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Wang, Yi (王怡)
What has my AID experience been like? It’s hard to put into words the people, the places, and the experiences I have discovered here in Taiwan for the past four weeks. Some things were challenging, some were exciting, but everything here can perhaps be summed up in one word: unforgettable. Throughout this trip, I have come across different personalities of different people across the states, across the country of Taiwan, and even within myself. Thanks to the directors of AID, my teachers at Jingshan GuoXiao, the counselors in the tour, and the many friends I have made here, this summer has been one impactful and influential to the rest of my life.
When I walked into the JianTan Activity Center, I was surprised by all the youth I saw walking around already, getting to know each other and greeting people in their rooms. It was funny hearing everyone speaking in English, since I usually only speak Chinese in Taiwan! I quickly got to know the people in my room, and by the time we ate our first meal, it seemed like we had known each other for days already. While the week went by exhaustingly with hours of training, lectures, and lesson planning, I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new friends daily. I got a lot of valuable teaching preparation from all the different instructors here, and by the time Friday came along, our whole team was ready and excited to meet our students in Miaoli.
Driving up to Jingshan, our team quickly realized just how far into the mountains we would actually be in for the next two weeks. When our tour bus dropped us off in the middle of the street, I felt like our link to civilization literally disappeared! The first thing we noticed about our school was how cute and welcoming it looked; there was pottery and flowers everywhere. That night brought in a crazy thunderstorm, but we managed to survive the night without A/C. We met our school teachers during the weekend, and they even brought us out to eat Hakka-style meals and shaved ice! Our team bonded over the weekend preparing an Opening Ceremony Performance for them, but it turned out a great success! After a week of anticipation, we finally got to meet our kids on the first day of class. Our students greeted us very politely and hardly spoke a word. We were even a little frustrated that they were too quiet and not participative. Slowly and gradually, we gained their trust and their smiles day by day. At break times, I would play kickball with the boys and at lunchtime, I would chat with the girls. At the end of each day, all the teachers would walk our students back to their parents, eagerly awaiting to see them tomorrow.
Our group members also got to know each other better, spending hours laboring over lesson plans and also procrastinating until the very end. We spent most of the night in our conference rooms, the only one with A/C, complaining about mosquito bites and bragging about whose students are the cutest. There was also a pottery teacher at the school who taught us how to make beautiful clay animals to take home as souvenirs. Over the weekend, we went around downtown Miaoli and visited many places I’ve never been to before. The two days were fun but exhausting, and surprisingly, everyone in our group was happy to get back to our school. Even our kids came to see us on the weekend and asked us about where we went. Things went along great on the second week, and my class decided to learn the Cup Song for our closing ceremony. I was so touched when I told my students to practice after going home, and they all came back the next day having learned the entire song! As the students got more and more comfortable with learning English, I was very encouraged to see them speak aloud and use common phrases. Sadly, we had no idea the typhoon would take away two of precious school days. On the last day of school, our class ended up being the only group ready to perform and seeing them proudly on the stage made me even more proud!
I had no idea that leaving the school on the last Friday would have been so hard. None of us wanted to part with the beautiful scenery, the adorable school campus, and the super lovable kids. Even the students came at 7am to say goodbye with us and send us off! During this last week, all the counselors brought out so much energy and excitement to join us on the Southern Tour. It was great seeing people from AID and bonding with our Bus A. From Kenting Night Markets to aquariums, to amusement parks and museums, I enjoyed learning more about different cultures in Taiwan. Our days and nights were so packed with activities that getting on bus and sleeping was one of our favorite parts of the day! It’s hard to believe that four weeks have passed already, but I’m also excited to return home and share about this experience with others. Being in this program has taught me a lot about independence and maturity, about working with a team and working with kids, about enjoying nature and enjoying people around me. I will never forget this summer of 2014 and the memories AID has left in my life!
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Li, Alice (李奕欣)
I came to Taiwan not knowing what to expect because I hadn't been to Taiwan in 9 years and I had no teaching experience whatsoever. I live in NYC so the thought of living in a rural environment with all the bugs and heat for two weeks was a little frightening. The first day of teaching was so frustrating because all the kids were shy and unresponsive. Everyone just stared at me when I walked in and said, "Good morning!" The students spoke to each other in Taiwanese, which I didn't understand, and some of them were taller than I am so I didn't feel like I had much authority over them. It was also our 3rd night staying in the temple and I wasn't used to the squatting toilets and daily cockroach battles yet. But soon my students started to open up and actually volunteer to play games in front of the class or come up to talk to me during breaks. The last day was one I'll never forget because it was the day that I realized how much our students really appeciated us. They showered us with hugs and cards and their love. One of my students, Lucy, told me that she decided she would work harder from now on so that she would be able to come to NYC to visit me when she was in college. I never imagined that I would have that much of an impact on a 13 year old girl in Yunlin, Taiwan and it's still kind of hard to believe.
The teaching portion of this program is so rewarding, but the fact that you also meet and work with people from all parts of the US and even the UK is just another reason why I'm so glad that I decided to apply for this program. The kindness and hospitality offered to us by everyone we met was something unique to Taiwan and I've learned so much about Taiwanese culture from the weekend trips we took and tour week. Thanks AID 2014, for making this a truly unforgetable summer!
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Hsi, Tiffany (席與彤)
Before coming into AID, I had no idea what to expect. I had come into Taiwan numerous times before, but never in a fashion quite like the upcoming June/July. However, all fears and doubts were quickly cast aside as I began training week with the 7 other group mates that I would soon grow to love. Not only this, but the 13 students who had blankly stared at my teaching partner and me on our first day transformed from shy, bashful children to energetic, spirited souls. Every day as we walked into the classroom, my eyes would light up with delight and wonder, ready to start a new day. AID grew to be more than a summer program, flourishing into a lifetime experience that I will forever hold in my heart.
Of course with teaching come numerous problems and even more memorable moments. Training week is forever known as the most stressful week I have ever gone through. Being thrown information from left and right could be tiring, but I know that the rewards were abundant. As my first week of teaching began, I knew exactly what to do as I came into class with a full teaching plan. However, teaching young children is a completely different story. Energetic and full-of-life, all were unable to sit still and concentrate for more than a minute. My teaching partner and I tried everything we could think of to calm them down and get them interested, but many tries were fruitless. Although it seemed that two weeks would pass by slowly, in reality, it went too quick. The joyous memories overshadowed all others, and I would not trade one minute for anything.
The friends, group mates, classmates, and students that I met while on this one month journey are no longer considered to be so, as our relationships can be considered to be those of a family. The leaders and other figures who lead my group mates and me around both Taipei and Chiayi City acted as role models, individuals who I can always count on to help. They were there whenever I needed their assistance, eager to lend a hand to a girl in need. The students that I taught were my inspiration. Their smiles were always filled with curiosity, motivating me to learn more about what was around me. Though we had our problems, at the end of the day, those problems were trivial. Our friendship remained as strong as ever, with nothing to break us apart. Lastly, the friends that went through the same things that I did, from start to finish, are people who are a combination of both role models and inspiration. They are the only ones who can relate to all that I have been through, the ones who know what is on my mind before I know myself. They are the only ones who I can talk to about everything and not be judged. They are the ones who I can look to in the future to help me in any situation, and I know that, though not direct, I have even more family members to add to my circle.
I know that AID summer is something that I am proud to say that I experienced firsthand. I will always return to Taiwan with happy memories with blissful memories and even more places to visit. Even from across the world, I know that I am at home no matter where I am, in America or Taiwan. Nothing could have made my time here more enjoyable, knowing for a fact that there is looking to the events of this summer, and making my future even better.
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Chan, Katie (陳緯綾)
Overall, the AID Summer 2014 program was a great learning experience. Although I had a wonderful time being able to meet and hang out with people from all over the world, there were some bumps along the way that I learned to cope with. I'm thankful that I was put into the group that I was assigned because without them I would've definitely gone insane. Together, we braved through the bug-ridden living accommodations (classroom floor in a church) and other difficult situations we encountered during the two weeks of teaching. For example, my group did not feel as welcomed as we would've liked because our director seemed burdened by our stay at Jhutian Elementary School. Hearing that I would be staying at a church, I expected dorms and beds but instead, I was greeted with six sleeping mats in a church classroom with desks pushed to the side. However, sleeping on the floor was not the issue. The larger problem was the lines of ants that appeared one day in our room. The ants didn't appear just in our living space but also in our bathroom sinks, toilet seats, and our "living room" (another classroom they allowed us to use at the church) Fortunately, my kids were amazing, attentive, and very excited to be able to learn English from my teaching partner and me. Training week, the first week, was alright. I feel like that week was not used as efficiently as possible. Each team was assigned a teacher but we only got to spend time with that teacher for around 3 hours for several evenings. I feel like the large sessions to learn classroom activities and ways to deal with misbehaving children were somewhat time wasting. A smaller group with the assigned teacher would have benefited my group more. Tour week was good for spending one last week with my friends. I thoroughly enjoyed many of the activities that AID planned for the central tour.
I will miss my friends and Taiwan a lot.
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Yam, Alexis (任柔恩)
Hi, my name is Alexis Yam and this summer I was part of the 2014 AID summer program. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with and this program has helped me create the most unforgettable memories. I was waitlisted for AID and I suspected it was because I wasnt even taiwanese and because I had so many allergies. I'm cambodian and Burmese and my Chinese is nowhere near perfect. When I was accepted from the waitlist, I was given one day to buy my plane ticket and I think it was the first time I made such a spontaneous decision. I hated airplanes and leaving my friends before college definitely made me not want to come. But AID gave me the opportunity to take risks, teach children from across the world, visit a new country, and just in general enjoy life while I was still young. The very first week I was able to bond with friends but it wasn't until the second week that I created a deeper connection with my fellow teammates, Kimberly, Alice, Annie, Allen, and Chris. We would laugh about the dumbest things and get to know everything about each other until we were sick of hearing each other talk. I was sent to da hu elementary school and my first impression of the school was that it was a really big place and I loved it. My first day of teaching went more smoothly than I expected because my students cooperated so well. We underestimated our children because even though they didn't understand any English, they knew way more than we thought they did. Throughout the next two weeks, Kimberly and I taught these 15 little munchkins the basics of English and had them listen to various kinds of American music. We taught them the alphabet, basic greetings, colors, numbers, family members, adjectives, animals, shapes, phonics, and American holidays. We had some students that were more advanced than others and a few students that had more trouble remembering what we taught them. In the end, our students may not have memorized all our vocabulary but we hope that we at least gave them the desire to learn a new language. The two weeks I had to teach was probably one of the best two weeks of my life because it was so hard for me to let them go. Back in the states, I teach for a whole year and never once have I ever cried for my kids. This time, I couldn't stop crying even though it was super embarrassing to cry in public. I remember we were on stage and one of my favorite kids, Eric, came up to me and started crying and that just broke my heart. These kids were absolutely adorable and I'll definitely miss them. When we were dropped off for tour week. I cried for my teacher Kevin even though I didn't think I would cry. It was surprising to see how attached I became to my children and my teacher. Now that I think about it, I think I'll cry even more for my partners. I might even cry waterfalls, its that bad and they mean that much to me. Taiwan AID has been the best experience of my life and I will never forget it ever. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come to Taiwan. I am deeply grateful. :) <3
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Schmitt, Annabelle (許安苓)
AID was most definitely a memorable four weeks and also a highly worthwhile way to spend my summer. As with anything, there were both highs and lows. Living conditions for the first week were great. Even rooms with many people were decently spaced and offered the necessities. Food was edible, but the first day was a bit of a shock. In terms of the presentations we had, the first week I was here was almost useless once I arrived at the school I was to teach at. We were taught some useful teaching skills such as classroom management and vocabulary games, but some entire days were useless. For example, the advice to “teach English in English” was complete and utter horseshit. My partner and I were teaching children who had barely been exposed to English; those that had been exposed to English had been taught by a nearly clueless teacher with an awful accent who barely cared about teaching the children much less teaching them well. I mean, for God's sake, “L” is not pronounced “elu.” Besides “teaching English in English,” there was no useful advice on what to teach the children. Even though we were teaching third graders, my partner and I ended up having to teach our students the albaphet and also work on phonics. Many of the other pairs in our group had to review or reteach the albaphet as well. If it hadn't been for the amazing people at Sandi Elementary School, all eight of us would have been totally clueless. The school was beautiful and the kids lovely and decently behaved. Food was amazing and even though there was only one shower, housing was not an issue. It was challenging figuring out how to teach them because of the lack of proper training. Vocab games were easy to come up with, but topics were not, nor were creative ways to present information easy to come up with. Even so, once we figured out how to make things work, the kids had a lot of fun and also showed great improvement in their English. I felt as though their pronunciation was significantly better by the end of the week. They managed to pick up phonics even without a formal teaching of them.
Regarding the leisure time at the end of the four weeks, I must say that, put simply, it was subpar. The tour felt as though it was thrown together through an all-nighter. A lot of the destinations were flat out boring and uninteresting or presented in a way that left me clueless afterward about what they were. I still don't remember the significance of half the places we visited. Admittedly, it was explained on the bus, but not well enough or simply enough to keep my interest. The best visits were to night markets and other shopping areas. The visit to Sun-Moon Lake in Nantou County was also fun, but too many other places seemed lame. At this point I'm not sure what else I wanted to complain about. Living conditions the last week sucked so much I just don't want to remember them. This is over 500 words so I'm gonna call it quits. Just know that it was worth it because of the kids, not because of the tour. If I could do it again, I might consider opting out of the tour, if not for the great friends I made.
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Wang, Michael (王德宜)
This camp has taught me how to learn, how to open up, how to teach, but most importantly how to make friends. Not only did I make friends with those I worked long hours with, designed innovative new ways to entertain and teach, but also I made friends with those who I taught, those who tirelessly worked to absorb what I communicated.
The first day both the students and I explored an unfamiliar environment. I was extremely timid, not knowing whether these children were ready to listen us, still young adolescents. Similarly, these kids were also extremely shy, not knowing whether these teachers, who must have seemed to come from a different planet, were willing to make this summer camp experience both educational and enjoyable. In order for these kids to open up I learned that they needed a fearless leader, one that was willing to take the necessary sacrifices, to take the first step and take the stumble for them. I learned that I needed to open up and to expose myself first so that they could see they were in no danger of being laughed at and they would be able to be honest with us.
