A government-sponsored program for overseas youth aged 17 to 24, offering volunteer English teaching training and cultural exchange, has begun at Asia University in Taichung and will run through Aug. 1, the event organizers said.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the English Teaching Volunteer Service Program, which brings together 418 overseas youth volunteers from 22 countries, according to a joint statement released by the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), the Ministry of Education, and the Hakka Affairs Council.
These countries include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, several European and African nations, as well as New Zealand, Australia, and others in Asia, the statement said.
Photo: CNA
An opening ceremony for the program was held online at the Taichung university on Monday as Typhoon Danas hit Taiwan.
At Asia University, the volunteers undergo intensive training provided by the K-12 Education Administration, covering practical teaching skills such as language instruction methods, cross-cultural communication, classroom management and lesson planning, the statement said.
After the training session, the volunteers will visit 68 junior high and elementary schools across Taiwan where they will engage in two weeks of English teaching and cultural exchange. The goal is to boost students’ motivation to learn languages and improve their practical English skills, the statement said.
Following the end of the program, the volunteers will participate in a cultural tour to learn more about Taiwan’s natural landscapes and cultural diversity, it added.
To date, the program has attracted up to 10,000 youth volunteers from around the globe, collectively serving nearly 50,000 students in Taiwan’s elementary and junior high schools, according to the statement.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS