許多本地人對於外國人學中文這件事充滿了好奇。究竟他們是不是也像本地人一樣從ㄅㄆㄇ學起呢？他們用課本嗎？如果有課本，那麼課本的內容是什麼？這些問題都可以從ICLP收藏的早期教科書找到答案。
Many local Taiwanese people are curious about how foreigners study Chinese. Do they start with Bo Po Mo Fo like Taiwanese do? Do they have textbooks? If they do, what is inside? We can find answers to these questions using old textbooks from the ICLP collection.
（早期IUP的學生至少都學過兩年中文，他們來臺灣的目的，除了加強中文以外，另一方面是從事自己的研究。）
(In the early years of IUP, students had all studied at least two years of Chinese. Outside of strengthening their Chinese skills, they also came to Taiwan to pursue their own research.)
（為了研究的需要，學生選修專業課程，這張單子是「白話文學」的閱讀材料，這是5學分的課。）
(To fulfill their research needs, students choose specialized classes. This sheet is the reading material for the 5 credit class called "Vernacular Chinese Literature.")
早期的學生雖然已經有兩年的中文基礎，但是因為在國外少有應用的環境與機會，因此在口語和聽力上還必須再加強。
Even though early IUP students had two years of Chinese foundation, they had few opportunities and circumstances in their home countries to apply the language. Thus, they needed to improve their speaking and listening abilities.
（中文入門》Chinese Primer是早期海外大學初級中文課本之一。）
(Chinese Primer is one of the early overseas college Chinese textbooks for beginners.)
（說國語》、《華語對話》是IUP早期使用的初級課本，1977年之後由《新編會話》取代。）
(Speak Mandarin and Chinese Dialogue were beginner textbooks used early on in IUP. In 1977, Modern Chinese Conversation replaced them.)
怎麼讓已經有兩年基礎的學生流利地、正確地應用他已經學過但還不太熟，或是還常出錯的語法，而正確地說出比較長的句子來表達自己的意見是教學的重點之一。因此，老師在編寫課本的時候，注重由「段落」到「句子」，再到「詞彙」的安排，讓學生能自然地說一段話，而不只是說短句子或是詞。
One of the main focuses of pedagogy is to figure out how to get a student who has two years of language foundation to fluently and correctly use grammar that he or she has already studied, yet has practiced little or on which he or she often makes mistakes, and then afterwards correctly say a longer sentence expressing a personal opinion. Thus, when teachers write a textbook, in order to get students to say a passage naturally and not just a short sentence or word, they must pay attention to the order of first starting from passages, then progressing to sentences, and finally moving to vocabulary.
隨著中文作為第二語言教學理論的發展，ICLP也引進最新的教學語法理論，包括語法點詮釋、詞類標記、信息結構等，應用在編寫課本上以符合學習需要。
As theories in Chinese as a Second Language have developed, ICLP has also ushered in the newest pedagogical principles such as grammar explanations, parts of speech symbols, and information structure, which are used in the program’s textbooks in order to fulfill students’ learning needs.
（1982-83年鄧守信所長舉辦國內華語教師研討會，所內老師也一起參與，了解最新的教學理論。）
(In 1982-93, the program director, Teng Shou-Hsin, holds a seminar in Taiwan for Chinese teachers. Teachers of IUP participate in order to learn the newest pedagogical theories.)
（新生說明會時發給學生的語法小冊。）
(The grammar booklet given to students at the new student orientation.)
每學年在新生說明會時，發給學生漢語語言介紹小冊，介紹現代漢語的特點與詞類系統及「動詞三分」的規則。
Each academic year, the program gives students an introduction booklet on Chinese grammar at the new student orientation, which explains the characteristics and parts of speech of modern Chinese, as well as introduce the rules for the “three verb types."
（從2009年起，所裡主要的課本都採用了新的詞類標記系統）
(Starting in 2009, the program textbooks adopt the new parts of speech system .)
（師生上課熱烈討論）
(Teacher and students have an enthusiastic discussion during class.)
學校盡最大努力編寫及研發教材，就是為了讓學生更有效率地準備上課的內容，這樣一來，上課的時候就能在老師帶動下自然地溝通，有效掌握評析工具。
The program does its best in the composition and development of teaching materials so as to help students prepare the material more effectively for class. In doing so, the students can both communicate naturally in class under the guidance of the teacher, and also more effectively master the ability to discuss and analyze.