Dear friends,
On November 8, 2008, my school had a huge 10-year anniversary celebration. Many special guests were invited including councilmen, representatives from the Bureau of Education, other principals, previous teachers that taught at Hua Shan, and many others. My school prepared a special ceremony for this special event and Chia-Ling and I were the MCs (Masters of Ceremony).

Awards were given to teachers who had taught for ten years and to some special guests. Each grade did a performance that lasted about 5-10 minutes. The students and teachers worked really hard on the performances, practicing nearly two months before the actual ceremony. I made a video with clips from most of the performances. Hopefully this will give you a glimpse of how outstanding the kids are at Hua Shan. Here is what each grade did:
(In order of appearance)
Grade 2: Pom-pom dance
Grade 3: Hand-clapping dance
Grade 4: Fan dance, martial arts fight, & lion dance
Grade 1: Spongebob Squarepants "I love to take a bath" dance
Grade 5: "We will, we will rock you" dance, drum performance, & flag spectacle
Grade 6: Body combat dance
Yep, Hua Shan Elementary School students are pretty amazing.

After the ceremony, my school held the final "tug-of-war" competition among the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Tug-of-war is one of the competitions for the World Game. As I mentioned before in previous posts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan is hosting the 2009 World Games. So, to honor and have some fun with one of the sports, Hua Shan did its own tug-of-war competition.

Once tug-of-war finished, our school held a 100 meter race. I'm not too sure if it was 100 meters, but it was pretty short distance. The first graders were so cute because one kid lost his shoe when he ran and another kid who was in the lead waited for the others to catch-up so he could run with them--so adorable! For almost all the grades, I was the referee who yelled, "On you mark, get set, go!" I didn't fire the gun, though. A fellow teacher did that because I had my hands full with the megaphone.

It was an incredibly fun day. The kids worked so hard on the performance and did so well. I also bonded with my fellow teachers and co-workers because we've been doing so many activities together, from the korfball competition to the relay race to the anniversary celebration! I'm so glad I'm at Hua Shan Elementary School because I get along so well with my teachers, fellow administrators, and students. Hua Shan is a very friendly, warm, and fun environment. I am so lucky to be at this school.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUA SHAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

Check out more pictures, here!

Dear friends,
This week was Halloween. Chia-Ling, Ashley, and I had our students make face masks. We made basic face masks out of paper plates and had them decorate them last week. This week, they could wear it in class and if they said, "Trick-or-Treat," they got candy. We also showed them a short video about celebrating Halloween (See Teaching Tab for more details). Many of the students made excellent masks. We gave prizes to the cutest and scariest masks.

Ashley & Chia-Ling were witches for Halloween and I was a vampire (who didn't have vampire teeth). One day though, Ashley was an angel =D. You can find more pictures of Halloween in this album.

All the students + me + Tai-Shia

Dear friends,
This afternoon I visited Xiao Gang Senior High School for two hours. My Host Mom teaches English at this high school and she invited me to come speak to one of her English classes. The students prepared 41 questions to ask me! Some of the questions we discussed include:
1) How are you adjusting to Taiwanese life?
2) Why did you choose to come to Taiwan?
3) Have you faced any racial discrimination since coming to Taiwan?
4) How is the education system in the United States different from the Taiwanese?
5) What suggestions do you have for preparing a speech?
6) What is the current economic situation in America?
7) How is the food different in America?
8) What is college life like in America?
9) Have you been to any pubs in America and what are the differences between pubs in America?
10) What is your favorite food in Taiwan?

In answering these questions, I delved into issues of:
China-Taiwan relations (Northern Taiwan is more blue or pro-China + Taiwan relationship and the South is more green or pro-independence), American identity (what does it mean to be American? Must you have white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes?),
Differences in American and Taiwanese students (American students: very vocal, may challenge the teacher, Taiwanese students: more obedient & respectful of the teacher),
Obesity (America has larger portion sizes than Taiwan),
Voting (Taiwanese can only vote in person, not by mail),
Teaching styles (American teachers ask students for input a lot--why do you think this? Why do you think that? Taiwanese teachers teach by memorization of sentence patterns),
UV (ultraviolet) Ratings (In America, the UV rating is zero. In Taiwan, the UV rating is seven. So, lots of people in Taiwan where funny arm garments to cover their skin when driving in the car and walking down the streets. Parasols and sunscreen are also very popular. Needless to say, I have already bought myself a parasol, sunscreen, and funny arm garments.)
Scooters (There are virtually no scooters in America, but in Taiwan, they're ubiquitous. I explained to the students that people in America drive motorcycles and they wear leather clothing to protect themselves if they get into an accident. The students did not understand why Americans wear leather because scooter drivers only wear a helmet and the funny arm garments that protect against the sun in Taiwan. If they get into an accident, they deal with the scars.)
and many other topics I can't remember off the top of my head.

