Joining the AID Winter programme was one of the best decisions in my life. So many good memories, so much laughter and happiness made in these 3 weeks. I will never forget any of these wonderful moments. My fellow volunteers have become my best friends as well as the staff and teachers. This training taught me so much, truly. It taught how to be a kind and patient teacher. It taught me to appreciate the difficulties and hard work of being a teacher. It also made me realise how emotionally attached you can be with your students. They were super cute and funny, and I really miss them! Exploring Taiwan I feel very proud to be a Taiwanese, there is so much history, dazzling scenery and of course heaps of cheap and tasty food. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity. Thank you to everyone who made this programme possible. It is truly my privilege to be able to experience such a fulfilling and breath-taking journey. If you are considering whether to apply for this programme, don't even think about it, just do it. I guarantee it will be one of your best life experiences.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my past two weeks at 福興武術國民中小 學。 Even though we were really far away from everything the teachers there did their best to provide a comfortable environment for us and I really appreciated that. The living conditions, food and everything were great and I couldn't have had asked anymore. It had been a very wonderful experience for me, the students were really polite and easy to talk to, their English abilities may not be the best but every single one of them that I have taught had the eager to learn and this really made me happy as all the times spent on making the teaching materials were all worth it in the end. Because I left Taiwan for NZ only after I graduated from primary school, Taiwanese education had actually helped me a lot as I kept on getting high marks in math. and sciences in my class for a number of years, and when I heard there was this AID winter camp which is a program for teaching students in Taiwan English I immediately applied, knowing that I could finally give something back and also come back to my favorite country. I am actually so glad I was given this chance to teach the children in Taiwan English, and even more so when the school is in the country side. This has given me a totally unfamiliar yet exciting experience and I certainly have learned a lot also by teaching the children. All the kids there are really friendly and just makes you want to go up to them and have conversions with them, they would invite you to join their trainings with them and would teach you all kinds of whu shu, which I found really interesting and enjoyable . They were also very lively, which only did not match my personality but also makes all the games ever that fun and easy to get started. If I could be given another chance to come back to Taiwan and teach then there is no doubt that I will choose and come back to the school to teach and hopefully even longer. I recommend any other volunteers for AID to go and teach at 福興 and I will certainly recommend my friends to participate in this such amazing and life changing.
I believe I have really learnt a lot over the past two weeks at 桃園樹 林國小and can confidently say it was one of the best experiences in my life.Being a part of this year’s AID Winter program has really been a life changing and eye opening experience for me, and I am extremely thankful to OCAC and MOE for being able to take part in this great program. Before the first day of class, there were definitely many things I was concerned about, for example, if the students would find the classes we prepared interesting, or if they would be difficult to manage. However, by consulting the material during our 4 day training program, it was much easier to overcome these initial concerns. Even though the students were not able to completely understand the English phrases we were using, they still tried their best to find ways to communicate with us using the words they did know. Seeing their concentration in class and willing to learn and revise each of the vocabulary and sentence structures we taught them really made me extremely happy. Hearing them use phrases we taught them in their everyday conversation and watching them stay inside the classroom during break because they voluntarily wanted to revise vocabulary made me feel a sense of joy and even pride. Of course, not everything ran 100% smoothly, and there were problems of time management during the first few days where we found that students completed the activities we created much faster than we anticipated and we were left with excess time. We were able to rectify this mistake quickly after interacting with the students for a few days as we were able to more accurately gauge how long each activity would take and arrange lesson plans accordingly.
As the 10 days went on, I could clearly see the improvement in the students’ knowledge and also confidence in their own English ability. They were more willing to answer questions, or have a go at using new sentence structures. Their enthusiasm was astounding and I really believe that throughout the 10 days, they all developed a greater interest in learning English. We were not just English teachers to the students - we were in fact also friends. During break times students would come up to us and teach us games they usually play while we taught them games we played back in Australia. I really believe we formed a special bond with the kids. Seeing all of the students cry on the last day, it really hit me that this was just as special of an experience to them as it was for me, and I’m really happy that I was able to help them in some sort of way. Many unforgettable memories were made over the 10 days and I really believe I have learnt a lot, making this one of the best experiences of my life.
This program has opened my eyes to so much about the world as well as myself. Through this opportunity to work in a community and environment vastly different to the one I live in, I’ve been able not only to witness, but also to personally experience, people transcending barriers of all kinds seeking a common and unified goal. The last few weeks have been a test of personal strength and resolve however, concurrently, it has inspired me to be someone who contributes and makes a difference I can honestly say that volunteering for two weeks at the school was one of the most worthwhile things that I’ve ever done. The almost tangible sense of breaking through a language barrier, watching a growing understanding forming on a child's face is one of the most rewarding sights one can see.
Learning of each child's unique personality and development from furrowed brow to enlightened visage was such an enjoyable experience. I have been taken along for a ride of personal growth and utter joy, redefining my views about education friendship and family.