As the kids became more comfortable with these strangers from a different land bringing different customs, we had to learn that anything in excess, even those beneficial and essential to learning would create an inefficient, chaotic environment. In order to make these kids speak to us, we had to be their teachers, but more importantly their friends. Friends that always had their back and would never let them fall. Being such great friends would ensure that these students would not lose confidence in their ability to speak. Every positive, however also carries a negative trade-off.
As we became friendlier with these kids, they no longer treated us as a higher authority. They only wanted to play games all day and constantly asked us to stop teaching and instead go outside to play. We lost control over the children and could not convince them to learn. It pained me to treat them harshly, however it was a necessary measure to ensure that they actually learned what they came to learn- English. Similarly, I learned a very effective way to seize back control is to offer them a reward in exchange for them listening. If you display the reward right in front of them, then they will see it as an easy attainable prize. They will immediately perk up because it is an immediate reward. Luckily, I learned from past mistakes and did not do this in excess. For if I did, I worry that the same would have happened and the kids would have expected the prizes instead of relishing the act of earning the prizes.
Leaving the kids was the most difficult part of the camp. Because they were only elementary kids, there was still so much to teach them. The camp felt incomplete because the primary focus during the camp was only on sea animals. There are so many more topics that could be covered like sports and food. I feel that two weeks is not enough time to teach these kids English because most of the first week is focused on familiarizing with kids and most of the second week was focused on the closing ceremony. There was not enough time to teach these kids a lot of vocabulary and sentence structures. All in all, this experience was extremely enjoyable because of the friends I made, both big and small, and taught me valuable life lessons about human nature and moderation.
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Hsiao, TingAnn (蕭含叡)
Before coming to Taiwan, I read a quote by William Ward, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great, inspires." At that point, I, the new teacher, wanted to survive. My heart felt the pressure of teaching a whole class of students. My nerves were anxious, knowing my resume of an underqualified high school graduate. I felt the slight whiplash of events happening far too quickly for my brain to absorb. With a type A personality, I tried at first to be prepared to everything, back up plans for any possible plan Bs. I kept journals and schedules for the future days ahead of me. The weekend before, I devised an ambitious plan to fully integrate language skills into my future students' daily life.
The first day of teaching, I realized that my students were just as scared as I. There were several shy encounters and awkward long silences. At that point in time, I felt a little bit weary of teaching a whole class. However, as the week slowly progressed, the students grew more loudly and lively. We would play baseball with great gusto, and we would knead dough for small cookies. In fact, later on in the second week, they grew so loud that we had to calm their excitement multiple times.
Slowly, I realized that in terms of teaching English, I would at most teach them twenty new words that they would forget in the near future. Trying to accommodate each student according to their skill levels, ultimately proved too exhausting and unreasonable. Eventually, I gave up trying to turn my students into English scholars. Teaching vocabulary and sentences, still featured prominently in each lesson, but with a different undertone. I taught with the knowledge and the hope that my students would not fully absorb each word. Some students with more skill would of course only have to truly learn a couple words while the rest were review. Others, would grasp at a few new words and would studiously learn those. However, to me learning new vocabulary was not the goal. As a short term teacher, my goal was to inspire and instill the love of learning into my students. A long term curiosity and appreciation of the English language proved more significant in their lives than the English word "basketball". Enthusiasm and the drive to pursue another language would prove to be a better lesson than anything else. As I waved goodbye to my students who have all rushed to send me off, in my heart, I hoped that I inspired them.
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Chang, Andrew (張維翔)
AID summer has been such a wonderful experience that has taught me a lot. Knowing that I made a difference in somebody’s life is an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding sentiment. Before the two weeks started, I was a bit tentative about teaching elementary school kids. I did not know how they would behave in class or how they would receive my teaching style. Initially, things did not seem promising, as the kids were shy and showed discomfort in the new learning environment. After lunch however, things quickly changed. The class almost immediately became more involved and reacted positively to the reward system that the teachers put in place. The cultural differences between the United States and Taiwan acted as a slight obstacle while teaching, but in general, each day ran smoother than the previous day. As each day progressed into the next, it became increasingly evident that the students felt passionate about the learning the English language. They were energized and loved the competitive nature of certain team games that would both enhance their English skills and invoke a level of interest and fun in the class. Most importantly, the students became more comfortable speaking English.
Prior to the start of the AID summer program, I approached these couple weeks with apathy and indifference. I did not believe the amount of effort required to make the two weeks successful, after all, teaching was a completely foreign territory that I have never explored before. Knowing that these disadvantaged students are coming from remote areas did not mean much to me. Once I got to 富安國小 all my thoughts slowly changed. I never expected such a run down and underdeveloped area to be part of Taipei City. However, I soon learned that looks can be deceiving. The technology and resources of the school proved to be far more advanced and developed than I originally anticipated when I first saw the school.
In all honesty, the AID summer surprised me in numerous ways. The intangible factors that contributed to this program proved to be difficult and at times, mentally draining. I did not expect this program to require as much time and effort as it actually required. Every night, countless hours would be spent in preparation for the next day’s class. Although this may sound like boring and exhausting work, it was actually quite amusing because I was surrounded by the company of such entertaining and fun teachers and peers. Additionally, this program has provided me with a level of responsibility and discipline that had formerly been absent.
In general, this experience was very pleasurable and delightful in ways that are indescribable. This program has given me a new outlook on life and a new approach to things I am not familiar with. The staff of 富安國小 was very hospitable and caring and this experience would not have been the same without my seven other teachers. Thank you AID for giving me such a wonderful experience that I will always treasure dearly.
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Yu, Kevin (俞凯文)
My experience in the AID program has been nothing less than fulfilling. This program, in short, gave me the chance to be a stronger leader. I have never taught or lectured a class for more than two hours before July of 2014, so the overall teaching experience was extremely worthwhile and enlightening.
The first day at Ganyuan junior high school was very stressful, because my partner and I did not know our students' overall skill level. We surprisingly underestimated their abilities, which made teaching incredibly difficult on the first day. We did not prepare enough material as a result of this poor estimation, and basically reviewed very basic material (like the alphabet and numbers in English). The first day, however, taught me that improvisation is essential when teaching younger students. Sometimes, teaching plans will be flawed. The deliberate plans will not always appeal to the moody students, so improvisation is needed. For instance, after finishing our planned presentation (English greetings), my partner and I quickly prepared a review game to prevent boredom and outrage. It is hard to always please the students, but as long as everybody is participating in the activities, class order is achieved.
As beginners to teaching, my partner and I struggled to make an awesome teaching plan everyday. We wanted to make games that had both direction and excitement. We quickly found that certain activities (Hangman and drawing pictures) enticed the students more than anything else and reused them throughout the two weeks. Every time the class noise level reached a certain loud point, we knew that we were playing the right activity. Every time the class was silent, we would change the scheduled activity and try to increase their energy. In retrospect, I regret playing some games because they lacked purpose. Some games did not properly segue into certain topics nor contribute anything to the lesson at hand. In the beginning, some games were used as fillers, as we did not pace our teaching presentations. During the first week, we would not reiterate the vocabulary words for fear of boredom and would burn through the material very quickly. We soon learned that constantly drilling the English vocabulary and phrases is one of the best techniques for teaching the students. As a result of this realization, we repeated the words much more often and walked around the classroom to make sure the students understood.
Overall, I loved my teaching experiences in New Taipei City. The students were all very respectful and lively. They would chat with me in both Chinese and English during the breaks, and I would talk to them about life in New York. As a teacher, I felt powerful. I don't mean powerful as in dominance over others, but more as a leader. Watching the interactions between students and their behavior towards certain activities made me understand their personalities, strengths, passions and weaknesses. As a teacher, I made sure to accentuate the students' strengths and assist with their weaknesses. Teachers are not only in the classroom to provide extra sources of knowledge, but always as guides to help students realize their potentials.
AID helped me to understand what a teacher feels when he is standing on that raised podium, and how to deal with certain situations in the classroom environment. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed living in Taiwan and immersing myself in Taiwanese culture. I will miss this program dearly.
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Zhu, Christine (朱倚妮)
ID has changed my views of Taiwan. I have only been to Taiwan once beforehand and that was when I was 7. It has been 10 years since I have set foot in this country so AID basically gave me my new first impression of the country. It was amazing. I loved the whole trip, regardless of the hand washing of clothes, bug battles, low hygiene levels and exhausting humid heat. There were a lot of negatives. We lived in a temple and there was no washing machine. I had to handwash my clothes for the first time in my life. There were bugs everyday. We didn't know what bugs we were going to encounter. I couldn't stand the heat. My body couldn't either. I developed a heat rash and I got really sick. I had to go see a doctor. There was one great positive though. The people I have met and connected with has been an experience I never felt before. I now truely understand why Taiwan is known for their nice people. The teachers were so nice and supportive. They all put their best effort to make our stay the best it could be. Yu Shen laoshi was like a mother who was caring and protective. She guided us while worrying about our health and safety. Her father is a great cook! Newton laoshi brought us our breakfast every morning, even when there was a typhoon. He treated us warmly and showed us his family history and invited him to our house. His kids were adorable!! Yunlin laoshi spent a lot of time devoting to us as our moniter and transporter.
Teaching the students were one of the best things I have ever done. It was nerve wrecking at first. We were told we had to make an opening ceremony and make our lesson plans. We would work everyday from morning to night, just planning. It was crazy. The students, at first shy, all opened up and were eager to participate in the classroom activities we had worked hard to make. I remember on the first day, there was a really shy group that refused to do any of the activities and I was hoping around like crazy to get them to slightly go along. Our teaching group had a consensus to pretend to not know chinese and force the students to speak to us in English. By the end of the two weeks, the students were always nagging us in chinese saying, "I know you understand me" in chinese yet we continued our charade, which forced them to continue speaking chinese. The connections I had made with these students had me bursting in tears as I left on the last day. Students had showered us with gifts and gratefulness. I remember student had written me a note saying he was very happy today. It was heartwarming. This experience also gave me hope. I never knew why the older generation always looked at the younger with hope and pride but I see it now. The students were all so bright and hardworking. This program has also increased my respect for good teachers, as I now experience the amount of work and energy a teacher has to put in to make good lesson plans. Thank AID for this experience!
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Yi, Cheryl (易雪柔)
This program has definitely exceeded my expectations. Before I even came to Taiwan, I was worried about everything – the living condition, the kids’ attitude and behaviors, and whether I will work well with the rest of my team. I imagined the training week to be dreadful and boring, but instead, I learned about some interesting strategies of how to teach and made new friends. Although the lesson planning in the evenings stressed me out a little bit, I enjoyed working with my team. The days went by really slow during the first week: everyday was packed with lectures, discussion, or lesson planning. I spent so much time with my roommates that at the end of the week, I was so depressed to be separated from them. As the second week began, we were nervous and insecure. My team lived in the principal’s house, which now I think of as a privilege after hearing about other teams living in libraries and temples. The principal’s family was really welcoming and nice; they took good care of us. The principal even did our laundry just to make sure that we can focus more on teaching.
I still remember the first day that I met the children. They stared at us with curiosity and excitement. The first day actually wasn’t that nerve-racking for me because all we did were opening ceremony and pre-test. At first they were all shy and afraid to make eye contact with us, but they started approaching soon after. They would ask us questions about the United States and our lives back in America. The boys became closer to my co-teaching partner, playing soccer during recess and after school. The girls started to gossip with me about the whole class: who is the boss of the class, which boy likes which girl, the boyfriend / girlfriend business, and which student speaks the best English or Hakka. Our class was probably one of the largest classes within the AID summer program: we had thirty student. Although we had some assistant teachers in the back of the room, we mainly taught the classes all by ourselves. We tried very hard to not make the kids bored; we incorporated games and arts and crafts often. The kids were actually quite obedient and well-behaved. They respected us as teachers, and they tried their best to communicate to us in English. The teaching week went by smoothly most of the time, but I wish that we had more freedom to the topics that we teach. Both of the classes at our school were restricted to only teach animal-related topics. As a result, we struggled to come up with new activities and new things to teach. I taught incoming 6th graders, and they actually already know most of the vocabulary that we taught. The problem with such a huge class was that students’ English levels were different. Some understood what we taught and what we want them to do instantly, but others had trouble to catch up with what we were saying. Overall, I enjoyed hanging out with my kids, and on the last day, all the students were wishing us a good tour. Some even wrote us cards and made us bracelets. This month has really been an amazing experience, and I hope I can come back and visit my kids in the future.
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Huang, Gary (黃秀剛)
After many goodbyes and “see you in two weeks” at Jian Tan Activity Center, my group and I boarded the bus to our elementary school in Sanxia District, New Taipei City. We made our way through the sprawling metro area of Taipei into a new kind of city; one with mountains on one side and a young, developing area full of high rises in-the-making on the other. As we passed by another stretch of verdant mountains, we arrived at Da-Cheng Elementary School. I noticed the school was larger than any other elementary school I’ve ever seen, and within a few seconds, the principal and a couple of teachers greeted us past the main door. We were introduced to the athletic courts, classrooms, dormitories, and variety of bugs that we may encounter. Although I was rather happy with the setup of the school, I knew that this place would take some getting used to.
It wasn’t long before I became accustomed to the schedule of waking up at 7:50, teaching until 2:30, making lesson plans until at least 7:30 every night, working out with my roommate Albert, reading philosophy, and going to sleep around 12:00. It became like clockwork; every day I expected a shabby bian-dang for lunch and the quiet training of mind and body at night. However, I didn’t expect the overflowing enthusiasm and love of the students, with pleasant and annoying variations every day. By the end of the first day, some of the students were already tugging at my arm saying “Gary Gege!” or making little origami boats for me. We got closer day by day, and these bonds truly allowed me to teach them English with my full energy and passion.
Every day, we would start with some warm-up activities, such as common English greetings, review of the previous days lesson, singing a song, playing games, etc. Then, we would go into vocabulary powerpoints, in which they would have to repeat each new word 3 times and eventually learn the sentence patterns associated with them. Mixed in with this relatively-boring yet essential part of the lesson would be games, such as Repeat If True, Hangman, and Musical Chairs. I found these games to be instrumental in their ability to remember the words and focus on the actual lessons. However, the students tended to get rowdy often, and I had trouble settling them down the first couple of days because I was “too nice”. After this realization, I became more strict and sometimes threatened to summon Teacher Ping’s stone-cold glare; this strategy was rather effective. In the afternoons, the two classes would join together in the larger music room upstairs to play games, learn new songs, listen to us read them picture books, and eventually practice for our closing ceremony. Over the course of the last two weeks, I believe that not only have their English skills improved, but their ability to overcome the anxiety and shyness of speaking a second language diminished. They are now well ahead of their peers, and I truly hope they continue to explore the English language and view it as a key tool in their future endeavors. As for me, this volunteer experience has been unique, enlightening, and most importantly fun; I’m glad I was able to make a difference in the lives of these children and connect with their young minds.
