The Story of Sun Moon Lake

This weekend, I traveled to Sun Moon Lake, the largest lake in Taiwan, to help put on an English Camp at a local elementary school. Getting there was a hassle, because getting anywhere in Taiwan is a hassle, due to the mountains that take up much of the center of the island. To go Sun Moon Lake, which, as the crow flies, is about two hours away from where I live in Hualien, I had to take a four hour train ride up and around the northern tip and down the east coast, and then take a one and a half hour ride inland to the lake. By the time I arrived on Friday night, it was too dark to see the lake or practically anything in the area.

On Saturday morning, I met up with English Teaching Assistants from all different sites in Taiwan to prepare for camp. Our theme was space (because “Sun” “Moon” Lake, get it?) and we divided the kids based on grade level. Along with two other ETAs, I taught a group of eleven fifth and sixth graders. We decoded “alien” messages, designed our own planets, and drew flying rockets/boats. Beyond being energetic and friendly, the kids were all amazingly patient with the lesson. They listened carefully as we gave instructions in English, allowing us to reword or act out the instructions if there was any confusion. During the breaks, they talked to us teachers in English and let us teach them dances to American songs.

At the end of the day, I realized I had not spoken any Chinese all day nor had I heard much from the other teachers or the students. I was surprised because the amount of English used in a language-learning classroom in Taiwan varies widely. Teaching methods can fall anywhere between two extremes. On one end of the spectrum, the only English the teacher uses are the target vocabulary and sentences in the textbook. All instructions and descriptions in the classroom are in the students’ native language. The other extreme involves teaching entirely in English, modeling the instructions for activities and using tools like drawing and acting to describe new vocabulary. Some teachers of this style discourage their students from speaking in their native language at all within the English classroom. Elementary schools in Taiwan tend to favor the first, more Chinese language focused style, whereas higher grade levels begin to increase the level of English, striving for fluency (similarly, my beginner Chinese class at the local university contains absolutely no English during the lesson). But there’s a diversity of amounts of classroom English used even among the teachers I work with, as well as diversity from school to school and from rural to urban areas.

In my own teaching, I use as much English as possible, so my students can become familiar with a native speaker’s tone and pronunciation. But I’m not hesitant to use Chinese for brief instructions. I guess because I am a language learner as well, I understand how one’s mind can glaze over when confronted with too much unknown vocabulary. I also never want my students to feel like their native language is less important than English. My goal in teaching is to help my students graduate feeling confident and comfortable (though not necessarily equally so) with both languages.

But life here is not all linguistics and pedagogy (thank god!). Us ETAs had a free morning the day after camp, so many of us rented bicycles and rode along the lake. Taiwan is relentlessly beautiful and Sun Moon Lake is exemplary of this. Taiwan as a whole is very conscious of preserving its natural resources and, perhaps as a result, the lake is perfectly blue and surrounded by wilderness. Temples pop out from the thick forest along the trail, their red walls standing out against the green of the trees. Paddleboarders share the lake with gigantic herons that glide over the water before landing on tiny islands. Of course, Taiwan’s mountains frame the entire scene.

Sunday saw another late night return to Hualien. The weekend was so full and I was glad to be home. But I’m grateful for the opportunity to see Sun Moon Lake and to meet some awesome kids. Every time I travel around Taiwan, I realize I still have so much more to see and to learn about this place.