Philosophical rational for this course
For this course, a learning-centered approach in a meaningful way is essential. Through the content-based teaching method, I will intentionally lead students to be aware of many important social issues happening around the world, which are happening in Taiwan as well. There are more foreigners staying for job related reasons as well tourists and immigrants in Taiwan in comparison with ten years ago, and the chances of engaging conversations in English are higher. Students play many roles in their lives, and each role has its purpose and meaning. Some of their children might go abroad or be abroad already. Engaging students with relevant topics helps them connect with their children, their friends living in abroad, business partners in other countries, or new immigrants living in Taiwan. Students’ enjoyment in learning English in a meaningful way with a sense of purpose will certainly sustain their intrinsic motivation.
I will also intentionally build a relationship and trust with every student, getting to know them, care for them, pray for them, and walk beside them through their learning. I believe that my role as a teacher would be enriched as well through connecting with them not just professionally but also personally and socially. Palmer’s words summarize well my intent in teaching this course, “When we bring our inner lives into our work, whatever we’re working with ceases to be an object to be manipulated and becomes instead a partner to co-create with. That’s what good teachers do with students” (Palmer, 2009).
My desire is to create a safe place where their opinions are not judged and their English proficiency can be improved without being graded. Hot topics and current social issues that we are able to generate and discuss in class could be part of their personal struggles. The class can become a support network for those who need good listeners, and a place to practice and improve their speaking skills.
I read Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok a couple of days ago and I believe that this is wonderful teaching material that I would utilize for this teaching context in teaching listening and speaking (Kwok, 2010). Its audiobook is available (Girl in translation a novel, 2010), and a movie is coming soon as well. Even though it is a fiction novel, it is based off of Jean’s personal experience as an immigrant. I read some books reviews online, and while most of the comments were positive, some were negative. As I was reading those negative comments, I saw how important it is to teach intercultural competence. There are many hot topics that some prefer not to talk about or brush them off with quick judgments.
My husband and I attended an academic award ceremony for students who received 4.0 GPA at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. My daughter was one among many minorities in that ceremony. I was inspired by the testimonies given by graduating students. One girl called my attention the most, and she came to my mind as I was reading this book, Girl in Translation. Her and her parents live in Chicago Chinatown. She expressed her gratitude to her parents in English on the stage by pointing out that her parents would not understand what she said. At the end of the ceremony, as we walked out the gathering space, we passed by this girl’s family and exchanged smiles quickly with each other. I congratulated her parents in Chinese and told them about how powerful the speech was that their daughter gave, which brought me tears. Many families were taking pictures, so we stayed behind to take a couple. By the time we exited building, I saw the girl and her family again. Her parents came to me and wanted to get to know me; I was so blessed to get to know them a little bit. As her parents talked about their life in Chinatown, their struggles in life and their joy about their daughter’s obedience and hard work, we had several moments when none of us could hold our tears. Though Girl in Translation is fiction, the author offers a lot of authentic material in her book.
Taiwanese parents like to send their kids to the United States to study for many good reasons. However, some motivation behind why people are learning English challenges my values. It is not so much about being better or holding higher status or power than others in any social network; for me, English is a wonderful communicative tool that we can use to bridge gaps between the world filled with conflict, hate, prejudice, discrimination, etc., and the world that God loves so much and makes right and just through the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through any social networks that we are in, one person at a time, one group at a time, using English as a tool to communicate God’s unconditional love with intercultural competence is important.
There are several great topics that I identified with while reading the book, such as immigrants in a foreign land, the education system, poverty, the differences between honor and justice, learning English as a second language, parenting, friendship, and gratitude. This book provides a great list of topics that we can relate to and grow together with. Through learning a new language, we are able to learn so much about cultures not just from a target language but also cultures of the native language.
I will also intentionally build a relationship and trust with every student, getting to know them, care for them, pray for them, and walk beside them through their learning. I believe that my role as a teacher would be enriched as well through connecting with them not just professionally but also personally and socially. Palmer’s words summarize well my intent in teaching this course, “When we bring our inner lives into our work, whatever we’re working with ceases to be an object to be manipulated and becomes instead a partner to co-create with. That’s what good teachers do with students” (Palmer, 2009).
My desire is to create a safe place where their opinions are not judged and their English proficiency can be improved without being graded. Hot topics and current social issues that we are able to generate and discuss in class could be part of their personal struggles. The class can become a support network for those who need good listeners, and a place to practice and improve their speaking skills.
I read Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok a couple of days ago and I believe that this is wonderful teaching material that I would utilize for this teaching context in teaching listening and speaking (Kwok, 2010). Its audiobook is available (Girl in translation a novel, 2010), and a movie is coming soon as well. Even though it is a fiction novel, it is based off of Jean’s personal experience as an immigrant. I read some books reviews online, and while most of the comments were positive, some were negative. As I was reading those negative comments, I saw how important it is to teach intercultural competence. There are many hot topics that some prefer not to talk about or brush them off with quick judgments.
My husband and I attended an academic award ceremony for students who received 4.0 GPA at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. My daughter was one among many minorities in that ceremony. I was inspired by the testimonies given by graduating students. One girl called my attention the most, and she came to my mind as I was reading this book, Girl in Translation. Her and her parents live in Chicago Chinatown. She expressed her gratitude to her parents in English on the stage by pointing out that her parents would not understand what she said. At the end of the ceremony, as we walked out the gathering space, we passed by this girl’s family and exchanged smiles quickly with each other. I congratulated her parents in Chinese and told them about how powerful the speech was that their daughter gave, which brought me tears. Many families were taking pictures, so we stayed behind to take a couple. By the time we exited building, I saw the girl and her family again. Her parents came to me and wanted to get to know me; I was so blessed to get to know them a little bit. As her parents talked about their life in Chinatown, their struggles in life and their joy about their daughter’s obedience and hard work, we had several moments when none of us could hold our tears. Though Girl in Translation is fiction, the author offers a lot of authentic material in her book.
Taiwanese parents like to send their kids to the United States to study for many good reasons. However, some motivation behind why people are learning English challenges my values. It is not so much about being better or holding higher status or power than others in any social network; for me, English is a wonderful communicative tool that we can use to bridge gaps between the world filled with conflict, hate, prejudice, discrimination, etc., and the world that God loves so much and makes right and just through the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through any social networks that we are in, one person at a time, one group at a time, using English as a tool to communicate God’s unconditional love with intercultural competence is important.
There are several great topics that I identified with while reading the book, such as immigrants in a foreign land, the education system, poverty, the differences between honor and justice, learning English as a second language, parenting, friendship, and gratitude. This book provides a great list of topics that we can relate to and grow together with. Through learning a new language, we are able to learn so much about cultures not just from a target language but also cultures of the native language.