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Chen, Stephanie (陳映彤)
My time at Taitung's Ren Ai Elementary School was like throwing a fish out of the water and onto dry land. The moment I stepped off the plane I noticed the large mountains and blue sky and thought that the district I was in was amazing and beautiful. Then I met the children I would be teaching. Never have I met a more boisterous and active group of little children. They weren't curious about our lifestyles in the United States of America but rather if we had a significant other. Most were only mildly adequate in speaking English, and very few could connect words to written sentences. We tried to speak slow every time but it seemed that we were just dumbing ourselves down and for fifth graders they managed to pick up on that fact. It wasn't until the fourth day that the children started to warm up to us and really started to be more mischievous and active. Teaching children in a hot environment and with a slight language barrier was difficult. The children seemed bored at times, and at other times made fun of our American accented Mandarin or messed with our spoken English and made them into funny Chinese sentences. Although my expectations for the children were very high at first, some children fell very low on the scale while others soared above my own expectations. The good students were tremendously amazing at English, and were attentive and helped their peers. The bad students were those from economically lower families it seemed and didn't get in contact with English as often. After a few days though we saw that the children who struggled with English started to participate more with our games and questions, and with the help of their better peers they too improved. The children became so attached to us and started to actively pursue English speaking opportunities and at the end of the day they would slowly leave the school and wait for us to leave the campus to walk and talk with us. Teaching the children and learning how to teach them from the school teachers helped me to understand and learn more about myself, my personality. The children taught me patience and Taiwanese culture while I taught them English and American culture. I grew to love them and in turn the children were very sad when we left, staying an extra five hours after school to hang out and talk to us. I will always remember my time at Taitung and the children I taught and grew to admire. I hope to see them again someday and speak to them in all English.
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Tan, Andrew (陳自輝)
At the start of this program, I had so many questions and no idea how to teach. I didn’t know how many people I would be teaching, what their English level was, what they would think of me, and whether or not I would be accustomed to teaching. Despite it being my first time in Taiwan, the program made for quite a welcoming experience. I met my group of 5 other people for the first time, all strangers at first, but we got along quite well. And there, I made my first friends in Taiwan. After training week, when we left for Shuangyuan Junior High School, I met the teachers who would be taking care of us, and they were extremely welcoming and helpful in getting us accustomed to the school and neighborhood. Whereas I started off the first week nervous about teaching, I ended the week ready and looking forward to meeting the students for the first time.
The first day of teaching went very differently from what I expected. The students were very quiet reluctant to answer our questions, possibly because English was still foreign to them. It wasn’t until the second or third day of class that the students were finally comfortable enough to start acting like their normal selves. The class was still rather quiet overall, but more people were willing to participate and respond to questions. They also began interacting with me more, and we could have conversations and share interests during breaks and lunch. All this made teaching easier and easier, as I gained a better feel for how to teach them, shaping the curriculum into material that would interest them and in ways that would be easy to remember.
By the second week, Shuangyuan JHS felt like a large family to me. I knew my group, the faculty, and the students all really well, and was very glad to have the privilege of working with all of them. The last few days of teaching differed greatly from the first few days. Whereas the first few days were full of blank stares, silent periods, and overall apprehensiveness in both me and my students, near the end there were plenty of new friendships, the students looked very happy to come to class and learn, and there was a lot more smiles and laughter around the classroom. I noticed my own voice being naturally louder and more confident, and more students could understand what I say. I was more sure of how to teach, compared to the start when I could feel myself getting bored at times with what I taught.
Goodbyes were extremely hard, due to how close everyone got to one another. After the closing ceremony, it was really sad to have some final conversations and see students leave, not knowing whether or not I would ever see them again. The question of whether or not these two weeks would stay with them was also present in my mind. Right now though, after the end of teaching, I have Facebook friended many of my students, and still talk to them in English. Some of them respond in English as well, which makes me feel that these two weeks had an impact on their desires to continue learning English. I would love to come back to Taiwan in the future and see how much more everyone has learned, and just to see how they are doing.
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Kong, Elvin (孔維翔)
When I first got accepted into the AID Summer program I was actually very nervous. I had no prior teaching background and now I was expected to teach little kids English. For the months prior to the program, I scrambled for ideas on how to make lessons fun and take up as much time as possible. At Chientan, I learned about a lot of other review games that seemed useful, but the classes themselves were a bit lacking. The point system was exciting and I eventually used that while teaching, but trying to keep over a hundred people engaged did not work out well.
One of the best things I liked about this trip was that I got to meet a wide variety of people. The other people on my team were awesome people and I got to know each of them very well during the two weeks. Also, people I met at Chientan and on the tour were always interesting to talk to. I had never met so many new people at once in my life, and I found that it was quite a fun experience.
The children were also fun to be with. We separated the students on the first day according to level using the pre-test, and my partner and I got Group B: the second lowest in ability. Group B was really nice and well-behaved, but only after we got to know them well. The first few days I was so nervous I could barely eat lunch, and the students were a bit unwilling to participate in class. However, after a few days I started to relax, and now that the kids were familiar with me and my partner they were more willing to participate more.
One of the main problems was that creating planners beforehand didn't really help because each group of kids is different. We had to create new PowerPoints every day and we had to sleep at 12 am most days because of that. At Chientan, teachers told us to neither underestimate nor overestimate the children, but each group was different and quite a bit of what they taught was not useful at all.
During the second week, my partner and I were more relaxed and we were able to improvise our lessons a lot easier than during the first week. We thought elementary school students, so they really liked games like the flyswatter game and the curtain game. My partner had a really good idea where students gain fake money for being good and answering questions correctly, and fake money was taken away if they were being bad. At the end of the second week, our class had an auction and we have the students different items to buy, like ear phones, notebooks, and pens. The money was a good incentive to participate, and a good enough of a threat so that students would try not to misbehave.
Overall, I really loved this trip to Taiwan. I met a lot of amazing people and I saw some awesome sights. There were a few bad moments, but the good moments outshone them by a lot. I would definitely come back again if I could and I would recommend it to my friends as well.
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Chan, Zoe (陳擇信)
These two weeks have been quite tiring to be honest. Tiring but rewarding. Every day after 3, I’d collapse on my bed and peel off my long pants and replace it with breezy shorts. However even though I had over 100 bug bites and my class bugged me to no end (haha get it?) I found great joy teaching kids who normally couldn’t receive a formal English class. It is crazy how nice you feel at the end of the two weeks when you have kids crying and clinging on to you because they don’t want you to leave. I can’t say I didn’t shed a few tears, but I can safely say that I will never forget my experience. From the time the shyest kid in the class finally said something in English, to the excited face of a student who knew the answer to my question. I won’t forget the two kids Dora and Eric who sit in the middle of the classroom, rapidly writing down what we taught them. Then as I ask them a question, their faces bob down to check their notes as their hands fly up and say the answer before we get a chance to call on them. Although sometimes calling out can be annoying, it was a great feeling, considering how the rest of the class often stared at us blankly. I’m also glad for my amazing partner Iris, who was able to translate for me in class and outside of class, since my Mandarin is subpar. When it was cleaning time, I couldn’t believe how diligent the kids were in making their school clean. From picking up leaves off the school track to sweeping up the classroom, I realized that although America may have a quality education system, nothing can beat the morals and work ethic taught to these kids. I know even back home, I will try to take this encounter and project it on my life. Even after class, the kids continue to bless me and teach me things that I couldn’t learn in America. For example, during the weekend, our principal brought us to an island to see the culture. I was super surprised to see my student working there right alongside his parents. It was so rejuvenating to see kids helping out their parents even when they could have had free time. Like I said earlier, the work ethic in these kids is amazing. What else really struck me? The community. In Bai-ji Elementary, there are only 54 kids… So as our principal took us out to eat, the restaurant that we happen to be at (the owner graciously treated us which is extremely surprising as a snobby New Yorker) kids started showing up and respectfully bowed and said “Ni Hao Teacher.” The community and the ability to hop on a bike and go to a friend’s house really struck me. All these experiences that the kids have given me in class and outside of class has really changed how I will view life. I’m so glad my parents convinced me to come to this and I seriously can’t wait for the tour week!
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Liu, Thomas (劉瀚仁)
From Taipei to Hualien; from the city to the countryside, as we approached Yu-Shan Theological College, the buildings on the street became shorter and shorter, older and older. Not only did my feelings of excitement grow stronger and stronger but also the pressure, the anxiety had come along on the way as well that I wonder if my teachings are going to be effective.
The first night in Yu-Shan Theological College was pretty shocking: no wifi, no AC, flies and spiders everywhere, the laundry machines were not used for years so we had to hand-wash our clothes. There were no beds or cushion so we slept on the floor/board. The shower rooms were a little nasty because the dorm has long not cleaned since the end of the school year. My roommates and I set 3 fans around us so we don’t feel too hot when we were asleep, but still, we all were sweaty when we woke up… It was kind of hard for us but I’m getting used to it now. To challenge new things and to enjoy the fun of teaching kids English are the reasons why I am here. I want to step out the comfort zone and try something different to enrich my life. As a result, I told myself I can’t give up; I should have been ready for this!
After a day of class preparation in Yu-Shan, another journey had begun: since the students are from diverse places in Hualien and Taitung, we chose to go to each church instead of them all coming to us. Although it was loaded and tiring, it was fun that we got the opportunities to experience several Taiwanese aboriginal cultures.
Many of the churches have similar conditions as Yu-Shan, one has wifi but doen’t reach far, one has no cooling machines even a fan so that night I remember I slept at 12 but woke up at 2 and I found out that my back was all sweat. The kids have different kinds as well, there are always the naughty, noisy ones and one or two who are very extremely quiet. Some already know some English but some even don’t know about the numbers. Their English capability range widely even within a few ages, it made us a challenge to design the class for them. What was more challenging was that we had to move to the next village soon after we are familiarized with the place, and then everything had to start again.
What’s more interesting is that we gave each of the churches our opening ceremony and closing ceremony. From this trip, we have gone over 4 churches therefore we have had our opening and closing ceremony 4 times. We are like the opening and closing ceremony experts now because each of us in the group get to be the speakers in each ceremonies.
In my opinion, although we have had a lot of fun by going to a new village within a few days like sightseeing, we are actually more challenging because of the sudden schedule changes. Everything we have planned have been fixed many times sometimes by a phone call or a natural disaster like the typhoon we just encountered. As a result, from this AID summer camp, I have not only experienced teaching on the stage but also I’ve learned how to be flexible when we meet any situations.
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Kao, Jessica (高詩絜)
AID summer camp was very similar and very different from what I expected when was first notified that I was coming back to Taiwan to teach English. For one thing, I didn’t expect us to have so much time to coordinate before going to the school, which I found very helpful in terms of getting to know everyone in my group, especially my partner. I would have preferred that we had more free time than given. The classes were very extenuating, and a 3 hour class could’ve been shortened into 1 hour, for most of the things that were taught seemed to be common sense. Additionally I would have preferred to have been able to wear flip-flops whenever we were inside the building. Regardless, the first week of training was a great time to get to meet new people and get accustomed to living in Taiwan.
Teaching at Dalin Elementary School was an amazing experience. For one thing, I didn’t expect to become so attached to the kids I taught. They were very cute and they always wanted us to play with them. They were also very enthusiastic about seeing us each morning, and were very attentive in the classroom. Although this is true, the facilities didn’t have air conditioning and we were required to wear long pants with our uniform. Regardless, all the faculty members were very accommodating to our needs, and allowed us to have free time to ourselves after class and during the night. We were reminded to complete everything we were assigned by the end of the day, but it was great that nobody pushed us to do it at a certain time. This relaxed atmosphere allowed me to enjoy the free time we were given, instead of always working or worrying about the next step.
The tour was something that I was looking forward to the entire trip. Traveling around Taiwan with people that I had gotten to know very well seemed like a great opportunity. But I realized that teaching was actually my favorite part. On the tour, I was able to eat food at the night market which I otherwise wouldn’t been able to. It was also great rooming with different people, because then you meet new people each night. But waking up at 6:30 in the morning after getting back to the hotel at 10:30 was very tiring, and we never really got down time. It also seemed like we were always rushing from one place to another, as we would spend half the time sitting on the bus getting to our next destination. Finally, we were not able to wear flip-flops on the trip. Although this may have been for our safety, sneakers are very constricting, especially when it very hot outside.
All in all, the experience was very exciting. I had a wonderful time teaching kids in the mountains, for they were all very friendly and even came to visit where we stayed after class. Seeing their faces light up each time they see us was the most rewarding part, and I will never forget all the people I met on this trip.
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Pei, Doria (白慧文)
The AID Summer that;
• Taught me entertaining 12 students for 6 hours was just as difficult as it sounds,
• Provided an environment that fostered friendships with teaching partners, roommates, and group-mates,
• Opened up my heart to a city previously unheard of to me,
• And brought me a deeper understanding and respect for teachers,
Was nothing that I had expected.
Six years ago my mother began teaching Chinese at my middle school, adding onto another ten years of teaching experience. Three years ago I walked through the doors of Chientan to see my sister in tears, embracing her group mates and making final calls to her students. Two years ago I began tutoring a Chinese School dropout in Chinese. However, when my mother and sister notified me about the application in the winter, I only reluctantly agreed after much arguing. My participation in the AID Summer program was, I’m sad to say, halfhearted, as I never thought that it would benefit me. I never thought that my sister’s experiences would fit me, and teaching was such a commonplace in my house that I never thought that I would have more to learn from it.
Never have I been so wrong.
I thought I knew all there was to teaching. I walked into the first day of class with a tight lesson plan and a very basic understanding of the students I would be teaching. They would be small. They would be cute. They would, as I had foolishly thought, be willing to learn. Very quickly, teaching became second in priority to a game me and my teaching partner dubbed, “How To Keep Children From Killing Each Other”. Markers flew, curses hissed, little hands punched and shoved every day, and only a threatening scolding would keep them quiet for at most 20 minutes. What I could barely stand for 2 weeks, my mother has been working with for years as a career. While I could barely contain 12 demonic personalities bubbling forth from my class, my mother managed classes of 24 with ease, and, as a bonus, was able to teach students. Any experience that I thought I had was completely useless against a class of my own. As every day passed, I started adapting to our classroom situation and eventually, I was able to properly contain the class, and was even able to teach them culture that they had been unaware of, like Strombolis and Groundhog Day.
