Twenty-three-year-old American teacher Sammie loves Asian culture. In September of last year, with an invitation from Su Ao Elementary School, she went to the school as a foreign English teacher. When the schoolchildren saw the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner, they were shy at first. Although Sammie cannot speak Chinese, with a warm smile and lively body language, she quickly hit it off with the schoolchildren. Also, outside of the classroom, she arranges outdoor classes, allowing the schoolchildren to enjoy themselves while they study English.
Su Ao Elementary School doesn’t have a lot of teaching resources. Last year the school invited Sammie to come to Taiwan and teach classes, with a Taiwanese assistant teacher to help and translate when the students do not understand.
School Principal Lu Tsung-hsien said Su Ao Elementary School is not like urban schools that have plentiful English teaching resources. Also, students often have little opportunity to use English in a conversation with an actual foreigner. After Sammie arrived at the school, she used lively and interesting teaching methods that allow schoolchildren to play games and have fun while they study English, which is far more effective than just having the usual monotonous classes. During every weekly meeting, the school also arranges for Sammie to lead the students to read English together.
(Liberty Times, translated by Zane Kheir)
Photo: Chu Tse-wei, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者朱則瑋
二十三歲美國年輕女老師Sammie喜愛亞洲文化，去年九月在蘇澳國小邀請下，到校擔任外籍英文老師，學童剛開始看到金髮碧眼外國人怯生生，Sammie雖然不會中文，但以熱情的笑容和活潑肢體語言，很快和學童打成一片，並走出教室，安排戶外課程，讓學童快樂學英語。
蘇澳國小教學資源並不豐富，校方去年申請「英語外師協同教學」計畫，邀請Sammie來台，搭配一名台灣老師授課，在學生不懂時，給與協助、翻譯。
校長盧聰賢說，蘇澳國小不像都市學校，擁有豐沛英語教學資源，學童平時很少機會和真正外國人用英語對談，Sammie到校後，以生動有趣的教學方式，學童們在遊戲、歡笑中學英文，成效比平時枯燥授課好很多，每個禮拜週會時，校方也安排Sammie帶領學童一起唸英文。
〔自由時報記者朱則瑋〕
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