Nineteen young Americans teaching English in the remote counties of Nantou and Chiayi are providing rural farming communities with a solid backbone of English language and cultural learning.
All 19 teachers belong to the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and are taking part in the King Car Education Foundation-funded (KCEF) English Schweitzer program, which is named after the German doctor Albert Schweitzer who dedicated his life to serving the people of Africa.
It's pioneering work for the Americans, who are teaching in the remote Nantou and Chiayi counties just as the government is looking to import more native English-speaking teachers to boost the nation's English ability.
PHOTO: CHANG YUN-PING, TAIPEI TIMES
The Nantou and Chiayi county governments have signed a six-month contract with the KCEF to take the teachers on board, and accommodation and living expenses have been paid for by both parties.
Many of them have previous experience teaching English in different countries, with some having taught in Russia, Mexico and South Africa and being proficient in at least two languages.
Since their arrival in Taiwan in February this year, the intrepid teachers, many of whom are university students affiliated with the IBLP, have become an indispensable part of their schools' English teaching force.
PHOTO: CHANG YUN-PING, TAIPEI TIMES
Ten of the 19 English teachers are based in the mountainous Nantou County, teaching at 14 different primary schools, while the other nine teach in Chiayi County.
The Nantou contingent lives together at the Yung-le Elementary School in Chung-liao Township, one of the worst hit areas during the Sept. 21 earthquake in 1999.
Teaching at the different schools scattered around the townships of Hsinyi, Renai, Puli, Tsaotun and Nantou requires at least a two-hour trip between schools and the teachers' dormitory in Yung-le.
Yet they enjoy it. Not only do they teach in classes, they also play with children in the fields, catch fish in mountain creeks and learn how to play games with the students.
"I love it," said Wesley Dudley, 21, from Michigan. "I was able to teach a little in America, but then doing it over here is so much different because English is [the students'] second language.
"Their response is much different than in the America. I really really like working with Taiwanese children," he said.
Rebecca Karram, from Florida, said, "I've always wanted to be a teacher and live in a different country. And now I have realized both of those goals. It's really cool."
Life adjustment has not been a problem for the teachers in Nantou, said Dudley, the group's leader.
"Everyone here has been very helpful in meeting our needs and giving us an appreciation of Taiwan," he said.
Though homesickness is an inevitable part of their life in Taiwan, the teachers have managed to keep each other entertained and spend most of their time with the children or learning Chinese.
Natasha Fox from Pennsylvania said, "Yes, I do get homesick sometimes. There are only 10 of us are here so we have to all work together and be each other's family.
"But the Taiwanese people are very friendly to us, so we love being here," she said.
Students at the tiny schools have been eager to learn from their foreign teachers.
"They are very open and enthusiastic to what I have to say, and tireless to learn which makes me more excited to teach because they want to learn," Dudley said. "My Chinese is bad, so I have to do lots of hands motions and try to find simple ways to say things. So far it's been great that they understand what I have to say."
The teachers work four days a week and hold six classes a day, with Wednesdays taken up with learning Chinese. Principal of Ying-pan Elementary School Liang Ching-ju (梁靜如), whom the American teachers call "Ma Ma," teaches them to speak Chinese and learn the characters.
In Nantou, the Americans receive a monthly allowance of NT$25,000 and are given a stipend of NT$260 per class, whereas in Chiayi, teachers receive NT$12,000 per month plus accommodation and food expenses from the county government.
KCEF Director General Morgon Sun (孫慶國) said the living expenses varied due to the different budgeting of each county authority.
Also, the living quarters of the students varies between the two locations. In Chiayi, teachers live in a newly built teachers' hotel, so the cost of accommodation is higher, according to Sun.
The foreign teachers are in the classrooms to assist the Taiwanese teachers, however, in practise their roles depend on the English proficiency of the Taiwanese teachers.
Both Nantou and Chiayi counties are extremely short of certified Taiwanese English teachers and recruit military service students with degrees in English to work in the schools.
"Myself and Richard [the Tai-wanese English teacher] work closely together in classes," Fox said. "When students don't understand what I am saying, he will explain it to them.
"Our main aim here is to assist the Taiwanese English teacher," Fox said.
In cases where no certified Taiwanese English teachers are available, foreigners have to take control of the teaching, while their Taiwanese counterparts translate the English into Chinese for the students.
"Some of the Taiwanese teachers speak very little English," Karram said. "But I think it's also good in one way because the kids focus only on us and won't rely on the translator unlike at other schools where students listen to the translator and don't pay attention to us."
Ines Zrinski, who is responsible for supervising the nine Americans in Chiayi, spoke of the differences between teaching children in big cities and teaching children in the country.
"Children here don't get to see so many foreigners, but in Taipei children meet a lot foreigners," she said. "But they do watch the English channels on TV, and there are also cram schools here.
"But for the students of lower levels, we do have to figure out a way to help them catch up. I will take them to the side and coach them individually so that they can catch up with the students who speak more English," Zrinski said.
"Our main goal is to teach students to be able to talk with foreigners and to be comfortable with English. Making it fun and exciting is the best way to do that," she added.
In addition to teaching basic English, the American teachers also teach other life skills.
"We teach the students such concepts as obedience, attendance and determination and things that every good citizen must have," Dudley said.
Karram said teaching moral fiber also helps students to improve their vocabulary.
"For example, last week I taught them the principle of determination," she said. "The phrase I wanted them to learn was `Determination is to work hard for good goals.'
"I demonstrated the ideal to them by explaining that they have to be determined to study English, and so do I when I study Chinese," she said.
IBLP is a non-profit organization committed to teaching projects all over the world. It also helps provide educational programs and community service.
All 19 American teachers will end their teaching in June and return to the US.
The KCEF, however, said the program will continue next semester as the foundation and the IBLP bring new teachers to Taiwan.
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