After a long day of teaching, I would find myself very tired, very stressed, but never bored. While my sister found herself in the countryside of the infamous Hualien, I found myself in Chiayi city, a location that I was previously unaware of. With the help of our teacher and security guard, me and my group were able to explore the city of Chiayi, and find ourselves completely immersed in all it had to offer. The location for my teaching, an unheard of city to me, had become my home in a matter of two weeks, and, just as it was for my sister, it was very hard for me to part with it.
AID Summer gave me a completely different experience as to what I had envisioned it to be, and that was the best thing that could have ever happened.
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Liang, Kevin (梁晙葦)
Anxious. Uncertain. Hopeful. Just days before leaving Malaysia for Taiwan, I had second thoughts about attending the 2014 AID Summer Volunteer. I had never left my parents' side for more than a week, let alone lived by myself with others of my age. I am a rising senior in high school, thus I do not have college experience. I spend most of my time at home studying and on the computer instead of hanging out with other boys. Coming into this program, I was not mentally prepared and did not know what to expect. On top of that, I had no teaching or tutoring experience.
However, as everyone else, I came in with a goal. Following the words of encouragement from my mother, I started anew, not as the shy boy of State College, but as an outgoing individual. Of course, I didn't completely adapt, as I still had moments where I tended to myself and kept quiet. But it worked out in the end, with me becoming a hybrid of my old shy, considerate self with my new sort of outgoing figure.
During my English teaching days at Fuan Elementary School, I really started to notice a change. The leadership skills that I only had the courage to use on online communities had its chance to shine. I was able to organize group priorities and initiate plans of action to keep a tidy and functional living environment for my roommate and group. Most importantly, I conveyed my thoughts to work efficiently with everyone else, aside from the language barriers.
The execution was not without flaws. My courage failed in the English classes, and there were times of miscommunication within my group. However, as the days went by, I was able to converse with my colleagues and definitely talk a lot more than I did back in the US. To me, simply that is enough for me to call this experience a success. Through this program, I have achieved important knowledge and experience; the knowledge about myself and the experience of meeting new people, maintaining a healthy relation, and how to teach young children. I knew I am slow at adapting, but I learnt that I can develop a social life eventually as I get to know the people I hang out with. As for experience, I still remain skeptical with who I hang out with. However, now I have a gauge that I can measure on how long it will take for me to develop a lasting friendship and the steps I would have to take to achieve one.
I am quite lucky to have been grouped with whom I've worked and hanged out with for the past four weeks. Personality-wise, I had a lot in common with my group members. I am not a rowdy, sailor-mouthed boy, and am on the girlish side, according to my brother. There were six girls and one other boy in my group. I guess the rest of the story is self-explainable. My coach, Kurt, had similarities to my dad. Good humor yet strict to the students when needed. The principle, chairman, and teachers were also very nice to us, providing medical assistance when I had a cough and making sure we were never hungry.
Overall, my experience with 2014 AID was excellent. I got to learn a lot about Taiwan and the culture, as well as answered some questions about how my dad got to be the way he is. I also got to meet some great people from other parts of the States as well as Australia! The program was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will treasure and remember.
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Yao, Brian (姚治平)
Two weeks of teaching seemed like a daunting task at first. However, after experiencing it firsthand, the time went by quicker than I had imagined. The first day was the most difficult because everything was so new. Things took time to get used to, but gradually got easier with each passing day. I found the kids to be irritating at first because it was hard to get them to understand and to be quiet when we were speaking. But within a few days, me and my teaching partner developed ways to get the kids to pay attention and to listen. Whenever we wanted them to be quiet, we would yell out "Attention!" and then they would say "One, Two!" This proved to be very effective as it allowed us to get their attention so we could explain the rules for games and activities we did. It was a challenge to teach without using too much Chinese. By the second day, we decided that it would be too difficult to teach using only English, so we chose to use Chinese to give instruction for activities. Another common problem was that the kids were sometimes unwilling to do the activities we assigned. In these cases, we had to either change our plans or use our backup plans, because if the kids did not like it, then they would either not participate or they would complain. Although there were many difficulties, the teaching experience was very rewarding. Our students improved drastically from the pre-test, with many scores increasing by over 70 percent. It was hard to say goodbye to our kids, after having spent so much time with them. I am very proud of our students and I will miss them very much.
I believe that AID has made me a better person overall. Teaching elementary school kids for two weeks made me remember what being a kid is all about. It made me re-live memories and feelings that I haven't felt since I myself was a kid. It has also made me a better leader because I was able to practice speaking and teaching in front of a large group. Specifically, I
improved on my ability to think quickly on the spot. If the kids did not understand something or just do not like the activity we planned, I would have to think of quick solutions to fix those problems. Aside from teaching, I found living in the area to be very nice. The air was cool at night on the mountains and the isolation allowed our group to become close friends. Tour week was very enjoyable, I wish that it lasted longer. Overall, this whole AID experience has made my summer so much more eventful. I am so grateful to have spent my time here in Taiwan with such an amazing group of people.
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Huang, Eric (黃晨睿)
Training at Chien Tan. Visiting Shilin Nightmarket. High speed rail to Chiayi. Getting to know 8 new friends. Meeting an awesome coach, 替代義 (Louis), his friend John, and an awesome school faculty. Riding the bike every night around Chiayi City and trying different Chiayi cuisine. Two awesome weeks at Shiuan Shin Elementary school in Chiayi City flew by just like that. What seemed like a would-be "slow" start at Chien Tan flew by after visiting Chiayi City. I learned new teaching techniques, interacted with 8 new friends of close age to me, and truly understood what "Nice Asian Hospitality" was. I had a lot of fun teaching English to a bunch of spoiled, rowdy, but cute students. I enjoyed the late nights spent on lesson planning or opening routine rehearsal. I enjoyed the fun and laughter that the 8 of us had. And I enjoyed the final tears at Kaohsiung CYC when we had to say goodbye to Louis and John. And now that I think of any time spent at Chiayi City or with Louis and John, I still silently cry inside, silently wishing I could be back in Shiuan Shin Elementary, teaching my "minions" English and exploring Chiayi. This AID experience this summer (Mainly the 2-weeks teaching), can be said to the "best days of my life!" I will forever see the standard of "nice hospitality" differently (in a good way). So thank you Louis! Thank you John! Thank you Coach Alan, Principal Zhao, and William! Thank you Mike, and everyone who helped me! And most of all, thank you Rachel! Thank you Cameron! Thank you Jacklyn! Thank you Tiffany! Thank you Leigh! And thank you Alan! For making my AID experience (our experiences) for the 2-weeks so fulfilling!!!
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Chih, Lawrence (祁中軒)
During these two weeks at AID Summer, I experienced a lot of new things with the kids. It was really great spending these two weeks with them. On the first day at Hot Spring Elementary School, I was scared to enter the classroom because I thought it would be really awkward. I was also afraid that I wouldn't be able to take control of the class. On the first day, the students were really quiet so I thought their behavior was really good, but as we got further into the week, they started to get nosier. This was because they knew us well enough and were comfortable around us.
During the weekend, we went to Green Island. I was really excited because Ms. Tang let me get my own motorcycle and also bring people around. I got the opportunity to ride around Green Island. The view at Green Island was amazing. As a group, we went snorkeling and we saw a lot of different kinds of fishes. After that, we went to the hotel to get changed. We then went straight to BBQ for dinner. It was an amazing night at Green Island. However, the worst part was when we woke up at 4 a.m. to watch the sunrise. But when we got there, I realized that it was totally worth waking up for.
When the week was about to be over, we started to get ready for the closing ceremony. At the same time, though, all the kids were sad because the Hot Spring Summer Camp was coming to an end. The closing ceremony was amazing. The kids started by dancing and singing to “Good Time” by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen. This was followed by “Roar” by Katy Perry, and finally “Proud of You” by Fiona Fung. It was a truly impressive performance. I was really proud of my kids, but I’m also really sad because I had to say goodbye to them. I hope that I’ll be able to see them again someday.
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Zhao, Lauren (趙康穎)
I am a person full of energy and do not like spending a minute lying around. Which is why I can say I feel completely satisfied about my time here in Taiwan. I have only studied Chinese for a year in college and have completely fallen in love with the language. And since I was the only student studying traditional, I was even more excited that I was accepted to go to a program to Taiwan! But what surprised me the most was the use of languages. Throughout this trip, I was able to see how English and the Chinese language intermingle.
First off, I was overwhelmed with being in a new country, even more so because I barely understood the language. But I was just as excited as I was nervous. I noticed the smallest details from the structure of Taiwanese home in Taiwan to the mass of scooters. Then being a shopaholic, I had to employ basic math conversion for currency.
During the first week, I found the day in and day out lectures boring and useless. It was only until we starting working on our lesson plans did I start seeing how these lectures were preparing us to be teachers, not students. We had been students our whole life and this time we were going to be teachers instead. It made me appreciate all the teachers in my life and aware of all the hard work they put into teaching and entertaining learning.
Still, after a week of training, it dawned on my that I still did not feel prepared because I would be playing a large role. I remember the first day arriving at Shuang Yuan Middle School I was reprised at the kindness of all the teachers and the unique living conditions. Now that I look back on it, the stories made living in a classroom will bring laughter for years to come.
The biggest impact on me was my students. On the first day of teaching I was just as nervous about teaching as they were about speaking English. The first thing me partner and I did was rearrange the seating based on their English level with just a simple introduction conversation with us. In doing so, I also arranged it to a boy-girl-boy-girl seating so that man of their friends were separated. During the last day, a student wrote a response that this method at first bothered him so much, because none of his friends were near him and he was surrounded by girls all around. But in doing so, at the end of two weeks, he appreciated it as he gained a lot of new friends.
In my case, I made new long-lasting friends too. I am not Taiwanese, nor do I have any relatives in Taiwan, but now I have a family here: my students and the teachers at Shuang Yuan. I became a sort of big sister to them. I would mentor them to speak English and with my young age (and height!) I was a silly big sister. The teachers took us in under their wings. They made sure we were always well fed and worried over our health constantly.
During our last day of teaching, my partner and I felt the love from all the people at Shuang Yuan. Many feelings were felt that day: sorrow from being the last day of teaching these wonderful students, proud from their English Closing ceremony performance, happy from successfully teaching two weeks, and grateful to al the people I met. It was also the day I saw how much students in Taiwan respected and loved their teachers. We first had a typhoon, which resulted in a school-closing day, but my students surprised us by coming in just to see us! Then on the last day, our students showered us with presents, love, and fb requests. But the love did not stop there. Many of them came out of their way to visit us at Jiantan to surprise us again with one last goodbye. To them, they did not want us to leave Taiwan, but I am sure we all will stay in each others’ hearts.
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Hung, Tim (洪霆)
The prospect of teaching in a classroom setting for the first time in a foreign country was somewhat nerve-wracking; unfortunately my first day of teaching failed at alleviating any of my prior concerns. As my three teaching partners and I introduced ourselves to the students, we were received by a sea of blank and bored faces. Our first attempts at encouraging participation only resulted in the students trying to avoid eye contact: They were extremely shy and nervous. As the day came to a close, my peers and I left disappointed and worried about the two weeks to come.
In order to improve our classroom environment and at the very least facilitate some participation, we decided to implement a competitive group system. The students would be divided into four groups and active participation would be rewarded with points. After the initial implementation of the new system a significant and immediate reaction was seen. The students began to enthusiastically participate and earn points for their team which would in turn be redeemed for prizes such as candy, stickers, or other classroom utensils such as colorful erasers.
During teaching time, we had to figure out an efficient way to divide labor between the four teachers. After some trial and error, we came to an agreed solution: two teachers would read off the PowerPoint and teach while one would walk around the classroom and assist students who needed help as well as making sure the students were paying attention. The fourth teacher would be on “break” and flip through the slides on the presentation and also watch for absentminded students.
Another obstacle we faced was the level at which the students knew English. Since we had 50 students ranging from fourth to sixth grade in total, they were divided into two classes by skill level. My class was assigned by the weaker group which consisted of mainly fourth graders who could barely form simple sentences and were at a very low level. This was a problem because we planned for higher level students and utilized more difficult lesson plans.
One effective method of teaching vocabulary was incorporating a field trip into our lesson plans. For example, we went on a biking trip around Mei-Hua Lake in Yilan. Prior to the excursion, we taught vocabulary relating to bicycles such as tire, handles, ride, and pedal. During the trip, we would ask the students to identify different parts of the bicycle as well as speak about their bike ride afterwards.
Overall, I have gained much new experience regarding teaching. Starting from having no experience whatsoever and needing to solve all the problems we faced ourselves, my teaching partners and I learned to adapt to a multitude of new situations. My trip transformed from near disaster to an extremely enriching and pleasant experience. Although I do not plan on pursuing education in the future, I definitely value the time I spent teaching in Taiwan. I have gained a lot of respect for teachers and I definitely realize the difficulty of teaching.
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Fu, Steven (傅裕翔)
When I first learned that I was assigned to Li-Ming Elementary School in Yilan, I felt happy and anxious for the same reason – this was one of the places in Taiwan that I had never been to before. As I did some basic research and explored the location on Google Maps, I discovered that the school seemed to be a quiet place with many nearby attractions, and Yilan became a very appealing location to teach at. However, I knew that I would need to go through training at Chientan first. I expected boring lectures every day, but some turned out to be more interesting and many were useful in helping me become familiar with the teaching experience and providing me with teaching strategies. There, the assigned English teacher had introduced Yilan as a place of friendly people, a perspective that was validated as soon as I arrived; my initial fears of teaching in an unfamiliar, unwelcoming environment were unfounded. The administration, teachers, and students at the elementary school happily welcomed me and made me feel comfortable teaching there. They accommodated me with lodging and food significantly better than what I expected. Every day teaching was different, as I gradually got to know the students on a more personal level. I no longer saw creating lesson plans for each day as a chore, but rather as an opportunity to showcase the English language to the students, and arouse interest in learning. With different topics each day, I felt accomplished when students could correctly identify and say words based on pictures, write out sentences with newly learned vocabulary, and act out real life situations using those. As the days passed, they became more friendly and willing to participate, a stark contrast to their previous reticent nature at the beginning of the first week of teaching. Outside the classroom, the elementary school staff planned activities for us that presented the local attractions and delicacies. From hot springs to a biking trip to a science fair, every day was filled with new experiences and memories that I greatly treasured; as a result, it was difficult saying goodbye to everyone I had met, such as administration, the English department, and the students, at the closing ceremony. Although the students may not remember everything I helped teach them, I hope that at least I was able to inspire some of them to continue learning English, if not other subjects. The AID Summer volunteer program not only taught me how to interact with and teach students, but also allowed me to expand on my experiences and enhance my personal development. I feel extremely fortunate to have participated and been assigned to Li-Ming Elementary School, and cannot believe that the two weeks I once saw as tedious and challenging we're over so quickly. I have tried to contribute to the students’ learning experience, and hope that they too will cherish the memories and experiences of the two weeks I spent with them as much as I will.
