Taiwan Middle Schoolers (and I) Learn The Golden Rules

      On March 14, 2018, a conversation enrichment program I called “Pets & Parks” was missing something: pets. Five months later, in a similar program in a Tan-Zih school, I make the connection between the "Golden Rule"-"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," to pets and animals, but we didn't get around to discussing dog parks, cleaning up after them, not leaving them in hot cars, walking them on leashes, or not riding them on a scooter. We didn't discuss trap and neuter or stray dogs and cats on the mean streets of Taiwan. Instead, in the two schools with classes of 40 eight-graders, we practiced reported speech and did "Improve This Park". There were some modifications  in the lesson plans, though I had yet to learn the golden rule of teaching. 

    At Chungder Middle School in Yunlin,  I had wanted to read a story about a dog in Seattle that goes alone by  bus to a dog park but then I  realized how ridiculous  the concept of a dog park was in rural Taiwan. It was good we were pressed for time and it didn't come up; it was better to go slowly and practice conversation. Instead, we had a discussion and blackboard team competitions in the past tense using  reported speech with a controlled composition called “Keep a Cat”. They did the modifications in teams and I called them to the board to write their sentences.

    The homeroom EFL teacher, Teresa, was cooperative and excited to see new  language activities. Despite her help monitoring the class, the groups had so much fun making posters of their new park designs that they forgot to write descriptions; English is harder than art. Once you hand the students a marker and poster, the deal is off.

These programs from the Kang Hsuan Publisher  are viewed as "fun with a foreigner" by the schools that invite me  for the one shot deals. Few westerners have entered their classrooms.  I hope to share new pedagogy with the  teachers I visit but often they take the opportunity  to leave and do something else; Teresa was an aberration of that fact.  

    Many EFL teachers would not mind giving the students markers and letting them draw away without regard to the English component, if there is one at all. After all, the children were having fun; that should have been enough to earn my stipend; right? Although it was an excellent photo op, I felt the children could learn more. This lesson needed some work; perhaps some music and videos to focus the students' attention and use their EFL skills.  

      On August 15-16, 2018, the chance came again to try out a new lesson plan for "Parks and Pets." I had been asked by Kang Hsuan agent to visit Tan-Shou Middle School in Tan-Zih, just north of Taichung. I was told that, unlike the school in rural Yunlin, I would have internet access and a smart board with great audio. 

     Each four-period lesson began with a one-period ice-breaker; an introduction utilizing the power of reported speech. The students were engaged in conversation. "I am happy to be here; what did I say?" I framed the response into correct format: "You said you were happy to be here." I told  the students that we were going to talk about pets and parks. I asked for examples of pets.  I then asked students to repeat what their classmates said. After practicing, I divided the class into groups by rows and had a board contests. This motivated the students; it got them up and right into the topic.

     "After the break I will give you a quiz," I said. The class froze not knowing what to expect. After the break I handed out "Emergency"  and explained that they had ten minutes to choose three items they would rescue from a fire at home. The teams that chose to save Tweety, Scruffy, and Fluffy over their video games and sneakers (no one saved their school project, ha-ha!) were awarded points that accumulated for their home teacher to reward the students with credits towards the purchase of snacks. 

   The Betty Boop cartoon, featuring Grampy, called "Be Human", strongly condemns abuse and advocates animal rights. I handed out the lyrics and sang the song going over words they might not know Betty sings as she plays the piano. I knew the students would love it, and they did; they felt the pain of the abused animals and couldn't stop laughing at the vengeful lesson the abuser got.   

Watch Betty Boop cartoon "Be Human" here.

   August 16th  was the second of the two EFL conversation enrichment mornings at the middle school in Tan-Zih. I introduced myself through reported speech and went straight into animal abuse with the quiz and Betty Boop cartoon and song; their summer school EFL teacher kindly  set up a 'smart board' in lieu of the overhead projector in the first room; he even programmed three versions of "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" by the Cowsills..."  

       In the first morning class, we  completed the activity "Golden Rule" with blackboard revision.    We then did brainstorm organization and summation of "Be Human" with each student in each group required to write at least one detail before their team could stand to write on the board. In the first class, students stood and rushed to the prime team members that did most of the writing.  Unlike the first class, I played   "The Rain the Park and Other Things" without going over the words as the students worked on their posters.
      (Listen to "The Rain the Park & Other Things here.)