I spoke to the students with a microphone, which is very common in classrooms. You're usually teaching about 30 students in each class so a microphone is necessary. When break time came, the microphone automatically turned off to signal to the teacher that it's time to let the kids go. Break time was actually sweeping time, a time where all students clean their school. I think that sweeping is such a great idea because it teaches the students how to keep areas clean and to be responsible for your own messes. I think American schools should adopt sweeping times to make it easier for the school janitor.

I forgot to mention to the students that in America, we not only don't have sweeping time in schools, but we also don't have nap time. Taiwanese students (elementary to high school) all take naps from 1pm to 1:30pm. Additionally, I forgot to mention that the Taiwanese calendar starts on a Monday whereas the American calendar starts on a Sunday. I've been teaching my fourth and fifth graders about those two differences, "no nap time in America" and "calendar starts on Sunday."

Here are some pictures of me with the high school students.

Speaking to the students. On the far right was the student host who selected questions to ask me. All the students wrote questions for me.

Another pictures with all the students

Me with some of Tai-Shia's English students

Isn't this part of the high school so cool?! The students told me that during break time, they'll stand and just look out into the distance on this cool "bridge hallway."

Ashley, Chia-Ling, and me

Dear friends,
It has now been about a month since I've been teaching and two months since I've arrived in Taiwan. I can say without a doubt that teaching and living in Taiwan is incredibly meaningful and fun. If you can't tell from my blog, each weekend is filled with so much activity!

Teaching has been going very well. Depending on the time of day, some classes are more responsive than others. I co-teach thirteen classes--four classes with Ashley (four fifth grade classes) and nine classes with Chia-Ling (four fourth grade classes & five sixth grade classes). I also co-teach first, second, and third grade classes each week with Chia-Ling for half an hour. Additionally, on Thursdays and Fridays, I teach a special English class for fifth and sixth grade students who are behind in class and/or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. You may be thinking that this is really a full schedule of teaching! It is and I enjoy it very much because the students make it very meaningful.

I was requested recently to write a little piece on my teaching experience for a news article. Billy helped me translate some of it. Please forgive my mistakes in Chinese. I do not know if this will ever be published, but I am putting it here on my website for my students and school to see. Also, thank you Oliver for helping me fix a few errors and putting the post in traditional Chinese characters.

高雄，您好！我叫李詩媚，我的學生都叫我Shiela老師。雖然我已經來這裡教了兩個月的英文了，但是我依舊非常喜歡在華山國小教英語。這一點都不誇張，華山的校長、老師、職員和學生們全都很友善，他們也很熱情地歡迎我，讓身在國外教英語的我能很順利地適應。我很愛我的學生，在我的心目中，他們有一個很特別的地位。無論是在學校內或者在路上，當學生遇到我的時候，他們都會很大聲地叫我"Hello Teacher Shiela！"為了提高他們的英文寫作能力，他們還會寫信或著發電子郵件給我。儘管他們的英文程度有限，但是他們依然很願意跟我談話。他們對練習說英文的興趣真的是非常地感人。

雖然我覺得學習單字和文法是很重要的，但是我也認為我應該培養學生們對學習英語的興趣，這樣一來，他們會更努力地學習英語。我已經在我的學生身上看到這種轉變，他們學習英文不只是為了考試，很多學生透露給我聽他們學習英語的原因是為了可以跟我或著別的外國人聊天，還有可以到別的國家去。因此，我會嘗試在不同的場合跟我的學生們練習英文。比方說，我們會在路上、走廊、教室裡或著籃球場說英文。我每個星期二都會跟我的學生打籃球，這樣他們可以多學和籃球相關的單字。我希望這學年結束的時候，我的學生們會更有自信地說英文。

 Hello, Kaohsiung! My name is 李诗媚, but my students call me Teacher Shiela. I have been teaching English at Hua Shan Elementary School for two months now and I do not exaggerate when I say I love teaching at my school. Hua Shan’s principal, teachers, staff, and students have been so welcoming and friendly that they have made my transition to teaching in a foreign country very easy. Hua Shan’s students, in particular, are very special to me. They not only always give me a loud, excited English greeting at school and on the street, but they also initiate writing me letters and emails as a way to improve their English. Even though they speak very limited English, seeing these student’s enthusiasm and motivation to learn English is very meaningful.