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Chang, Grace (張詠恩)
I have been to Taiwan two times already and this is my third time coming so I thought I had a good grasp of what to expect. But going to jian tan and hearing how to be a good teacher really enlightened me. Meeting more than four hundred other volunteers plus counselors plus teachers and directors was a bit overwhelming at first. I made a lot of new roommate and dinner friends from this AID summer program. But then we had to go off to the elementary school in the mountains. The principal, director, and all the teachers really helped us adapt to this new environment by being super friendly, buying us any supplies we need, and providing us with nice living conditions. The students were all obedient and listened to all of our directions and lectures. They were also enthusiastic when we played games and curious when we did crafts. When we finally had to leave after two weeks of teaching, we were practically crying. And then we went on the Southern tour of Taiwan, and bought, see, and experienced a lot of Taiwanese and Hakka culture. This program has truly been inspiring.
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Chang, Phoebe ( 張保鈴)
AID summer was my second experience in Taiwan, and I can definitely say my expectations differed from reality. My school was located in a valley in Kaoshiang, where the nearest convenience store was a 10 minute drive away. I shared a kindergarten classroom with three other teachers and various sorts of insects. If anything, I learned survival skills at AID and I definitely appreciate the American things I’d once taken for granted, such as wifi and toilets. I feel prepared for college residence halls. Would recommend this program to rising college freshmen. In addition to my life outlook, AID improved my Mandarin skills. I came in knowing next to nothing, but what I found surprising was how much the kids liked us teachers nonetheless. Despite the language barrier, they persisted to talk and laugh with us. I would go blindly into sentences in my attempts to reply, not knowing whether I’d have the vocabulary to finish each sentence. In the end, I both taught English vocabulary and learned Mandarin vocabulary at my school.
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Lin, Cara (林盛友)
My AID 2014 summer experience is one of the most memorable and life changing experiences I have ever had! It changed me in several ways, I was able to be more outgoing and practice voicing out my opinions when we were making teaching plans and discussing strategies. Although I have already graduated from college, I haven't had much experience living away from home, and never in another country. My experience in this program has let me learn to be more independent. Like most people, I was nervous and didn't know what to expect from this program, and was considering doing something else with my summer. I am so glad that I chose to join the program. I learned about teaching games, how to manage a classroom, and I will miss the children dearly. I hope that if anything we gave them a special summer that they will remember and enjoyed. I learned about a different style of life in the countryside, and experienced different foods, customs, and activities. I had been to Taiwan twice before to visit relatives. It was fun, but I didn't have any independence and was too young to appreciate the trip fully. This experience definitely makes me want to return once more to Taiwan and learn more Chinese so I may live and travel by myself. I enjoy the culture and food even more and will look for another opportunity to come back. Even though AID had many classes, rules, and regulations, they were all well founded and I learned a lot. It has affected me in so many ways I can't fully explain. This is especially true considering the friends I made in my group. We have very different personalities, come from different backgrounds, and have different strengths but working as a team was fun and efficient. AID was so incredible, I never imagined I would have this kind of experience when I applied!
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Wilson, Sydney (威霓虹)
During the last four weeks, I've had some of the most memorable experiences, ranging from complete and utter joy to discomfort I've never experienced in the 19 years I've been alive. I'm not going to write about cliche things or make up scenarios like many people are going to. I'm going to tell you the beautiful, yet nervewracking truth.
I applied to this program because my mom wanted me to, and the only part I was looking forward to was teaching elementary school kids (and reuniting with friends I met at OCAC). So I wasn't too happy when I arrived at Cheintan only to find out that we were not allowed to leave the campus. Although the facilities were pretty nice, the strict rules and uniforms really put a downer on my already disgusted attitude.
The first week of AID Summer was the most energy-sucking week I have experienced; this is not an exaggeration. There are classes scheduled from the time you finish breakfast to before dinner begins. The classes are extremely overwhelming because they're three hours long, and some can be quite boring and repetitive. The teachers who teach the class mean well, but a lot of the information is not necessary for teaching. The only necessary, and helpful, class was the class that talked about different activities to play with your kids.The class teaches you how to make learning fun, how to incorporate vocabulary into fun games, and how to encourage your children to continue to learn English even after the program has ended. You're probably dreading this program right about now, but the first week is always the worst.
The first week consists of 'awkward' introductions, which could be avoided if you friend your group on Facebook before arriving at Chientan (and that means chatting them too or else friending them would have served no purpose other than Facebook stalking).
To be continued... (I'm not even close to being done.)
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Lu, Sean (盧靖宇)
When I first came to AID, I didn't know what to expect; it was my first time teaching children as it was for most of us. Even so, I was extremely excited to visit Taiwan and meet all of the other people who volunteered for this program as well. The first week of AID was, in all honesty, the most boring. We sat in for about three hours to listen to lectures about how to teach the children. Out of all of them, the most helpful lecture that I found was classroom management. It was the only lesson that I found practical in the class because I taught the elementary school kids and they were very difficult to control in the classroom. All the other lessons were too idealistic to be practical. The students aren't always motivated nor do they necessarily listen to what you say. Some kids just want to play around and have fun because it's the summer. Also another aspect that they expected but was too impractical was speaking only English. None of our students understood a thing we said no matter how slow we said it nor however many times we repeated. By the end of the first day I caught myself speaking Chinese non-stop so don't feel too surprised if you have to do it as well. What I did find extremely helpful during the first week though was meeting everyone in our group and being able to discuss and plan our lesson plans. It gave us an idea as to what we could do and let us bounce ideas off others. The rest of the three weeks were extremely enjoyable. The children, although little animals at times, are all adorable and they all enjoy your company. And the last week of touring, spending time with all the new friends you've made the past three weeks.
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Singer, Leigh (李心荷)
When my mom sold AID Summer to me, she portrayed it as a fun summer camp, with just two weeks of easy teaching and two weeks of fun freedom. AID Summer was not even close to my mom’s description; in fact it was the complete opposite. And I don’t think I could have loved it more.
Training week is exactly what it sounds like. A full week of non-stop lectures and training sessions that no one thinks is remotely helpful. During the two teaching weeks, my partner and I often commented on the fact that we weren’t using anything from training week. But honestly looking back on it, without training week, I would have been completely lost in the classroom. Because that classroom was filled promptly at 9am with 12 kids who expected me to know what I was doing. What training week really does well is convince you that you’re ready to teach kids. And by the time you realize how under-qualified you are to touch the lives of 12 people, there’s a day left, and they already love you.
I left my two weeks of teaching knowing in equal parts that I would never be a teacher and also why so many people choose to teach. Within those two weeks, there was many times where I left the classroom at the end of the day upset and angry. There were times when I stood in front of the classroom and had no idea what to do for 35 minutes until the next break. There was really only one tool that was given to me, that helped me. It was an awesome teaching partner, randomly assigned. We were able to take breaks when we needed them, knowing that one of us would step up to take our place. We were harsh when the other person was nice, and between the two of us, we did the absolute best we could.
Tour week did not mean always staying at the nicest hotels or going to the most interesting rest stops. But somehow, if I had skipped it, AID Summer would not have been complete. As much as bus-bonding seemed like a waste of time, there are 31 teenagers that I can at the very least say hi to in the hallways of random hostels. And nothing brings people together like performing old Disney Channel songs to almost 500 people. And with that I get to B1-4. My B1-4 Baes.
I don’t know if we’ll see each other again, and I don’t know if we’ll remember each other’s names in 10 years. But within these four weeks, I have created friendships with people that have seen me at my very worst, and talk to me anyway. These 7 other people make me want to be a better person. The two “parents” of the group managed to inspire me in ways that a college counselor could never do. And the rest of us have had the best of times being the most obnoxious people we could be in such a short time. Anyone who hasn’t experienced this sort of summer camp could never really understand the bonds that form in the heat, wearing long pants and teaching a dozen crazy children, riding bikes in busy traffic, and buying ice cream at every single stop. There is nothing like sleeping on one bed with two other people that most people would consider strangers, because there might be bedbugs. Nothing can compare to being completely yourself in a kindergarten classroom/group bedroom, only to find that the four other girls that you live with are just as weird and crazy as you are, and nothing I type in this reflection can describe the feeling of knowing that you love them because of it.
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Pi, Jacklyn (畢康妮)
I never really thought teaching was as tedious and strenuous as teachers made it out to be. I always would scoff at the lectures my teachers gave me about how hard it was to be a teacher – thinking to myself- its not that hard to lecture and talk about a subject (that you know well) for 6 hours. However, I am proud and (contrite) to say that I now realize the hardships that come with the profession of teaching.
These past two weeks teaching at ChiaYi, Shiuan Shin Elementary School, has been an eye opening two weeks. Fortunately, my fellow 7 teaching group members and I were lucky to be in an “urban” area. The kids we taught had some prior knowledge of English. However, there still were disparities within the children. My partner and I taught the lowest level and in our class there were 13 year olds whose English proficiency was the same as a 7 year old’s. This is when my partner and I realized that we wanted to work hard to make sure these kids would develop a love for English – because in those two weeks that was the best thing we could possibly give them.
The first day was a bit rough- given that both my partner and I were rusty in speaking Chinese. The kids, however, seemed eager and ready to learn. I was pretty nervous the first day as well. I kept wondering if the kids would be really rowdy, or that they wouldn’t like me, or that we would just not know what else to teach them. Because we had so many worries, we both over planned for the first day – meaning we stayed up till 3am making bingo charts, finding youtube learning videos, and tirelessly trying to perfect our self-intro powerpoints. As the days went by I started to learn more and more about the kids and every time they would answer a question correctly it would give me a sense of pride. I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of teachers through this experience. I went through the countless hours of preparation for just one day of teaching, the difficulty of in class management, and the joy of knowing that you helped at least one person that day know a little bit more than they did the day before.
In spite of the ups, there were also downs. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish and determine the line between being a friend and a teacher. The kids made it hard not to joke around with them during breaks. However, during class if anyone misbehaved or called out – they would be reprimanded. At some points it was upsetting to have to be so stern with them, but it did keep order within the class. The planning and preparation that came with teaching was also difficult. The issues fell within making detailed enough teaching plans to teach them stuff they did not know and making fun enough activities to keep them interested in what we wanted to teach. However, thankfully we were able to get through each day with only minor hiccups and trifles.
Another wonderful part of this 4-week experience was the friends I was able to make. I was first worried that I would be placed in a group where I would not be able to get along with any of the people. But as the first week passed I realized that I was going to be able to have a fantastic 4-week experience with these people. I have never felt more at home away from home with people I was only strangers with 4 weeks ago. We were there for each other through the ups and downs of teaching, explored the city together, gossiped about the kids together, and cried over leaving the school together. I am truly grateful for the 7 people I was put into a group with. I can proudly use the word “Ohana” to express how I feel here. These people were my ohana for these 4 weeks and I don’t know how I could have enjoyed this experience without them.
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better summer. This program fostered and nurtured an environment in which I was able to make unforgettable bonds, develop a deeper respect for teachers, and learn more about myself as a leader, teacher, student, and most importantly a person. I am so glad I had applied because I am truly a different person than who I was just a mere 4 weeks ago. And I love who’ve I’ve been able to become.
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Wong, Cameron (王喬永)
These past 2 weeks have been some of the most meaningful times that I have ever had. I have made invaluable friends who have been through a lot with me in terms of teaching and experiencing the Taiwanese culture. I have also met an abundance of people and had a lot of fun. My class that I taught were incredibly fun and unforgettable. I will always love them and they were very smart. Watching them learn and respect me as a teacher and friend was something I'll never forget. I miss them a lot.
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Ju, Joanna (周安娜)
On the first day of the program, I felt a little apprehensive about how I would teach my students in the coming two weeks and what to expect from the other volunteer teachers. I constantly wondered if I would be able to teach English in a way the children would understand. To be frank, the first week of long lectures made it seem like those two weeks of teaching would never come. It felt so far away. The workshop gave me a lot of information, and some of it came in handy in the classroom.
Throughout the two weeks of teaching, I found out that games, candy, and a reward system were by far the best ways that made my students excited and motivated to learn. We made a reward system poster, which had each student’s name listed. Each time a student gave a correct answer, they could choose between adding a sticker next to their name or get candy. At the end of each day, the two students with the most stickers next to their name for the day could get a free slushy from 7-11. At the end of each week, the student with the most stickers overall could get anything they wanted from 7-11 under fifty yen. We took off stickers if a student came in late. Essentially, this system helped us both to control the class, and motivated them to learn English as well. We also included arts and crafts at times, but more for drawing out their creative side rather than actual learning. It’s important to include a break between learning, especially since they are children.
When we first encountered a roomful of blank looks, we weren’t very sure how to explain the topic. Our teacher told us to pretend that we can’t understand Chinese; my partner and I found that hard to do. When you find out that the children can’t understand the subject matter no matter how much simple English you use, you feel the urge to resort to Chinese so that they can understand. We ended up using lots of simple gestures and some role-plays to help them understand. We also occasionally used Chinese in order to connect the English word to the word they know in Chinese, but tried our best to stick with speaking English with the children. For learning simple sentences, we would first read out the entire sentence slowly, and then slowly go over word after word. In the end, we would string all the words together. We would repeat it two to three times as a class, and then two to three times each half of the room. We would do this pattern for words as well.
I never thought that I would become so attached with my kids in two weeks. Being able to teach them was wonderful – not just because I love teaching, but also because they are so energetic. I had a boy who always acted like he was cool, a girl who was always shy, and a boy who could make the other children laugh. It was such a pleasure being able to teach them for two weeks, and I wish I could’ve taught them longer. AID Summer 2014 is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I was happy to have had the opportunity to teach disadvantaged children, and I met some great people along the way. I am sad that the program is ending soon and that I will not be able to be a part of it again, but at least I will always have the memories and the letters my students have given me.
