
Polish student aces college entrance exam after learning Chinese from scratch
Chinese is widely considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn. Over in Hsinchu, a Polish teenager managed to prove it’s possible. Ma An-ya’s parents relocated to Taiwan three years ago to serve as missionaries. Starting from complete zero, she was able to learn enough Chinese to take the GSAT alongside her fellow high schoolers, securing admission to several universities.
This cheerleading squad counts Polish student Ma An-ya as one of its core members. She’s not an exchange student, but a regular enrollee. Her parents are both missionaries who moved to Taiwan three years ago, enrolling An-ya and her siblings directly into the local school system.
Ma An-ya
High-school graduate
We came to Taiwan, into a totally new environment. My greatest challenge was not understanding anything. When I first arrived, there wasn’t any school that could take me, since I had just graduated from middle school.
It’s hard to imagine that An-ya didn’t know a word of Chinese three years ago. Today, she can not only converse fluently, but can even write calligraphy. When even saying “hello” proved difficult, you can imagine how overwhelming it was. Luckily, with help from her Chinese literature teacher, she learned to read Bopomofo and kept going from there.
Ma An-ya
High-school graduate
Not understanding Chinese was like being locked inside a dark room. Even though there were lots of people around me, it was very lonely. But this motivated me to learn Chinese as fast as I could.
Lin Kuo-sung
Principal
It’s already difficult for our local students to study subjects like physics and chemistry in Chinese. Just imagine, it wasn’t her native language, but she still had to learn it.
After three years of devoted study, An-ya was able to take the college entrance exam alongside her fellow classmates. She not only finished the test, but was even accepted to Chung YuanChristian University, Fu JenCatholic University, and other schools.
Ma An-ya
High-school graduate
I want to major in electronic engineering, specifically at Chung Yuan Christian University. My two grandparents are both engineers, so I feel like pursuing engineering would suit me best. And also, I figured that electronics is Taiwan’s best field.
Lin Kuo-sung
Principal
Beside from her Chinese literature marks, which were a little low, her performance in the other subjects all far exceeded our expectations.
Looking back at her hardships over the past three years, An-ya is thankful for the companionship of her principal, teachers, and classmates. In a moving expression of gratitude, she even penned a thank-you note for her principal by hand. By scaling a massive linguistic wall in just three years to conquer Taiwan’s college entrance exams, this determined graduate has proven that no barrier is too high when faced with sheer perseverance.
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2026-06-19