A Memorable Experience               1   2   3   Next

Vincent Liu

As I look back upon my experience as a teacher at Lin Lou Elementary, I realized how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to work with their students. I suppose a good place to begin would be from the start, before my arrival to Taiwan, seeing that first impressions may have some impact on how I view the outcome of my four weeks. Never being someone motivated to look for programs that I may have interest in, I first noticed the A.I.D. Volunteer Program when my parents suggested this could be something beneficial and useable toward my college application. Others mentioned how this would be a good opportunity to visit relatives, go sightseeing, practice a little Chinese, get to know more people, et cetera. This program was designed to help enhance the English levels of children all around Taiwan, but most importantly to instill within the students a continuing interest in studying not only the language, but also the culture of English speaking countries such as America. I did not understand what any of this meant, let alone know what A.I.D. stood for (Assisting Individuals with Disadvantages). All I knew was that I would be teaching children English in a possibly remote place lacking air conditioning with other students I have never known.

As the date approached, my mind constantly imagined how the next four weeks would turn out to be like. I was nervous. Would the children be shy and reserved? Or would they be noisy and naughty? Would they care to listen to me? And who were the other people I would be working with? I had many questions and few answers. During my first week in Taoyuan for training, I met my group consisting of peers who I was going to be working with as well as others going to Kenting Elementary. Many teachers came to talk about their experiences in teaching the English language. It was a good opportunity to reflect and think about not only how I was going to go about teaching my student for the next two weeks, but also what I truly wanted out of this experience. After talking these people, I concluded that my time in Taiwan would only be worthwhile if I put my students before all other reasons. I hope to give these children a positive outlook on and a long-lasting passion for learning English.

As our travel bus entered the Ping-tung region where my school was in, I noticed coconut trees, run-down buildings and apartments, many stray dogs, children playing in the street, and other aspects that hinted at its rising development. It was better than I had originally thought it would be. There were paved roads, cars, stores, and as my fellow teacher would have said, “signs of civilization.” At our arrival at Lin Lou Elementary, we were greeted with firecrackers. We met with staff members of the school and, during diner, got to know them. From the mannerism with which they addressed us, I could tell they held us in esteem as if we were respectable individuals. The principal, who we had already met a few days earlier, told the others of how we paid our own plane tickets just to come to Taiwan and teach their students and how out of the 600 who applied for the program only 280 were excepted. Wherever we went, whenever he felt the need to introduce us, it was this same story word for word. I could not help but feel a bit of shame for my original reasons for participating in this program. I feel obliged to mention the principal since he was the one who took to our every need. When we had to go someone to buy supplies, when we went out to eat, when we wanted to go somewhere to shop or have fun, he drove us there in his minivan; he paid for meals; he introduced us to Southern Taiwan. He truly was our father away from home. Our home stay family was no different. Every night, they would visit to see that everything was going well. They would bring fruit and buy things for us to eat. When any one of us gets sick, they would immediately provide medication. They were there for us whenever we needed them.

The actual teaching at the school was a new experience for me. Though two weeks may be a short time to truly know people, I believe I could have just as easily called myself their friend as their teacher. The teaching was mutual. Naturally, I had to teach them English, but they would conversely teach me Taiwanese or Chinese. Since we lived so far apart, it was only natural that we also shared cultural aspects of our worlds. In Taoyuan, the majority of the teachers emphasized how Taiwanese students are shy and reserved and that it was our duty to devise methods to get the students to speak and participate. Besides for a few of the more quiet students in class, I believe they couldn’t be more wrong. On the first day, if I had not gotten to know them better, I probably would have labeled the kids as naughty. They were talkative and didn’t seem to have an interest in learning English. But as we played games that incorporated English and joked around in class, I saw that their liveliness was just another form of enthusiasm. Most everyone was willing to participate, and even those who had difficulty absorbing the information were willing to try. Tauyuan also gave everyone the impression that the students would have little to none knowledge of the English language. I disagree with assertion when applied to Lin Lou, seeing that all the students were brilliant in different ways. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, but as they learned to help one another, I saw a profound improvement in their ability to read, write, listen, and speak. I believe we exploited every moment we were together in the classroom to the fullest and accomplished much more than I had expected.

What have I gained out of my time in this seemingly insignificant region of the already small country of Taiwan? I honestly believe an experience of a lifetime. Though teaching may require much work and patience, I would have never guessed at how fun and satisfying one could feel when a student has the heart to listen to me and learning from me. All people are diverse and the children are no different. Some may take seconds to fully understand a lesson, and other minutes or even hours. But no matter how many times I need to repeat myself, I feel content knowing that I have made my mark on the future within these individuals who will eventually grow up to affect more generations to come, individuals who, with English, can communicate easier with the rest of the world and hopefully influence society for the better.

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