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Graf, Emily (明莉)
Coming into the AID program, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was nervous about teaching in a foreign country and to middle school students. The fact that I couldn’t speak Chinese only added to my already mounting stress. When I first arrived in Jiantan I was a little dismayed by how much younger all of the other AID volunteers were. As a rising junior in college, I felt old around some of the sixteen and seventeen year old volunteers. However when I met my teaching group, I immediately felt more at ease as they were all the same age as me and had similar feelings about beginning the AID program. The first week of AID was very tedious and strict, but I had a good time getting to know my group and was excited to start teaching.
When we finally got to Makuang Junior High School I was amazed at the number of people who were there to greet us. They immediately grabbed our luggage and offered us food, which I was grateful for after the long bus ride. The school was in the middle of the country and all that surrounded us were rice fields and some small towns. I was struck by the rural nature of the school and its surroundings. Sinks lined the school outside and the whole junior high school had an open and airy feel. I really enjoyed getting to know the teachers at Makuang and especially the teaching assistants local to the area. The teaching assistants were around our age and it was really interesting and fun to get to know people like you who lived in a different country.
Teaching junior high school students was very challenging; at first the students barely spoke or responded to any questions. However, as the days went by they slowly opened up and by the end of the second week they were often uncontrollably loud. One of my favorite activities was the game “running man” where students and teachers had to run around and find the letters to spell the name of the school. The game became increasingly aggressive, however this was the first time I saw the students at ease and the teachers were just as involved in the game as the students were. Another favorite memory was the water balloon fight we had at the end of the second week. The fight went on for at least an hour as the buckets of water were repeatedly filled. Getting to know each one of the students was an eye-opening experience. We had the privilege of learning about their lives and the area that they live in, as well as seeing them grow in their knowledge of English and in their personalities.
I also enjoyed going around Yunlin with the teaching assistants and eating at local restaurants. Clamming and shrimping were unique and interesting experiences and the people that we met from Yunlin were some of the most welcoming and helpful that I have ever met. Staying at Makuang Junior High School allowed me to experience firsthand a different kind of lifestyle, which is an opportunity that I will never forget.
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Guo, Alan (郭大倫)
Do I really want to do this, or rather can I do this? That was the question running through my head after I got accepted into the AID Sumer Program. The idea of going to Taiwan to teach children English did not sound very appealing to me. To be perfectly honest, my parents wanted me to apply more than I wanted to myself. In fact, I didn’t think I would get in, so I applied just to make my parent happy because they kept pushing me to. When I got accepted, my parents were probably more excited than I was. But since I got in, I decided to do a bit more research on the program. When I found out that I was going to teach under privileged kids, my attitude changed and I decided to take this more seriously, telling myself that this was going to be a good experience, and I wasn’t wrong.
During the training week, I was bored out of my mind with the two, sometimes three 3 hour long workshops we had to attend every day. The activity center felt like a prison because you could not leave the grounds. There was also a point deduction system, really bad Wi-Fi and bed checks. These were the negatives, and the positives far outweigh them. First of all, the food was great. Back home, I rarely ever have decent, authentic Taiwanese food. Also, even though the workshops were boring, they really did help when I was teaching. The beds were comfortable and there was a convenience store in the lobby, too. Overall, it wasn’t so bad, and it far exceeded my expectations.
When it was time to leave for our schools, I’m sure everyone was nervous, including me. What will my kids be like? Will I be a good teacher? How much English will my kids actually know? When we arrived at Chiayi City, everyone was so nice and we were treated so well. On the first day of teaching, I realized that my student’s English was worse than what I thought it would be. I had to speak in Chinese in order for them to understand what I was saying, even after using very simple words and speaking slowly. I also had trouble makers, students who didn’t like to follow directions and roused the other children. I even had to raise my voice few times. The first few days of teaching was hard. From the limited vocabulary of my students to my lack of teaching experience, it took a while to get the hang of it. But after each day, teaching became progressively easier. By the end of the second week, the kids had grown to like us and we were all sad to say goodbye. Those two weeks just flew by fast.
Besides teaching, we also went to a lot of places in Chiayi, like WenHua Road night market and Chiayi Tower. Also, Louis, a security guard at the school, bought us breakfast every day and took us out to dinner every night. Looking back, this really was a great experience, and I will miss everyone I met during these four long but short weeks.
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Chiu, Sherry (邱詠絮)
Working with a group of strangers is hard. Working with a group of strangers to teach English in a foreign country is even harder, but through AID Summer, I was able to do just that. These past few weeks I spent as part of C1-5 were unexpected. During training,my group was informed that we will be living in a temple. When we got there, I was met with tatami mats on wooden planks, squatting toilets, and invasions from ants and cockroaches. There were no washing machines, so I learned to hand wash clothes everyday.
When I first stepped into the classroom I was going to teach at, 20 pairs of nervous eyes looked back at me. Frustrated at first with the timidity of the group, my partners and I persevered to get the students excited about English. We promised they could dunk water on us and candy in exchange for individual and group participation. We danced and sang crazily to get the students excited. We spent countless hours preparing for the next day's lesson while battling laughing fits before eight. In two weeks we were able to have them willingly talk to us,and speak English in class. I will remember the conversations, games( 4 square), chants (I believe that we will win, what is in the campfire?) and songs(Call Me Maybe, La La La) we did with the students. Go Class A/Pink Wildcats! I will remember the temple I called home for two weeks and the staff/teachers of Lunbei Junior High, who were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Thank you for putting up with our craziness. Lastly, I will remember the members of C1-5. They were a great group of people to hang out with from singing karaoke on bus rides to taking cover photo worthy pictures wherever we went. Thanks for making my last summer before college a memorable one.
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Li, Karina (李軒瑜)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. My experiences in the AID Summer Program has given me a chance to view the world with more sympathy and hope, and encouraged me to seek out a profound and a more meaningful life. Right when I was accepted into the program, I was eager to gather teaching plans and games that would be the most effective in giving students a wonderful experience of learning English.
Although my teammates and I believed that we had created a thorough lesson plan for the first week with extensive games and activities, we realized that the first day of teaching my B-class students turned out to be more difficult due to the incomplete plans and our underestimation of the students. We were forced to incorporate improvised teaching games that we learned from Chein-Tan into our lesson plan. That night, we adjusted most of our lesson plans and included more activities and games. By the end of the week, we were familiar about the standard routine and personalities of most of the students. The quieter students had begun to feel more comfortable around us, and they began to voluntarily participate in classroom activities to obtain more stamps on their stamp sheet.
On July 18th, 2014, the most spectacular moment of my life occurred. The moment I woke with my angry face, I was expecting the love and Pocky sticks from my roommates.
But nothing happened.
The day dragged on with despair and depression as no one said “Happy Birthday”.
As the clock ticked to 6:00 pm, I was terrified for my life. I was told that my height was not sufficient to participate in the Southern tour. It devastated my life. I walked out the teacher’s office in tears and pain. Walking to the principal’s office, my head was spinning as I felt the sting of rejection.
Until I opened the door.
Immediately, my eyes focused onto the lights that illuminated the darkness of that room.
I was shocked. I was in awe and above all, in tears.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Karina! Happy birthday to you!” they all sung. My beautiful, lovely, bodacious, amazing, talented, electrifying, superior, godly roommates had gotten a beautiful cake with my stunning face on it!
I was crying like a baby. The tears flowed freely like a waterfall.
I couldn’t believe what they did for me. Just from knowing me in two amazing weeks, the love that they poured and splurged out in buying the cake, giant panda slippers and a gorgeous, gold necklace, was incomparable. From seeing this, my life changed forever.
My experience has not only boosted my spiritual and personal growth, but it has also given me an emotionally uplifting sense of positive contribution in the community.
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Huang, Kimberly (黃思婷)
Coming into this programme, I was unsure of what to expect. A few of my friends had siblings who had been part of the programme and they had all said that it was exciting and fun. So, my friends and I applied together and all somehow ended up on the waitlist. My friends didn't want to wait, so I was the only one that ended up coming to Taiwan. I had taught before, so I figured that it would not be that difficult. Little did I know that I was actually right. The children that I taught reminded me of the ones back in the states. They were cheerful, eager for the most part, and seemed to portray a genuine want to learn English. Of course, just because the class wasn't full of troublemakers doesn't mean there weren't a fair amount of challenges. Spending a week at Chientan, we were told that there was no required learning of English until the third grade, but many schools started younger. Combined with the fact that the English teacher at my school had said that he taught all his lessons completely in English, I thought communicating with the third graders would be easy. However, from the first day, I realised that the children had a hard time following the most basic instructions like 'listen' and 'stand up'. It was a slow process and involved a lot of repitition, but they started to understand more and more English. I found that the tips of using hand motions and limited Chinese were really helpful, especially when we got to teaching more difficult sentence structures. In terms of the lesson plan and how much I stuck by it, the planned lessons coordinated really well with the class. With the exception of things out of my control, like the pool issues and the typhoon that hit the second week, my group was able to stick to the theme and activities we planned. Overall, the teaching programme seemed to be a success. The students were able to speak during the closing ceremony and they understood what we said in class without needing Chinese. In fact, while I thought that the kids would come to hate the language, it turned out that many of them became more enthusiastic about learning English in the future. They even asked me for my address and phone number, stating their intentions to vacation and maybe even study in the United States. Teaching these kids was really entertaining and although I was afraid of being alone without any of my friends in Taiwan, I ended up having a lot of fun.
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Wu, Gloria (吳家樂)
I was terrified of using my Chinese when I arrived. However, all the host teachers at the schools were very kind and accommodating and we had an English teacher guide us through our teaching plans. This year we had a typhoon and at our school, we couldn't take showers with tap water and had to use drinking water. You will be stuck with the same group of people in your group for two weeks. If you don't like people in your group, it can get pretty lonely. It's also recommended to get a data plan or some kind of phone service. Don't be late for classes, meetings and ceremonies. This program is an excellent program. During my stay, I made friends with local middle school students who already graduated from the elementary school I was teaching at.
While I was teaching at my school, the children were grouped into beginner, intermediate and advanced english classes. However many of the older kids (I taught grades 5 and 6) had vaied levels of English. Some children came from other schools to join the summer camp. The older elementary children can be rowdy and even downright mean but it is important to remember that you are in the program to teach and help inspire the kids. As long as you show them you care, the class will respect you. During my teaching experience, a middle schooler who graduated from the school came up personally to ask me to teach her English. It really helped me since when I taught with my partner, I did not get to experience one-on-one teaching. It was a relaxing way to end the day and to wrap up and improve teching methods because it really is hard to teach large classes with different levels. I also had a lot of fun hanging out with the local middle schoolers.
The tour was a great bonding experience with the other groups. You shpuld probably pack an extension cord or buy a phone card in case outlets or wifi gets sparse. During the tour there were certain restrictions like no wearing flip-flops or always wearing nametags. Remember to pack light for the tour because the bags they gave us had no wheels and we had to carry them every morning and night to the hotels.
I have to say thank you to all the gray shirt counselor volunteers who stuck with us throughout the tour like tour guides. They performed awesome dances for us and provided a very lively talent show. Also, I would really like to the thank the experienced English teachers who lead the groups at the school. It is really hard for the program to find experienced and willing English teachers to teach American and Canadian young adults how to teach. There was obviously a lot of effort and love put into this program and it is greatly appreciated.
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Qin, Natalie (秦薇)
The summer of 2014 is definitely one for the books. When I first received my acceptance letter from to the AID Summer program, I created millions of vastly unique scenarios – both bad and good- of what could possibly happen. Yet now looking back, not one truly captured what really happened. Teaching, living with complete strangers for a month, and staying alone in a brand new country were all experiences I have never had before and ones that I later found out played key roles in what made AID so special.
When I first walked into Chientan, I remember the first thing I saw was a huge crowd of volunteer teachers, counselors, and teachers combined. And to the anxious 17 year old who had just flown into Taiwan for the first time without the accompaniment of her family, that sight was overwhelming and nerve wrecking – at least at first. However, as day by day passed, I soon realized that I had nothing to fear. The first day at Chientan was also the first time I spoke with my group mates. Even though the first week was awkward, we slowly bonded despite coming from different cities and countries. And after spending four weeks together, I can honestly say that they played the biggest role in how enjoyable AID was. We put our heads together to come up with teaching plans, laughed together until our stomachs were in pain, sweated together in the hot Taiwan air in our rooms and classrooms, and experienced teaching in Taiwan for the first time together. Without them, the hardships experienced at Chientan and FuGuang would have overpowered the fun times I had.
Training week at Chientan taught me much about teaching. It is only after teaching for two weeks did I realize just how informative and important the lessons taught by the head coaches, the guest presenters, the representative teacher from FuGuang Junior High School (Erica) were. Although I learned about various teaching techniques and games, it is difficult to effectively use the same teaching strategies for every single class. At my school, I was assigned Class D, the group of students who knew the least amount of English. Each day, all the teachers reported on how well our lesson designs worked, and we all noticed how much each teaching pair had to adjust their lessons to suit the students’ needs. As for my class, it was challenging to say the least and especially during the first few days. My students would mumble whenever I asked them questions or to repeat a vocabulary word. I would sometimes grow frustrated at the lack of responses and for a while, that was my biggest challenge during teaching. However, I later realized the reason my students didn’t respond was not that they didn’t like the teachers, but because they simply didn’t understand us and were scared to speak English. After decreasing the number of words taught and increasing the amount of time dedicated to just reviewing vocabulary, class became more enjoyable for both me and the students. Their hands began to fly into the air as they began to comprehend more and my energy and happiness during teaching increased as their excitement at learning English grew. One of the activities we did in class was to make vocab cards and play speed games. A student in my class had trouble keeping up so one day, I took her aside and repeatedly reviewed the vocabulary she was unclear with. The amount of satisfaction I got when she was finally able to name the picture after struggling for so long simply cannot be described in words. That was the moment when I realized just how great a teacher feels when he/she can finally connect with a student.
The four weeks I spent in Taiwan have been amazing and although I have been away from New York for so long, I find myself longing to spend just one more day in this beautiful country, to hear “Teacher Natalie” one more time, and to make one more joke with my group mates. Leaving Taiwan in two days is definitely going to be bittersweet – I know I’ll wish I could stay here longer, but I also know that the memories I made here will last me a lifetime.
