up a phone, paying or finding a flat? No, it keeps to campus life. Setting up your phone and paying are in China Trip Survival Mandarin, and finding a flat is in Renting a Home in Mandarin. ## Do I need a SayMei account? Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## How do I print it? The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.