The class ended and the students hadn't done their reports. It was the end of their summer school term and I wouldn't be able to return to hear them; I offered to go back in September when they reconvene but I doubted that would happen in the rush of the new term. 

     The "Pets and Parks" lesson hasn't reached 'dog parks' because I was asking the students to do too much in the three or four hour one-time enrichment classes. The first period was spent setting the table for reported speech, getting to know the students, and introducing myself and the topic using Cooperative Learning for board activities.
      The second period started with the "Emergency" questionnaire; I called it a quiz to shock the kids to attention. They got extra points if they rescued the three pets from the burning building. It segued into the Betty Boop cartoon, "Be Human" after which the students brainstormed and organized summaries for their team.With the group from Wednesday, I had the luxury of being able to hear their reports the last period on Thursday but that was a fluke.  

     To be most effective, I had to give the students time to organize before they re-told the story on the board; I awarded 5 points for simple sentences  minus one point for each error. I didn't insist the students copy the corrected summaries so I would  have time to do "Improve this Park". In this way, I could add the "Golden Rule" component and play "The Rain the Park and Other Things". Children love to hear music and draw park maps. 

      I was trying to squeeze eight hours of lessons into four! My hope that the on-sight teacher would pick up where I left off      was 
unrealistic. Next time I do such an outreach I will not squeeze "Pets & Parks" together. I learned the golden rule of teaching: "Don't bite off more than they can chew." Teachers have to give students a little slack on the leash and not shove things down their throats. Students need time to digest what they have learned. 

 www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com

Purchase "Unnatural Beauty;Poems from the Han Riverside" here.

                      Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Guang-Zhen JHS Steals a Story from Peddler Polly

Sunny Chen from Guang-Zhen JHS had contacted me asking that I go see her students’ new production of “Peddler Polly and the Story Stealer” on May 24, 2018. “Now the students can only recite the scripts," she wrote, “but they still don't have facial expression, suitable gestures, and their performance is still not tight enough.”

I had met Sunny a few years before when she needed assistance from Kang Hsien Publisher’s agent who supplied her school with EFL textbooks and support. Since then, she has come to me often for her students’ English Essay Recitation and Readers’ Theater.

“You're always an Idea King.  We really need your good fresh ideas to do magic on our play.   Moreover, our scripts still need to be cut by 20 seconds.” She attached the script, by Aaron Shepard: “The storytellers of Taletown are mysteriously losing their stories, while a stranger sells 'storyboxes' in the town square.” The theme of the humorous fable is electronic entertainment; how it siphons books into pixels that can disappear from a child’s memory. The script was free on-line and could be copied, shared, or performed. In fact, I had seen it performed by other middle schools in Central Taiwan on a panel of judges at Readers’ Theater contests.

When I arrived at the school, seven children were lined up to read their scripts with another four ‘under-studies’ sitting on the side. A young cameraman was filming the session for them to review later. Cindy, the young lady who was the subject of “The Winner who Lost in Taiwan” (Read "A Winner Lost in Taiwan" here.) was Narrator #1. I finally had the opportunity to congratulate her in person for the fine job she did in the essay recitation contest. Meanwhile, the young man who played the villain boss in “Child Labour” (Read "Child Labour Readers Theater" here.) and the bad pig in “Three Little Wolves” was Spellbinder in this skit. (Read "The Big Bad Readers' Theater" here.)

 The children all needed advice with intonation and body language, and that is what I gave them. In addition, the  script had to be trimmed to under six minutes, as per the rules of whoever decided at the Taiwan Department of Education, so I cut non-essential lines leaving the players time for better enunciation and emphasis.

During the first read-through, I noticed that one of the girls  kept mispronouncing words with long ‘e’, saying ‘min’ instead of ‘mean’, ‘piss’ instead of ‘piece.’ I modeled the sound but she repeated the mispronunciation. Finally, she got so frustrated she ran out of the room in tears. I felt terrible; perhaps I was too harsh, but Sunny assured me the girl was too sensitive and motioned for an understudy to replace her, a young lady who turned out to be much better. For the children that had difficulty with the compound stresses and adjective-noun combinations, I suggested a mnemonic device: noun–noun up-down, adjective-noun down-up.I also introduced the concept of word-linkage; the art of connecting words when one ends in a vowel and the next begins with a consonant, or vice versa.