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Qian , Jeng Yi (錢正宜)
My name is Jeng Yi (Alice) Qian and I am assigned to group A3-2 at Changhua DaHu elementary. The first week at JianTan was definitely a new experience for me. Rooming with different people from across America, meeting so many others in different teaching groups, and just the plain fact that Taiwan is here for me to soak in new experiences with people who are like me. The people in AID are mostly of Taiwanese descent and have experienced only a little of Taiwan. So teaching English at the rural areas of Taiwan was a new experience for everyone. The bonding of each group was so great and the enthusiasm was never felt so strongly before. Even though I never met the people in my teaching group before, over the course of a week in the cold auditorium of teaching lessons and getting attention from the teachers to give participation points, I really got more involved in the purpose of the program and the people in it even before I actually taught English. One of the teachers taught us Taiwanese and that really changed my view point of how to teach English because I always assumed they had some sense of what the English language is but once I learned Taiwanese, I realized the amount of difficulty it takes to learn a new language from scratch.
Once I got to the school, I was actually more excited for the two weeks that would be going on than I thought I would. To be honest, I thought going to the countryside with no air conditioning and teaching children is not my plan of a perfect summer vacation. And when I met my class, my worst fears came true. Since I was teaching 6th graders,and they're older, they were disrespect to me and my fellow teaching partner. Actually, I felt really terrible when they weren't respecting what we were trying to do and I took it too personally. But then I learned to control the students with the help of my teaching coach and my teaching partner. My teaching coach, Kevin, also taught older children in the elementary school so he guided me in ways how I can get the children to warm up to me and discipline them when they get too rowdy. My teaching partner and I controlled the class better on the second day and the students participated in the activities more and the atmosphere of the classroom got livelier. Even though there were some bad days later on in the two weeks, there were many good days and several great ones. The great days included a water balloon fight, bingo day, and all English classroom day. Apart from teaching, the supervisor and my teaching coach brought us to nearby locations in the central part of Taiwan, like the big Buddha statue, local small eats, and temples. It was great bonding time with the teaching coach and my group mates. When we had to leave the school, everyone was there to bid goodbye to us. It was such a great experience to teach foreign children in Taiwan. Especially since I want to major in Biology Education, to me, this is a preview of what I'll be doing for my career later in life and I would like to thank AID for giving me this wonderful experience.
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liu, lucy (劉慧珊)
This was definitely a new experience for me. I had even learned to step out of my comfort zone to leave my home to go to a foreign nation alone. This taught me to become more independent and test to see how well I can deal with issues on my own. Of course, during this program I was never alone. The roomates I was assigned to suited me and we all get along very well. The people I have been with for a month are like now my best friends since we relied on each other and supported each other. We basically saw each other 24/7. It is allot of fun to get to know people from all over the world. I have to say this one month is definitely a summer I will never forget.
I had never considered teaching an easy task. It was not the first time that I had taught children but this was the first time that I had to teach the children as a main teacher. I was an assistant teacher volunteer for 2 years and I have to admit, it is one of the hardest things I have done. I'm so proud of myself though. There were a lot of ups and downs but in the end it all payed off. I miss the children dearly and really hoped that all my effort has made them enjoy learning english too. Two weeks is not enough for them to remember the stuff we tried teaching them. The main goal for me was to get them to like english a lot more. Even though I was the one teaching, the children also showed me the importance of patience and how to maintain control. They gave me a chance or opportunity for me to try and enlighten them with my knowledge. It was so sad to part ways with the students, it really was but sooner or later I will have to go home.
Leaving Fu An Guo Xiao was like leaving my home again. Everyone there were so kind and took us into their warm embrace. I will never forget the love and what they have done for me and the group. They had always put our needs first and stayed by us. They had taken us out to see different landscape, the culture, experience the different food, and best of all made us feel as if we were at home. I feel super lucky and fortunate to be assigned to such a great school and meet such awesome people there.
The food during camp away from the school is something I wish could have changed. It got better on the tour but it still wasn't like how I eat at the school. We either had digestive issues or got sick from the food. Overall the councilors were super nice and the trip was fun. We shopped and went to parks and saw landscapes. The lectures in the first week was so boring that it pains me to stay awake. It was not until later did I realize how useful it could be. I feel like everything was covered. The planning was a bit weak in some areas.
Overall, I had really enjoyed my stay in taiwan. I still feel like there is so much more I must see and as if this is where I have lived all along but sadly that is just my imagination. I hope i can come back to visit taiwan and keep in touch with everyone and everything. This was one of the best things I have done. If only i could attend next year I would.
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Lin, Sean (林逸翔)
When I first found out that I got into AID, I had two immediate emotions: elation and apprehension. I was extremely nervous because my Chinese was not very good. I understood my parents when they spoke Chinese at home but I rarely responded in anything but English, since it came more naturally to me. I also grew up in a predominantly Caucasian town and I was worried that I wouldn’t get along with other Asian Americans my age. Despite my concerns, I was still thrilled when I found out that I got into the program. AID presented me with an opportunity to visit my parents’ and extended relatives’ home country, a place that I had last visited eleven years ago.
The first week at Jiantan was more stressful than I anticipated. Though I became very good friends with my teaching partner, Sydney, we disagreed over many teaching strategies. Later on, we would realize that our teaching dynamic came naturally to us and our week of stress at Jiantan was for naught. At Jiantan, Sydney and I roomed with four other girls, two from Canada and two from the west coast. While Sydney and I were not in the same school as the other girls, the six of us quickly became very close. Leaving them one week later to depart for Bi Tan Primary School was difficult.
Bi Tan was beautiful. Bi Tan’s principal was so accommodating and kind; both him and the directors of the school welcomed us warmly into their school. The first couple of days at Bi Tan were spent getting accustomed to the school, the room with seven other girls, and the outdoor bathroom and shower stalls. In our free time, we worked hard on our lesson plan for the upcoming two weeks and our opening ceremony. Before we knew it, it was the first day of school and I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a serious case of nerves. But as nervous as I felt, I was so, so excited. I love children and I was told back in Jiantan that the students grow to absolutely adore their teachers. I would soon realize that the two weeks wouldn’t be as easy as I thought.
First, the kids were just as cute as I imagined. Sydney and I taught the highest level, which consisted of kids ranging from ten to twelve. What I wasn’t expecting was how easily excitable and intelligent they would be. For the first couple of days, Sydney and I tested the waters. We learned that the kids had a lot of energy and that, if left undisciplined, the classroom would become chaotic. Also, the kids knew many of the vocabulary words and sentence structures that we picked and the planned activities were a piece of cake. So, we adapted and used our lunch breaks to develop more material. The kids loved interactive activities and, surprisingly, really enjoyed word searches. We had a unique teaching style—we didn’t have the typical “TA-Teacher” relationship. Instead, we taught together. We were careful not to step on each other’s toes and to individually command the respect of our students. Sydney was a big help—she helped translate the phrases that I didn’t know how to say in Chinese whenever I needed it. Though there were some obstacles we faced (some classroom squabbles), Sydney and I were enjoying ourselves by the second week. Teaching was easy for us and we managed the classroom efficiently. I really believe that the kids learned a lot and got a better taste of American culture.
During the weekends, the administration took us out to experience Taiwanese culture. We went to Janfusen Amusement Park in the mountains and a popular beach. We were spoiled every night with homemade food cooked by Bi Tan’s lovable grandma and we got more than our share of red tea bubble tea. I am so very thankful to Bi Tan Primary School for being such a wonderful and kind host.
The closing ceremony was one of the hardest things that I ever went through. I had developed such a strong connection with my kids and I was so grateful to them for introducing me to their world, just as I had tried to do for them. Hugs and tears were shared and, even as I write this during tour week, I still miss my students very, very much.
Thank you so much, AID, for providing me with an experience of a lifetime. Taiwan isn’t as disconnected from me as I always thought—it’s my home now, too and I credit this program for helping me realize that. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Chen, Daniel (陳杬杰)
In the time that I volunteered at Yunlin County, it came to my attention how lacking the Taiwanese population knew about English. The students that I worked with belonged to an advanced class in a Junior High School. Although they possessed some ability with communicating in English, they still lacked the fundamental basics that we Americans grew up with; someone to speak English with. As a result, I found students fearful of speaking English amongst the classroom. They would not raise their hands, nor speak English, nor participate in activities. For someone like me who was forbidden to speak any Chinese to these students, this was a difficult hurdle to overcome. Even now, I question how much we’ve conquered these students’ fears and timidity, but I can say with confidence that these children had learned English in their time with me, and they will continue to fortify their ability with the English language for years to come.
Before I came to this school, I was told the following from veteran AID volunteers, “These students don’t really care about learning English, so don’t waste your time trying to change them and just have fun with your stay in Taiwan.” This was the mindset that I was given when I arrived in Yunlin, and to be honest, it scared me; I truly was afraid that these students would squander the privilege that they’ve received, and it did seem that way. All the review games that we played seemed to have been only registered as just “games” to these students, and all the lectures we taught seemed only to be ways for the students to pass their summer. However, I kept trying to teach these children.
I was entrusted a mission to help care for these students. They might’ve not been given the same upbringing or cultures as us Americans, but they still represented the future and the hope of humanity; although the lack of a 100% in homework, and the surplus of stickers for simple things seemed to prove otherwise. So when it came to the last day of teaching, I nervously waited to test the children. I had no clue as to whether or not the students retained any of the information from these past two weeks. As student by student completed their exam, I was shocked by how much they answered their work correctly. The first thought that came to my mind, “Am I truly a good teacher?” I had so many doubts, so many worries, and so many faults while teaching my students, so again, I ask myself, “Am I truly a good teacher?” Maybe the answer is a succinct, “Yes.” I had students thank me on the last day, tell me of their dreams of coming to America to study or to work, tell me that they truly enjoyed a summer of learning and playing. Of course, they could’ve just been trying to be polite to me, but I won’t deny their words no matter how shaky they might’ve been, after all, they still message me on Facebook in English, and with that, I still have hope for my students.
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Lin, Jeffrey (林子鈞)
In the past month lots of things have happened that I would have never expected. I came into this program a little reluctantly because I did not want to lose my friends but just first day in I had almost already forgotten about my friends and had met new ones already. I can say that the overall experience of this program is friendly and incorporative of many different elements.
On the first week of this program, we learned many skills and abilities that I did not know. I again was also sort of reluctant to learn about how to teach kids, but when I got into that room I learned way more than I expected. Each class was like a simulation of the classroom that we would be in instead we were the students. We got to experience the taste as the students and playing the different games and activities to help learn new words. Although the classes were a little long it moved quickly with the point system that we eventually used in our schools, and it helped motivate and encourage us to do our best. Oddly enough, at the end of the first week instead of being excited to teach these young minds, I was heartbroken to leave my new friends for a whole 2 weeks.
Arriving at the school was a blur, the drive was somewhat cloudy from all the thoughts of our friends but also exciting because of the new kids we would meet. At the school, we were treated very well and highly regarded. We met the principals, directors and admins, who all treated us with high respect and even bought us lots of food. The facilities and accommodations were also very nice for just a few kids from America.
On the first day of school, the kids were like any other students meeting new teachers, quiet and timid. But on the second day of class they were up and about, shouting out words and playing games. The experience was exciting and welcoming. We did have to spend a lot of work making plans and creating the different activities and games for the kids to play in order to make the most of the class, but that’s also part of the experience to understand the other side of the classroom. We were also able to bond with the kids outside of school. We played badminton after school almost every day! On the last day of school, it was like most other schools, a mess of tears. Although I only teared up a little, the kids were much more emotional than us about leaving. It had been a great 2 weeks just understanding and learning about the Taiwanese school system and kids.
Finally, the week that everyone had been waiting for. The tour itself was a time to rekindle friendships and to create new team bonds. I was lucky enough to get a bus full of people I knew and of a bunch of new friends that I met. We had lots of fun exploring the several different places around Taiwan. Although most of the time was spent driving and suffering in the heat, there was a lot of great food. I liked the little introductions to each place and even if it was just a little, I got to learn just a bit more about Taiwan. Overall this program is a must do. I’m sincerely glad that I decided to come.
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Liu, Selina (劉貞宜 )
Coming to Taiwan, I had no teaching experience. I am grateful we had that week at Chientan. Although the program did a great job of bringing in guest speakers, the activities we participated in sometimes felt redundant. The week went by slowly. The upside to that situation was we got to know our roommates and teaching partners better. I believe that a wider range of concepts could’ve been touched upon during our first week at Chientan. I learned plenty from listening to the guests speak about their experiences. The lesson about classroom behavior and how to manipulate the class atmosphere helped me during my two weeks of teaching.
We taught at Dong Xing Elementary School in Yunlin. We stayed at the principal’s house nearby. Priscilla, the principal, did not want us to worry about anything but lesson plans for the next day so she took care of all our laundry. Her hospitality and generosity allowed us to stay focused on what we came to do. I did not know what to expect from our students. The students at Dong Xing surprised me at how eager and well behaved they were. I expected rowdy kids that could care less about learning English. My teaching partner, Po, and I taught first graders. I found it difficult to teach fully in English because the students’ lacked listening comprehension skills, as shown in our pre-test. Therefore, I reluctantly used my broken Chinese to translate simple English directions.
During my first few days of teaching, I realized that we should’ve spent more time at Chientan planning ahead. The first day went by fairly quickly because we only had to give the pretest after the opening ceremony. The next day Po and I realized we underestimated or overestimated the time certain activities, such as Back-to-Back, would take. Since our kids were only in the first grade, they were easily bored with a repetitive game. Our topics were given to us by our teacher, Sally, so we felt a bit limited in what we could teach. “Animal” was one of the main focuses of our teaching plan. We created balloon fishes and that activity took longer than we thought it would. As the days went by, we got better at planning our lessons. Our students loved to play with us and as long as they were entertained their energy level stayed up. We took a trip to a zoo on Friday (Wanpi World) and the kids were all excited. For the first graders, Po and I taught them some simple commands: “Line up”, “Be Quiet”, and “Hold hands.” With learning the English language, the kids all have a greater potential to be successful in life and I am happy to be part that.
There were many different volunteers at our school. They were all so helpful and attentive towards the kids. The volunteers also played with the kids during breaks and helped us manage the kids. Sally, our teacher, offered many suggestions and ideas which were super useful. We could not have done it without her.
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Tao, Dennis (陶暟恩)
The past three weeks have been a completely new experience for me. The first week consisted of hard training for the coming two weeks, in which each of us would be sent to our respective schools to teach and inspire young Taiwanese minds. While the first week was very difficult in the learning and lectures, I found it very enjoyable in its own way. It introduced me to five wonderful roommates, along with many other volunteer teachers from all across the United States, and some even from different countries. If there was anything about the first week that I disliked, it was simply the lack of internet. It made it very difficult to work on power points or lesson plans outside of the classroom.