While it is important that students learn proper grammar and vocabulary, I think it is also important that these students develop an interest in English．If they are passionate about learning English, they will be more motivated. I already see this in my students. Many of them have expressed an interest in learning English not just for the sake of an exam, but so they can speak with foreigners like me or go to an English-speaking country. Because of this interest, I take advantage of any and all opportunities to help my students practice English. For example, on the street, in the hall, in a classroom, and even on a basketball court. I play basketball with the basketball team every Tuesday so I can have some fun and teach them basketball terms．I hope by the end of this year, they will speak English with more confidence.

Here are some pictures of me co-teaching with Chia-Ling. I will post pictures of me co-teaching with Ashley later. We didn't have time to take pictures of our class this week.

Grade 6, Class 2

Chia-Ling and I explaining the Rabbit & Turtle Race Game. Basically, it's a game modeled after the American board game Candyland. However, in order to roll the dice, two students have to correctly say the dialog.

Two Grade 6, Class 2 students practicing a dialog:
Student 1: "How do you feel?"
Student 2: "I am sick. How do you feel?"
Student 1: "I am excited!"
The students get to choose out of the limited vocabulary words they are learning the emotion they are feeling (e.g. excited, tired, sick, bored, hungry, thirsty, sleepy)

Little first graders yelling, "BINGO!" We were playing BINGO with numbers...

Also, I've helped Chia-Ling set up her own website, check it out: www.chia-ling.weebly.com

Ashley has a website, too. Check it out: www.wretch.cc/blog/ashley53077

Thanks for reading!

Dear friends,
This Sunday, September 28, is Confucius Teacher's Day. To honor the great teacher Confucius and all teachers in Taiwan, a dance is held at Lotus Lake. I do not know whether I will go to the dance this Sunday because a typhoon is coming. But, nevertheless, I was able to celebrate Confucius Teacher's Day at Hua Shan Elementary School.

Like the United States, Taiwan's students will give their teacher's little gifts on Teacher Appreciation Day. However, unlike the United States, Taiwan has an entire assembly/ceremony where they honor their teachers. Teachers are highly respected in Taiwanese culture. At Hua Shan this morning, we had an assembly for all the students.

The Director of Counseling was our MC. She was so energetic and fun that the students were all engaged. All the teachers of each grade (1-6) were introduced and handed a special gift.  After the teachers were introduced, she explained that each grade holds a special vote for their favorite teacher. I was surprised to learn that I was chosen as the entire 6th grade's favorite teacher! It was such an honor to be chosen and the children were so sweet. It has only been about three weeks and the entire student body knows who I am! When I got up on stage, there was loud applause and noise. Then, I had to randomly choose five sixth grade students from a box to give them gifts. So, those sixth graders were receiving gifts from their "favorite teacher."

The Stage

Me, selecting five sixth grade students to win prizes

There were supposed to be five sixth graders, but two of them were absent because they were part of the sports class (6th grade, class 5) and the sports class had a game today. Each of the students received a little pencil pack as their gift.

All the teachers received the gift pictured to the right. It's a small handkerchief with a hand-drawn picture on it. In addition to this gift, two fourth grade classes made me special cards. Both cards spelled my name wrong, but both were still very beautiful. Take a look and see if you can decipher the messages.

Front cover of the card. The little door opens up and it says, "I love you ~Jeff [one of my students]"

A snapshot of the inside of the card. Each one of my students wrote me a message. In this class, there are 23 students so I got 23 wonderful messages.

The second card that my other fourth grade class made me.

These kids are truly wonderful. They are so incredibly sweet and I am so privileged to teach them. Every single day when I go to school, I have a smile on my face because these kids bring so much joy to my day. They make teaching so fun. I know some of them are reading my blog so I want them to know that they mean very much to me and I hope they walk away at the end of the year with more confidence when speaking English. I also hope that they can learn more about American culture and go into the world with an open mind and heart.