Before I left, I gave the students words of encouragement. “Remember, “how you go there is as important as where you are going. Have fun and the audience will feel it, too.” Sunny knew exactly what I meant and passed it on.When I was leaving that rehearsal, I overheard the  children applying the new found skills to other words in the script. The students were all keen to say it correctly so they could win the competition in October 2018

On July 2nd, I returned to Guang-Zhen to see how the Readers’ Theater troupe was doing. I was amazed to see and hear how much progress they had made. Many of my theatrical suggestions were incorporated into their routine and much of the pronunciation and intonation sounded more natural. I told them how proud I was of them and assured them that, no matter what happens at the competition, they had already won for the great attitudes they had. After a few minor adjustments, such as having the troupe point to the same imaginary sign, they were all set. With a little more practice, they would nail it. 

Thanks to Sunny Chen, Guang-Zhen Middle School students have the opportunity to use their English language skills in projects that can motivate gifted individuals. So long as a similar approach is used in each and every EFL classroom, for every student, a stage is not necessary to be a star. It takes a school-wide effort to bring English from proficiency tests into the culture of performing  arts. I am happy that I can be of assistance. 

 www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com

Purchase "Unnatural Beauty;Poems from the Han Riverside" here.

                      Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.

Social Action with Taiwanese Students

       By May 10, 2018, I was hoping to turn the corner in the 8th grade Shen-Gang conversation enrichment class of thirty students; from relationship/animal abuse, to oppressive child labor, and unionism with a viewing of "Newsies" and then into an introduction of direct democracy and activism. We would boldly go where few Taiwanese students had gone before, in Chinese or English.                                            Read "'Newsies' For Taiwan Solidarity" here.

   

      I brought in People Power, a comic book about tenants that organize a rent strike and the three ways groups (pyramid, crowd, team) and individuals (unequal, ignoring, equals) relate to each other for brainstorming pair-work. With a list of social "Problems” from The Kids Guide to Social Action by B. Lewis, I helped the students choose one for a final presentation. The groups were to prepare summaries and give oral reports.

     

   On May 24,  from seven categories, each group chose one aspect  to collectively work on for their final project, "Solving Social Problems." Each group member would have a task (report writer, reader, form creator, grammar-spelling checker) of that category and the reporter would explain the course of action they had chosen to complete the direct action. 

     The first half of class I spent  playing and explaining, "Twentieth Century Man" by the Kinks, Listen to the song, with lyrics,here. going over the vocabulary; it served to show the disillusionment of modern society, but not to be left to sulk, activism, as in "Newsies," was the solution. We finished watching "Newsies" and we contrasted the optimism and pessimism. Before class ended, I handed out the cover page of People Power and outlined the schedule for the last four classes of the term. 

     This topic is relevant to Taiwanese students at the high-intermediate EFL level. It is a call for action that many expat EFL instructors may not want to hear and even fewer will be able to carry through because of restrictions in their schools and bushibans, in Taiwan or elsewhere. With curricula full of consumer-related topics, activism is bad for business though it is good for society. 

     On May 30, every child in each group was given a copy of “Brainstorming I: Come Up With Ideas” and “Brainstorming II: Choose Your Main Idea.” We started that day and by the end of the two-hour class, the groups had a “Plan of Action” to proceed within their chosen topic. The next few classes students would work on a particular aspect of activism: “How

to Write a Letter to the Editor”, “Power Petitions,” “Survey Form I,” “Survey Form II,” “Power Proposals,” or “How to Write a News Release.” Meanwhile, we read, brainstormed, discussed, and had board competitions with the first part of the People Power comic before watching the cartoon version of Animal Farm, by G. Orwell, up to Snowball's banishment, to demonstrate why collective decision making was better for society. The students loved it! Watch "Animal Farm" here.

      Meanwhile, the 8th graders had a hands-on experience with direct democracy  thanks to an annual list of student grades that was distributed to them before class. What could have been a distraction was turned into a teaching opportunity.  I explained that such a public list comparing students’ grades was unthinkable in NYC; it was a potential source for bragging rights or embarrassment and, as such, was kept private. I called for an anonymous vote to see how these students felt about it, and we took a secret vote:

      “Check if you agree the list remain public and write 'x' if you think it should be private.” I handed out little strips of paper and asked the students not to sign them but to keep their responses secret and fold the paper. I then collected the votes in a shopping bag and publicly tabulated the results on the board. The result was even;  checks winning by one vote, but four votes were disqualified votes ("I don't care.") and there was one too many (!)  but I had made a point. We segued into the "Solving Problems" section of the curriculum.

