Arriving in Taiwan

After a delay in Chicago and a lost flight connection in Hong Kong, the American teachers finally arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Friday morning, July 27.   Their host families and Taiwanese friends eagerly awaited their arrival! 

Jessica Olive and Sean Carmichael met their host families for the first time.  Katie Lilly and Danielle Hess knew their host families from the previous year, and were so happy to see them!  No luggage was lost, and everyone proceeded to their homes and activities for the day.  The American teachers would, of course, have some jet lag and fatigue from the hours and hours of travel.  But their excitement at being in Taiwan overshadowed some of their fatigue! 

The American teachers met up with their special friends, including Gogo Liu and Jingo Huang.  Gogo attended TCC and graduated with a degree in Respiratory Care.  Jingo currently attends TCC, and will assist the teachers as a Teaching Assistant in the Summer English Program.

On Sunday, July 29, the teachers attended a Welcome Luncheon at the Jow Dou Hotel with Principal Lin and the host families.  The principal welcomed the American teachers and thanked the host families for their kindness and generosity.  Dr. O'Kon also made welcoming comments and thanked the host families for opening their homes to the American student teachers.

Principal Lin presented each American teacher with a lovely gift.  Jerry Fussell translated from English to Mandarin Chinese!

Preparing to Teach in Taiwan

Danielle Hess, Sean Carmichael, Katie Lilly, and Jessica Olive were accepted into the TCC-Taiwan Summer English Program as student teachers for the summer of 2014.  Months in advance, they began to hold regular group meetings with Dr. O'Kon.  They learned about Taiwanese culture and the adaptations that would be required of them as they live in the city of Kaohsiung for more than a month.  They will live with host families, who will assist them and provide for their basic needs.


In addition, the student teachers began developing an extensive English teaching curriculum for the students in the Summer English Program at San Sin High School.  They selected four different topics, one for each week of teaching.  They began by developing vocabulary lists for each topic, and writing  lessons and dialogues for each unit. Eventually, they began to develop instructional Power Points that they would use in the classroom.
The  student teachers also practiced eating with chopsticks at the Bamboo House, a Taiwanese restaurant in Tallahassee.  It quickly became apparent that they would have no difficulty with chopsticks. So they spent more time discussing the challenges of living in a culture where few people speak English, where the weather is continuously hot, and where student teachers can easily get lost in a big city environment!

The student teachers also met with the president of Tallahassee Community College, Dr. Jim Murdaugh.  They discussed their teaching plans with the president and told him about the San Sin students they would be teaching.  Dr. Murdaugh told the student teachers that they should represent the College well, travel safely and return together, and have fun!

Katie, Sean, Dr. Murdaugh, Jessica, Danielle, Dr. O'Kon