Learning English in Taiwan vs. United States

    Today I would like to share my own Experiences of learning English in Taiwan, where we see English as a foreign language, and in the United States where English is an official language.

I wasn’t aware that I only regarded English as a tool (or a medium) to communicate with English-speaking world until I came to United States.

In Taiwan, we learn English as a subject; in other words, we learn about English instead of learn through English. In formal English education, we focus on grammar, sentence structures, vocabulary memorizing, drills and test, test, test! I think the main reason is that English is a foreign language, not the second language in Taiwan. Although I learned meaningful and daily life English in my extracurricular English classes, I rarely used English in my daily life. Honestly, I didn’t use English unless I had to talk to my foreign teachers or friends, read English articles and listen to English radio programs. For me, English was only a tool that I can use to connect to the world.

Since I didn’t have any experiences about learning subjects through English before I came to the United States, I did feel anxious and usually lost in the lecture at the beginning of the classes. Moreover, in some lessons, I already understood the concepts of issues or theories, but it took me a lot of time to express the knowledge in English. In that case, I usually stumbled and only used basic sentence patterns to express. Although I have learned English almost twenty years, I felt frustrated and upset when I have to “think” in English in this whole English-speaking environment. I believe some students who came to America at their high school age may have the same feeling as mine. Eventually, I realized that English speakers use English as a means toward an end, just like the way I use Chinese. Currently, in my point of view, English is not only a tool but a method to understand profound meanings, such as cultural background, peoples’ characteristics, society, and history.

The premises of being an English teacher in Taiwan and an ESL teacher in the United States are totally different. As an English teacher in Taiwan, I intend to teach English not just as a subject but a meaningful and interesting way to experience different culture. My early English learning experiences (extracurricular class), which students can feel much comfortable and naturally pick up English in a dynamic environment, impacted my teaching method a lot. I hope my students can learn English with enjoyment and show their appreciations to other culture. Moreover, I would like them to learn English in daily life, such as listening to English radio or TV programs, reading English novels, magazines or news, and arranging them to communicate with English speakers in the neighborhood. Recently, the government in Taiwan advocates creating bilingual living environment. I think this is a great opportunity for people to accommodate the life surrounded by English.

On the other hand, as an ESL teacher in the United States, I still consider myself as an English language learner, the same standpoint as my ESL students. My own experience of learning through English in the mainstream class can help me understand my ESL students. Although I am not one of the immigrants who are the majority in ESL class, I still can understand the difficulties of going through the process of struggling for their self-identity and the transition from their own culture to American culture because I am also adapting to American society.

Next time, I would like to share some effective ways I learned English and some websites that ESL teachers or classroom teachers who have ELLs can use to assist your English language learners.

Talk to you soon~

My First Learning Blog!

Hello every lovely reader!

This is my first educational blog.
Although I am an English teacher, I still regard myself as an English Language Learner. I am still enjoying learning English everyday (especially when I came to the United States to study!! There is always full of surprise regarding learning English in my daily life.)

In this blog, I would love to share some ESL (English as Second Language) resources, such as strategies, reading and listening comprehension, writing and speaking activities, games, self-assessments, and lots of useful links!!

Please come back to check my blog frequently and to find out what's new in my ESL wonderland!