  Each group, reminded that they should try to use English,  choose a sub-topic from their concern, and were shown a brainstorming technique on the board; each group had to copy and fill out with two problems resulting from their specific concern and two ways each  could be addressed. 

   After the break I asked a few groups to report on their process but they were shy and unsure; they had never done such an activity before in the Taiwanese classroom. We went straight to People Power and did a choral reading. I described the first type of relationship, unequal-pyramid, and solicited examples of such relationships in the children's lives; parent-child, teacher-student, etc. They were surprised when I told them how many American parents, including myself, tried to have equal relationships with our children discussing decisions. Most agreed it was impossible to do with their parents. Ultimately, the American child was told by the parent what to do if a debate was fruitless and the child couldn't be convinced. 

  On June 6, each group was randomly handed  one of seven methods for solving problems and asked to organize collectively. The students started creating action plans  to solve a local problem such as increasing the size of their school library or building a park. I went from group to group making suggestions and encouraging them to use Chinese, if necessary, to work things out with an English outcome. For the two hour class, the children tried to make sense of it all. Some had difficulties and I gave suggestions to illustrate. The way each group organized was unique, some more thoroughly than others, but it was all a great practice in real language usage. The proof would be in the pizza party at the last class when the children would give their reports and explain the steps they would take and responsibilities they would share. 

     June 13 was the last class before the day of reckoning at Shen-gang for the 8th graders activism projects, and pizza. Each group had to have a course of action and each member had to describe what their function in the campaign would.be; they didn't have to actually go through with the mailing of letters to the editor, press release, survey, questionnaire, but they had to be ready to go. 

                   June 20 we enjoyed the pizza as the first group prepared to report, getting first dibs on slices. A few groups chickened out and ate last, ha-ha. Many of the students were tentative and uncertain, but that was natural; no pain, go gain. In all, five of the seven groups reported, and quite comprehensively. The students were amazed with each others' results and proud of themselves. Each report was about three minutes long. 

     In hindsight, I wish I had had more time with the students to converse; after all, two hours a week is not enough and there is regression without reinforcement by their regular EFL teachers who are compelled to use antiquated pedagogy of memorization of grammatical structures for constant testing without giving a chance for the fledglings to use their skills  to attain fluency. All we can do as conversation enrichment facilitators is motivate students to learn by supplying meaningful challenges in a non-threatening environment.  The students at Shen-Gang had completed complicated tasks with their intermediate English pushed to the max, and succeeded.

A "Seedfolks" Park for the Taiwan Community

 “To promote education as a social agency for developing the capacities of the young, for enlightened adults, and for working toward a society motivated by the ideal of service and democratic participation.”

      On March 14, 2018, at Chungder Middle School in Yunlin, and on March 23, 2018, at Shen-gang Middle School near Taichung, two middle school EFL conversation enrichment classes in Central Taiwan "...worked toward a society motivated by the ideal of service and democratic participation" while improving their English as a Foreign Language skills. The activity, "Improve this Park," blends in well with other activities in the Community Curriculum for social consciousness. From the inside out, the students discussed their places in the world; one day, they can take part in improving their environment. Here is what happened in the two schools, one rural and one cosmopolitan.

     In Shengang, not far from Taichung, I facilitated a two-hour class once a week over the Spring term. Students  took out “Choice & Consequences,” a handout I’d given them the week before; it has a slit for a strip of six structures to 

construct, in the space of the abandoned building and vacant lot. The cooperative learning groups of four, chose one building and had to explain why it would be good for that neighborhood. For example, smoke pollution prejudiced the building of a temple in favor of a convenience store. 

     Before the end of class I handed out “Kim”, chapter one from Seedfolks, I explained that, as they had, given a vacant lot, the folk on Gibb Street in Seedfolks chose to create a community vegetable garden. I asked the students to try to read the four pages at home to prepare for the next class.The students would have two weeks because there would be no class one week because of tests and the following week was the four-day Tomb Sweeping holiday. 

    With “Choice & Consequences,” “Improve the Park,” and “Design a City” worksheets, along with discussion and listening comprehension from Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, students got the feel for urban renewal. In the musical component of these workshops, students heard and sang “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago and "The Rain, The Park, And Other Things" by the Cowsills. 

