2013-2014 Teaching English in Taiwan

I returned to Asia in March 2013, this time to Taipei, Taiwan.  There, I took a position teaching English and Kindergarten.

Portions of my job have been very open to my use of the arts and project-based teaching, and portions have had little flexibility. 

In my kindergarten class, where we act out stories, where I coach these English learners to construct and write their own sentences and illustrate them,  I can feel the effects of deep learning.  I construct group art projects that require the students to communicate, practicing their English and their social skills. They create beautiful work that shows their learning, that shows their enjoyment. 

Why are the six-year-olds allowed to learn like this but not the seven-year-olds?

In this kindergarten class I combined ocean ecology with vocabulary building and visual arts.  I brought these city kids a collection of seashells and beach trash from a beach outside of Taipei.  Some of them had never been to the beach.   

 They were fascinated by the materials.  We sorted them in various ways, described them, and categorized them.  New vocabulary was learned, skills of observation were practiced, and science skills were developed.