“Language is the key to accessing the rest of the world.” During the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange Thanksgiving Conference, Yosifu Kacaw, an artist and member of the Taiwanese indigenous Amis group, shared the vitality of indigenous art in his keynote speech. For Yosifu, it was the English language that helped him connect with others and share his culture. English learning allows us to share our talents with the rest of the world–whether it be our interest, opinions, or creative pursuits.

As part of the U.S. State Department Fulbright program and Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, I was appointed as the English Teaching Assistant (ETA) for Xin Hai Elementary School in Taipei. The students at Xin Hai are a bright, curious, and joyful bunch and as their teacher, I have the privilege of helping them open up their world and share their talents. During my time in the Taipei public school system, the core of my teaching pedagogy has been on self-expression, cultural engagement, and collaboration.

Language acquisition is an expressive process. Central to the English learning experience is giving students the tools to communicate their ideas and opinions. While reading and writing are important aspects that the students get to practice, as the ETA my role is to emphasize speaking and listening skills. By focusing on speaking without the stress of right and wrong answers, it allows students to practice their expression of thought.

In my 5th grade English courses, for example, we play a game of ‘would you rather?’. During our transportation unit, the students were introduced to vocabulary words including cars, buses, and trucks but also culturally specific types of transportation such as snowmobile, oxcart, and rickshaw. At the unit review, I had students recall their knowledge and share their opinions on the topic at hand. First, I reviewed the vocabulary words before asking students which they prefer. Students were tasked with discussing in groups of four. As we wrapped up group discussions, I had students raise their hands on which they would rather prefer before asking them why so they could visually see how their peers differed. Students would passionately raise their hands indicating they had strong preferences for one or the other. My students responded in both English and Chinese and each of their reasons were written on the board. If students could only express their opinions in Chinese, my co-teacher Tanya would help to translate them into English and students would collaboratively create the sentence structure. As a class, students would repeat the sentence “I would ride a bus to school because …” or “I would not ride a rickshaw to school because …”

This practice allows my students the self-expression that I find so important in language acquisition. Moreover, my habit of asking students how they feel about certain topics and situations allows me to learn better about them and how I can further engage them in my classes.

English education can encompass broader learning achievements and continue past the classroom. As a cultural ambassador from the United States, I see my role not only as an English Teacher but to explore the nuances of the world with my students. In my classes, it’s been important for me not only to share with them the dominant American culture but also the nuances of my community and its diverse population. This introduction to culture allows me to be creative in my delivery and I’ve found that collaborative activities and art allow students to take their learning with them to their peers.

For example, during my English club period, I introduce students to the cultural norms and nuances with a focus on holidays and celebrations. On Fridays, I host an English club for 3rd to 6th graders who want to continue their English learning. We cover topics such as Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month, Holidays in the US, and Black History Month. My hope is that students have exposure to the norms and differences which they may see in the media. As an Indonesian American teacher, I find it important to discuss why not everyone in the United States celebrates Christmas or prescribes to a certain set of norms. Yes, the holidays and Christmas are in large part an American tradition, but opening up the conversation about other community’s celebrations and experiences that are less discussed in the norm is an important aspect of broadening students’ worldviews.

Another method of continued learning and piquing interest is the use of art and crafts. After each lesson, my students bring back crafts and gifts. For the Native American and Thanksgiving lesson, students created Indian corn with pipe cleaners and beads. After completing the activity, I reviewed with the club on practicing how to talk about what they learned to others addressing questions such as; Why did we learn about it? What is the holiday called? Why food is an important piece of the holiday? The intention of a physical takeaway for students is so that they can share with their classmates what they have learned, continuing the cycle of learning but also promoting the English club as a fun learning environment. The goal of this model of teaching is to give students the tools to continue and educate their peers on topics.

Learning a language has the potential to be extremely expansive. Incorporating cultural learning objectives and creative approaches, allows students to continue the educational process by teaching others.

With young students, it is inevitable that a student's English ability can fall on a spectrum. Even at the more advanced levels, I was conscious of the students who weren’t able to follow along with the course curriculum. In these situations, adaptability and flexibility are the most important mindsets during my time as an ETA. Luckily, my co-teachers have been able to assist me in lesson planning and in classes. Even as I rely on fellow teachers, I rely on peer-to-peer collaboration within classes to support their learning as well.

I’ve seen my students learn best in activities centered on group work and collaboration, either in pairs or in groups of fours. Smaller working circles allow students to feel more comfortable in attempting their English. Advanced students in groups also can help to translate for their other peers. On the other hand, in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classes, where English is accompanied by an activity, my approaches to teaching include a focus on scaffolding and physical movement. Scaffolding is the method of dividing the tools and structures of learning into manageable pieces. For my 3rd grade PE courses, I do this by introducing a few keywords for the students each lesson as we build up both their skill and language ability. I work collaboratively with two co-teachers so that we can develop a fun lesson with the correct.

By the end of the unit, I am teaching the students how to use their new knowledge in sentence forms and they are able to explore new forms of sports such as martial arts, basketball, and jump rope.

Teaching English in Taiwan comes with its own challenges but the methods that I’ve learned both from Xin Hai Elementary School and the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange have helped me implement good practices for my students. However, being flexible and continuously adapting to your students' needs is essential. Fortuanley the teachers at Xin Hai Elementery are not only supportive but experienced and empathetic. I am lucky to be at a place like Xin Hai Elementary where the co-teachers are not only supportive but experienced. Since language learning is a process that isn’t limited to the classroom, it has helped me develop a passion to teach students in alternative ways. At Xin Hai, I am proud to be introducing my students to the world through English.