     After the two week hiatus, the 7th graders needed a push; some hadn't prepared so they needed a lot of coaxing to get it going. The conversation enrichment class reviewed with a summary writing exercise based on "Kim" from Seedfolks. We began by making a brainstorm list of Kim's actions; each student went to the white board to write one action of Kim.  Before class ended, I took photos of each groups’ four best details to take home and combine for them to organize next week.

 Seedfolks “Kim” Summary Organization

___ Kim stands before her family altar.

___She stares at her father’s photograph.

___She hopes that his eyes might move.

___Her own tears come.

___She opens her thermos.

___She waters them all.

___She vows that the beans will thrive.

___She continues farther.

___She chooses a spot far from the sidewalk.

___She has to keep her project safe.

___She takes out her spoon.

___She begins to dig.

___She digs six holes.

___She vows that the beans will thrive.

___She is awakened by her mother’s crying.

___She turns from the altar.

___She fills her lunch thermos.

___She walks outside.

___She is awakened by her mother’s crying.

___She walks half a block.

___She crosses the street.

___She reaches the vacant lot.

___She fills her thermos with water.

___She reaches into a jar with lima beans.

___She tells herself that she must show her bravery.

___ She tells herself that she must show her bravery.

___She wants to show her father that she can raise plants.

___She turns from the altar.

___She tiptoes to the kitchen.

___She draws a spoon from the drawer.

___She turns from the altar.

___She nearly steps on rats.

___She freezes.

___She covers them up.

___She presses the soil firmly with her fingertips

___She nearly steps on rats.

___She thinks about how her mother and sister remember her father.

     I handed each student the list I had combined and they went to work collectively deciding the order, eliminating redundant and irrelevant sentences paring the list down to the best 10 actions that would summarize the story. The results were satisfactory; the groups had whittled the 37 details down to 8 but the actions weren't evenly dispersed between beginning, middle, and end of story; most leaned toward the first page, the only page most of them had read! They left out the critical conclusion; Kim planting Lima beans to start  the vegetable vest-pocket garden in the vacant lot.

     The culmination of the hands-on activity was the creation of a park the students would plan to have in the Shengang community. We began with a worksheet on which the students were asked to identify problems with a shabby park; litter on the ground, broken benches, loud music, and so on. Most agreed the park made them feel uncomfortable. The students were then asked to list five things their group would do to improve the park. We discussed their improvements and brainstormed a list on the board. Before they let out, I told them that the following week, each group would draw and describe the park they had imagined. 

    The following week, the students were raring to go. I gave each group mini-white boards and markers for cooperative learning, one child to draw the 'blue-print', one to copy the plan onto the board, one to prepare a presentation to describe their park, and the fourth to read the description and point out the components. I reviewed map skills; prepositions of place and directions (on the left, in the north-east corner, in the middle, on the side, etc)  and advised them to incorporate them into their descriptions.  Most importantly, I reminded them they could not go up to the main board until they had written a description to accompany their blueprint. 

   I gave the students 45 minutes up to the break and announced the presentations would begin afterwards. The results were amazing. Five of the eight groups had a chance to give presentations before the end of class.         In Yunlin the week before, the students did it a little differently. They didn't have the benefit of weekly conversation classes to lead up to the "Design a Park" project; only one three hour class requested from Kang Shin, the  textbook publisher I do outreach for. 

  On March 14, 2018, my conversation enrichment program at Chungder Middle School, went well.  The 36 eight-grade students practiced communicating in the past tense using  reported speech and then did a controlled composition about parks, but time was running out.

    Because of the time and space restriction, I had asked the on-sight teacher to prepare poster paper and markers so the student groups could work at their desks instead of drawing their park on the chalkboard. 

   The students didn’t have enough time to fully complete the “Improve the Park” worksheet into the drawing and describing of a park they created on a poster. The team that completed the park design first was a role model and  the only group to present at the end of the third 45 minute session. The homeroom EFL teacher, Teresa, was cooperative and excited to see progressive language activities. She took many photos and helped me monitor the class.  I left it to her to carry the torch with the "Design a Park" project with her classes. 

     The goal of having real topic information to present was realized in a non -threatening way. The students had a great time and practiced speaking English both in group discussion and in presentations. It is an experience they will always have and it prepared them for their final presentations.

www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com
 Copyright © 2018 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.