Teaching in Taiwan by Ngan

Growing up in a family with a younger brother, as a sister, teaching my brother was an inevitable thing to do. However, arguing, being angry happened a lot in the process of teaching between us that made me believe I could not teach other people because I did not have that patience. Nevertheless, after deciding to study abroad in Taiwan, I found out that teaching is more engaging than I thought.

When I decided to go to Taiwan, I saw studying abroad as my chance to live in and experience another culture in a way that taking a vacation just doesn't allow. My major in university is business, so I never thought I could have a job as a teacher. By coincidence, I started to become a teacher which somehow changed some parts of my life. I have always kept in mind that this teaching period was just a way I gain my knowledge and experiences, but then my notion changed. I started to believe teaching abroad seemed like the perfect way for me to travel, have more knowledge about people and culture, and that I earn more than I give.

Teaching abroad completely changed my life. I was able to completely immerse myself in a culture that was very different from my own. By living in a country and working there, I get to understand much more about the culture than I would if I simply visited for a week or two. I also get to travel that country, and perhaps the ones surrounding it, in a way that is much more affordable.

At the moment, I am living in Taipei city, the heart of Taiwan. I have been to a few cities in Taiwan, but Taipei is still my beloved city with its beauty, convenience, people, and many more. In this busy city, like the fact I was 18 at that time and from Vietnam, which means English is not my native language, I expected difficulty in finding a good job. But then I met Andy through a leaflet I happened to see on the road. Initially, I just scanned the QR code he put on the leaflet without expectations or thinking too much. I did not know that because of this action, I had a chance to experience one of the most memorable things of my days in Taiwan.

As being a teacher, I am imparting knowledge to students, but as the clock goes round, they are also teaching me things that I have never known of. English is my second language and when I was in high school, I studied with a lot of people who are better than me, which led to my lack of confidence. After having a chance to become a teacher in Taiwan, I realized that it is not about how good I am with my studies but about how I can use my study to apply and spread to the world. We are all learning from each other every day, we never stop acquiring knowledge and so that people are all equal in the field of study. In this area, maybe this person knows better, but in different areas, other people may know more about it. I am currently applying what I have learned and the good to share with my students, which is English, but they are also teaching me things that they are strong at and understand better than me. We are trading our knowledge. This is a good lesson I learned during my teaching period in Taiwan.

English, of course, students are at different levels, we cannot all be the same. Learning how to reconcile different ability levels has pushed my creativity and flexibility as a teacher. With each student, my teaching method has to be different, not just because of their levels, but also to create excitement for students. Also, I know that if I use the same method of teaching, advanced students get bored and are deprived of learning at their best potential, also, everyone’s time, energy, and resources are wasted on students that are too confused, discouraged, or embarrassed to learn a single thing. Normally, when someone sees you as a teacher, they often think of you teaching younger ages. I also had that same thought before but right now, I am teaching people who are more mature than me. This underscores my view that learning is equal to everyone, whatever your age is, knowledge is wide. There is no too late for studying something new. You just need the courage and desire to learn. Besides, there are no difficulties that can get in your way.

In my opinion, communication is always the most important thing in every field, not just English. Communication thus helps understand people better removing misunderstanding and creating clarity of thoughts and expression. It also educates people. Building students’ confidence in communicating with other people I believe is the responsibility of teachers. Your English grammar may not be perfect or you always make mistakes, but as long as you express your thoughts, open-minded, and talk to others, all of that can be improved in just a matter of time. What I like about my job is that yesterday we were strangers and did not know about other existence but we have a chance to gather together and get to know each other better. Life is tiring; we all have to work hard every day to catch up with the time vortex to keep up with others. Sometimes we forgot we are all equal humans. We just ignore people whom we do not know. The world becomes colder.

Being a teacher is also my first job. Beginning my job career as a teacher was not easy, and I know I made mistakes. However, I am trying my best, because I appreciate this job and the opportunities I get. People are not perfect and neither am I. But we can all get better. Even if I am not the best teacher, but somehow I believe students also learn from me, and I also learn from them. In addition to all that, I also get to learn a new language – Mandarin. Speaking to someone in their native language is a much more rewarding conversation than one held simply in English. I love that I have added to my repertoire and hope to continue adding to it in the future.

It is essential to have a community – people with shared interests, shared ethics, or a shared sense of humor or just people you connect with that add a sense of solidarity. You can be happy anywhere in the world if you have that. You can tolerate the worst job if you like the people you work with and can commiserate together. Community is the key. Partially to enrich your life, but particularly to get you through the tough times that are a natural part of life, anywhere. What I always remind myself is that we cannot change our students, we can only change ourselves. If students do not seem enthused by English, try to remind ourselves that wishing that they were or lecturing or demanding that they pay attention will not get us far. You will get further if you approach it by asking yourself what you can do differently. Otherwise, you will be banging your head against a brick wall.

In conclusion, I have learned a lot during this teaching process in Taiwan. Living in a different country with different cultures and languages is not easy, but as long as I can keep doing what I like, there are no problems. One and a half years in Taiwan has given me a lot of joy and excitement. For the upcoming three years, I hope my ideal holds up and that I will be able to become a better teacher.

(Picture of me and Taiwanese students during my English exchange program at Ming Chuan)

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