taiwan 09/10

What I Did: In August 2009, I moved into the 3rd floor of the Liang family house in a small fruit farming village in southern Taiwan. Through the Taiwanese Ministry of Education, I had been offered a one-year contract teaching English at Gaoshu Elementary School. I taught grades 3-6 alongside two bilingual Taiwanese teachers, Sarah and Edward. Initially, my responsibilities focused on teaching English classes following a prescriptive curriculum. As the year progressed and I grew more comfortable with the curriculum and my foreign-language-averse students, I branched out. I opened classes with poetry ("The more it snows/ tiddely pom/ the more it goes/ tiddely pom/ the more it goes/ tiddely pom/ on snowing"), I organized increasingly elaborate performances to teach English through dramatized Chinese folktales and legends, and I pulled together a pen pal club who corresponded with my friend Lisa's 3rd graders back in Brooklyn. My pen pal club even made a movie to teach their American pen pals about a schoolday in the life of a Taiwanese kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB07lUjM_jg
Why I Did It: When I turned 30, I realized that it was about time to get started on my lifelong goal of learning to speak Chinese. I'd always been determined to do that, and to do so in an immersion environment. The ideal setting would be one where I could be a part of a community, living, working, and hopefully getting to know the area's children. While looking for teaching opportunities in mainland China, a friend forwarded me a link to the Taiwanese Ministry of Education's program. I loved the idea of teaching in a public school rather than an international school, Taiwan sounded amazing, and people couldn't say enough good things about this tiny little country.
How It Has Impacted My Teaching: My 3rd graders this year are able to recite poetry, count to 100, and say good morning/have a good lunch/see you tomorrow-- all in Mandarin. I was also able to teach an 8-week club on Chinese language (speaking, reading, and writing). My students' enthusiasm for Chinese language and culture is higher than ever before, and my Chinese culture unit felt deeper and more meaningful than in years past.


"The Dark and Spooky Forest" (Halloween performance); 4th graders on stage; "The Legend of White Snake" (Chinese New Year performance)