Dear friends,
I was introduced to all of the faculty and staff today at Hua Shan Elementary School. It was exciting to meet all of them because they were eager to speak English. Though, some of them were nervous and it was apparent I needed to speak slower. I had lots of fun and everyone was so nice.

Hua Shan Elementary School Front Gate

When I visited the school last week, I learned that I was going to be teaching with both English teachers at Hua Shan, Jia-Ling and Ashley. I mentioned a little bit about Ashley in an earlier post, so let me talk a little bit about my other co-teacher Jia-ling. Jia-Ling teaches the 4th & 6th graders English while Ashley teaches the 3rd & 5th graders. Jia-Ling studied Philosophy of Education in England and we were both so surprised to find out that we both studied philosophy. She has studied Judith Butler & Michel Foucault just like me! We were thinking of starting a Judith Butler Reading group =D. I never knew I would be able to discuss philosophy in Taiwan. What a great coincidence!

Today, I have just been introducing myself to a lot of people. Ashley and Jia-Ling have been so kind in showing me around and helping me adjust. We planned all of next weeks classes today. I am teaching 13 different classes in 3 different grades. Four classes in the 4th grade, four classes in the 5th grade, and five classes in the 6th grade. I want to try to learn all the children's names, but because there are about 30 students in one class, I think this may be a little difficult. I'll still try, though.

Lesson planning with Jia-Ling

Lesson planning with Ashley

I didn't teach today because I am leaving for Taipei this Thursday for a Fulbright Conference. At this conference, I will meet all the other Fulbrighters (researchers and other English Teaching Assistants). It's a 3-day conference so you may not hear from me for those three days. I only went to Hua Shan Elementary School  one day of this week (today) because our coordinators felt we may have been exhausted from the orientation activities and bustling to and fro to visit schools last week.  I officially start teaching my classes on Monday, September 8, 2008. I already met some of the kids today and it was great hearing them respond to my English questions.  I will meet all of the children on Wednesday, September 10, even the ones I'm not teaching English.

The school year officially begins when I come back from Taipei!

Dear friends,
After a week of meeting the schools and teacher, I finally know the school I will be teaching at and with which teacher. Drum roll, please....I will be teaching grades 4-6 with co-teacher Ashley at Hua Shan Elementary School. I am so excited to meet the kids and to learn a lot from Ashley. She is a very fun and enthusiastic person; I know we're going to have a great year together (She's also really good at karaoke).

Hua Shan is a pretty small school (only 700-800 students) and I like that it's so small because then I can really get to know my students. When I visited the school with the other Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs), I was particularly impressed by their English Village classroom (see past blog for explanation of English Village) and by how friendly the school was. School begins this Thursday and I will meet everyone either Thursday afternoon or Friday.

Visiting Hua Shan Elementary School with the other ETAs (English Teaching Assistants)

Hua Shan Elementary School is South of where I live. It is near the airport and I will be taking the MRT and riding a bike to get to the school. Ashley is going to take
 me to her school the first day so I don't get lost. I am very excited to begin teaching and I hope I can help my students become more confident and comfortable speaking English.

Me and Ashley!

The program administrators announced the matching of the local English teachers (LETs) and the English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) today. The pairing was based on the LETs rankings of who they wanted and also on the ETAs' preferences. After they announced the pairings, we all headed to lunch. After lunch, the Fulbright program coordinators planned Karaoke (KTV- Karaoke Television) for us! Ashley drove me to lunch and to KTV on her scooter. This was my first time on a scooter and I held onto Ashley so tight. I think she could tell I was a bit nervous because I kept on saying, "Woah! We're going so fast. Woah! Woah!"

This was my second time in Taiwan singing karaoke. Ashley and I sang, "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion... Check out our pose =D

Karaoke was a lot of fun. Oh, I almost forgot. Hua Shan elementary school also has an arcade room with pool table, ping pong table, basketball-shooting arcade, and many other fun games. It's known as the fun room and it's open to both teachers and students. Isn't that great? I can have fun with the students inside and outside the classroom.

I'm excited for the school year to begin and will update everyone on my adventures. Thanks for reading!