The following two weeks were a blur, to be honest. My group and I were sent to Ma Guang Junior High, where each pair of us would have a class to work with. While my class were at first shy to my partner Ruth and I, they grew to warm up to us as the following days went on. While most of the class was quiet at first, they were all screaming and laughing during the water balloon fight that we had during the last day of classes. I loved the school. The teacher assistants were great and the head coach Peter was exceptionally kind and generous. They made the stay at the junior high very fun and exciting. Their efforts also helped me to be energized and excited every morning before class started.
In general, I loved this program and the people it allowed me to meet. Whether it is new friends or the smiling faces of my students, these fond memories will last with me for a lifetime.
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Shiao, Elaine (蕭以琳)
O’hana means family and family to different people can mean different things but to me family means two things. Firstly it means my biological family whom I interact with everyday and who I live with and who means a lot to me. And the second meaning of family to me is a group of amazing people who mean the world to me and who I share my deepest secrets to. This second meaning I thought I would never met although of course I have met great people who are great to talk to but I have never met people who mean the world to me. But in these few weeks I have finally be able to experience the second meaning of family. These 7 other people who I have taught with mean the world to me and are my second family. They helped me when I was sick and made me laugh until my stomach was hurting. A family I will never forget. But not only that I have also found a third meaning to the word family a group of amazing people who can leave an everlasting mark on your life and change it forever and who can help you through the toughest times and make you feel like your unstoppable. This program helped me find the third meaning of family through the kids we taught and through the teachers and assistants. These few weeks have been a precious few weeks that I will always cherish and never forget. From the many waterball fights to the sleepless nights trying to trying to catch a very slick rat. This experience has taught me not to fear but to enjoy life and live in the moment and not to worry too much. It has also taught me to take chances and it also made me realize to appreciate the things around me more. Like for instance back in America I would have never even given the scenery a second glance but it Taiwan I was finally able to appreciate the nature and what it has to give to us. Also this program made me realize have much I have and how much more I want and how that cycle was actually very unsatisfying and it made me realize why life was always very unsatisfying before but now I learned that more is less and less is more. Also living in the rural areas made me appreciate a dollar more and how much is has to offer. It also made me realize that sometimes in life you just have to let go and see where it takes you because sometimes it can take you to amazing places and have amazing experiences. All in all it was an unforgettable experience in which I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot that will be useful in the future. Also it allowed me to met a bunch of amazing people that I will never forget and will always be my second family.
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Lee, Kenneth (李孟霖)
When I first heard of the AID program, I saw it as a potential life altering event that can give me a new perspective on education and life in general. Besides getting further in touch with my ancestral roots, Taiwan, it also gave me a greater appreciation for my life by placing me in a more rural, less privileged area. Overall, this experience has been more rewarding than I previously expected and I truly hope that I was able to make a profound change in the way my students approach learning English.
I found the actual teaching experience to be a challenge that I left with a plethora of experience, knowledge, and gratitude. My students were originally incredibly shy, lacking confidence in English. The first challenge my group experienced was to make the students more acquainted with English, more comfortable with the language. This was achieved as my students quickly became more eager to participate, more eager to learn. After class, students would approach my partners and I to ask me questions in English, which made me incredibly proud of them. I truly loved my students. Seeing them grow so much in the two weeks that I knew them is a great source of pride. I believe my greatest contribution to these students was not expanding their vocabulary, but rather having them have fun, and be comfortable with English.
I was originally shocked by the amount of work I had to put in every day after class, working on the following day’s teaching plans and PowerPoints. But I quickly became accustomed to the tedious work load. This experience has left me with a much greater appreciation for my own teachers. I now understand their struggles, as well as how much time and effort they dedicate to us students, for which I am truly grateful.
This program has also introduced me to many other people of similar backgrounds as me, American born Taiwanese teens. These people have quickly become some of my closest friends. Working together to teach our children as efficiently as possible, we have formed an inseparable bond with each other and the teachers that we worked with. This was my first teaching experience and it has revealed many things to me. It has also helped me form many close bonds with my group mates. I also formed close bonds with my children and hope that they will succeed in the future.
AID was truly a life altering journey and experience. It has truly given me a new perspective on education that I will bring with me to college and beyond. It has brought me back to the home of my family, Taiwan, and introduced me to a brand new side of it. It has introduced me to many friends who I will stay in touch and rely on for the rest of my life. It has also taught me how to teach children, an experience that will surely be important in the future. I have no regrets, I truly thank AID for an unforgettable experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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Chen, Annie (陳怡安)
My experience at AID Summer 2014 was incredible and will be unforgettable. I have had the opportunity to be both a student and a teacher within these short four weeks. As a student, not only did I learn how to create and manage an entire teaching plan, but I also learned how to work together and communicate with someone who I was not close with initially. As a teacher, I experienced firsthand how to be not just an English instructor to a class of nine children, but also a friend, an advisor, and an older sister role model.
During training week the first week, I was nervous and a little bit pessimistic. I was not confident in myself and did not have the courage to get to know my peers. I felt uncomfortable during lectures and group meetings. I was bored and unmotivated. During weekly planning, I was afraid I would not be able to be a good teacher and that the students would not like the activities I planned or find me boring. It made the first few nights of planning stagnant and made cooperating with my partner awkward and unproductive. But toward the end of a long first week, I began to warm up to the people around me and we got ready to head down to our school in Hualien.
Maybe it was the amazing views or the loving people of Ruisui, or maybe it was seeing the kids’ faces light up when they say something in English correctly, but there was never a day when I did not want to be where I was during those two weeks. Being able to spend time with the kids and get to know everyone else in town made the living condition (insect infestations and the encounter of Typhoon Matmo) seem so trivial. On the weekend, we got to explore the trails to the waterfall in Taroko and make our own jade pendants in Shoufeng.
Though I did not think I was able to teach my kids much within these short ten days, I really hope that we left them a good impression. I hope we left them wanting to explore more and see the world. I hope we inspired them to pursue their interests and to follow their dreams. I hope we gave them more confidence to be themselves. At the same time, I learned a lot from my kids too. In the beginning I was scared that after this experience I would realize that I do not actually want to be a teacher, however, after these four weeks, I am even more sure of my major. I learned that all the kids are different, and every single one of them has their own personality. And though I did not really learn the groundwork of being a teacher, I learned the importance of being a good role model; being someone the kids trust and look up to.
Despite the bugs, the living situation, the weather, and the lack of air condition in the classrooms, I am so thankful and so grateful for this opportunity. I am so happy to have been assigned to Hualien, and to have met the people there, to teach and to spend all my time with the children of Ruisui. Not only that, but in this one month I have also learned so much about myself thanks to all the wonderful people I have met, who have taught me how to be a better person.
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Mok, Grace (莫鎧思)
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this program. I just knew I was happy to be accepted to an all expense paid program. I was grateful for the opportunity to experience Taiwan and experience truly giving back to a needy community, especially one of my Taiwanese heritage I wanted to impart whatever knowledge of English I could to these children and inspire them to challenge themselves to attend college and master English.
Training week was boring, but helpful. Sometimes I felt like I was suffocating because I was always in the same classroom. I felt so cramped and bored. Time just inched along. Then I realized that this is what I don’t want my kids to feel like. I really understood firsthand that keeping students engaged is crucial for effective education. I started to pay more attention to the techniques and games taught specifically to engage. Games like rock paper scissors, different point systems and charades were later incorporated into our lesson plans in order to entertain and encourage the students.
The first class was an entirely unique and awesome experience. I saw dozens of eager, confused, and black eyes. I was still getting used to being in the front of the classroom and getting used to not seeing diversity in the classroom. Introductions were interesting, because we had to repeat our names and make sure they could pronounce our names. Discipline was easy initially, because they were afraid of us. However, communication was difficult because we tried to use as much English as possible. The looks of confusion from the kids forced us to use Chinese though.
At first, I felt that using Chinese was surrendering to bad teaching. This guilt was only reinforced by the tradition that the English teacher from South Africa declared: “I teach my classes in complete English.” However, as I reflected upon this method of “immersion” teaching, I realized that it wasn’t as effective as it theoretically should be. Though greater exposure to a foreign language may be effective after a base knowledge of the foreign language, initially it only serves to frustrate and confuse early learners. I remembered that in my introductory Spanish courses in middle school, our teachers used English to teach us basic Spanish phrases to dip our feet in the water of Spanish. Now that I am in an intermediate Spanish course in high school, our teachers mostly speak in Spanish, though slowly. So I adjusted my teaching style to the younger students.
Not only did I learn about teaching a foreign language, I also learned about elementary school politics. Though most of the children were sweet and friendly, the same children simultaneously excluded others blatantly and cruelly. To a tall boy with glasses: “You can’t play with us because you pick your nose!” To a half Vietnamese girl: “You just can’t play with us!” Though we weren’t able to force them to all be happy daisies in a field, my fellow teachers and I were able to try and understand their elementary school psyches and try to resolve the underlying roots of their social problems.
Analyzing their social problems helped me understand the drama of my own life. Though we are more subtle (cattier) with our social problems, they are still much the same. I hope in the future I am able to step back and analyze my own problems as objectively but compassionately as I did with the third graders I taught.
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Tsay, Ann (蔡有涵)
When I first applied for AID, I don’t think I completely knew what I was getting into – I had somehow assumed that the teaching aspect of the program would only last two to three hours at most. So at Chientan training week, I was surprised and a bit scared when I learned that we would be teaching up to seven hours per day, and that Taiwanese kids, like any other kids in the world, have the shortest attention spans known to mankind. I, with no teaching experience whatsoever, was filled with worry on how I would be able to fill up an entire day teaching English to middle school aged kids on their summer break. How many activities would be required, really, to keep them occupied and behaved?
My worries disappeared once I got to Ligang Junior High School. It was definitely a hard time planning lessons for kids who were on such a broad spectrum of English expertise (some who could understand entire passages of English chapter books to some who could not understand the words “brother” and “sister” even when translated into Chinese), but it flowed more easily than I had thought. I loved our kids because they were really eager to learn. A few of them were so interested in the language that you could practically see the wheels turning in their heads once they grasped new English vocabulary and others were so taken by American culture it was easy to keep their attention. There were definitely some rowdy kids in the class but overall my teaching partner and I grew to love them all. I still don’t think I was cut out to be a teacher, but I’m definitely not afraid of it anymore.
AID has brought me this valuable experience along with many others. Our school did not have a dormitory so we all lived with host families, and by the end of two weeks, we had all grown to love our hosts so much that we hardly wanted to leave. We also became super close as a group, C2-4, and I’ll never forget the fun times we’ve had after school and on the weekends. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to do this program!
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Chung, William (鐘緯恩)
AIDSummer has been a very eye opening experience. It has taught me a great deal and has allowed me to gain a great deal of friendships. While teaching I found it very interesting as to how the children have very viable dreams. Here in Taiwan, children have great dreams: to become writers, artists, bus drivers, programmers, etc. I find that these different aspirations are rooted in a strong cultural identity and sense of knowing who they are. They are very appreciative and absorbent. Not only did the experience of teaching open my eyes on Taiwanese culture, but also the tour portions as well. Driving around gives you a look into the large disparities between cities and the rural side, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding and appreciation of what we have. Not only this, but Taiwan's natural beauty was also revealed throughout the tour. Misty mountains, drenched rice fields, and boundless beatlenut trees. These are just a few of the grace of Taiwan.
It has been a great experience to give back to the community that raised me as a child. I have also been able to learn more about the island my parents group up from and learned to love.
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Chang, Alice (張詩萱)
Choosing to join AID for the summer has been both rewarding and one of the most interesting experiences of my life so far. I did not know what to expect coming into the program but I have made some really great friends with my group members. We survived training week, scary bugs, lizards, and any other crazy wildlife/events that we have encountered during our time together. I'll really miss you guys, group C-13!!
I felt really welcomed arriving at MaKuang Junior High School in Yulin. It was a little bit discouraging for my teaching assistant and I on the first day because none of our students would respond to our questions or seem interested in participating in any of our planned activities. However, as the days went on, we realized that they were just shy on the first day. By the end of the first week, our students were acting like their normal selves (wild, loud, and super funny!). I enjoyed every minute of my time teaching at Yulin and have made many friends among the staff and students. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this a great experience! I definitely will visit everyone at Yulin the next time I come to Taiwan and I miss everyone already!
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Chang, Dorsin (張斗欣)
When I first registered for this AID program, I really wasn't expecting all that much. I just saw it as another thing I had to do over the summer. I had originally wanted to do this program last year, but since there were some conflicts with other activities I was doing over the summer, I decided to scrap the udea of coming to Taiwan to teach English. But I am so glad that this year, the summer before college, I was able to come.
The first week training at Chien Tan, I was a nervous wreck. I came to this program knowing no one, and I since I am more of a introverted person, I was really worried if I would fit in. But as the week went on, our C1-5 group got really close, it almost bwcame like a second family in Taiwan. We had so many talentedpeople in our group, a dance master who coordinated our Step routine for the opening ceremony, a Chinese Yo Yo master who really brought our performance to another level and was a idol in the student's eyes, a funny relaxed member who could turn any situation into a lame joke that by now we are all used to, a sensible person who taught the rest of us how to handwash clothes since we didnt have a washing machine.
By the time the secind week started and we got to our schools, we really gave each other supported and were able to use teamwork to get the necessary teaching materials done. When we first started teaching, it was really difficult. The students were shy, we didnt know what to expect, and our students English level were below average. Therefore we had to modify many of teaching plans to accomadate that. We originally had games that would requore a more putgoing personality and more fun attitude, but we quickly realized that that wouldnt work. Also calling out students individially was also not good because of their lack of confidence in themselves. Soon we realized the trick was to make them first practice in small group of four or five, then practice with about twn people, then finally the entire class.
By the end of the teaching period, the studenta were a lot more active and saw us as peers who knew English and would not criticize them when they got something wrong. We would correct them, but there were no points or grades. They also saw us as feiends and at the end, even all pitched in money to buy drinks for the entire class and teachers. Also at the last day, when we could finally speak Chinese with them, the studenta opened up a lot to, and we were able to use English and Chinese to comminicate.
When I left, I cried. I was the first one to, but then our entire group cried too. One of our students even came to say goodbye at the place we were living. Not only will I miss my students, but also our teacher who gave us her full support and guided us through the entire time.
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