The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) is dedicated to holding many activities for young overseas compatriot students to travel, research or study in Taiwan. Every year, approximately 3,000 overseas Chinese students visit Taiwan to study or research Chinese language and culture, forging new friendships. This year, 14 young overseas compatriots came from New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa to participate the “2019 Southern Hemisphere Overseas Youth English Teaching Volunteer Service Program” hosted by the OCAC in Taiwan. January 10 to February 1, the students received training first. When qualified, the students went to the remote schools to teach English.
To improve the English teaching efficiency of these overseas youth volunteer teachers, the OCAC arranged five days of training lessons at Chientan Youth Activity Center in Taipei. The Ministry of Education (MOE) invited lecturers to teach course planning, class design, operation, and management skills. This training equipped the volunteers with the skills to teach elementary and junior high school students in fun and interesting ways.
After training, the overseas youth went to 5 remote schools in Miaoli County and applied their skills to teach English in an engaging and interactive way which encouraged rural students to learn, use, and speak English. Nearly 300 elementary and junior high school students benefited from this program. At the same time, the volunteers also learned about Taiwan’s languages and culture and experienced rural life.
