Isn’t there a Grand Council of Wizards or something that gets together when different branches of the government decide a law means different things ? Oops, I may have dreamed that…
perhaps it would be better demonstrated by simulating a love hotel scene…take out the coin , exchange it for the key…open the door, walk through it, close it…and pull your ‘flies’ down.
[quote=“skeptic yank”]I can explain to them WHY little “a” is “a” and not “6” (or any other random sign. with me they don’t have to write each letter over and over because the stories i provide makes such impossible to forget.
I can explain to them WHY many words have the names they have. why are “coin” and “key” and “door” and “zipper” the names they have? this information is presented in such a way that they don’t forget. instead of drilling it into em I try to present it as unforgettably as possible the first time. [/quote]
Sounds like you fell for the trap that those tricky four-year-olds set for us, skeptic yank…
When they start asking questions like that you just make up an insane answer that makes them laugh.
S: Why?
T: Because it’s called a key.
S: Why?
T: Because it makes a /ki/ sound when they hit.
S: Why?
T: Because chickens can’t cook pancakes.
Laughter ensues, child forgets about the question and opts for tasting that delectable lump of salt dough they stashed in their pocket at the end of free play instead.
It does make me wonder though…what were they called before metalworking was discovered? Clunks?
“flies” as in zipper? zipper is another example of the sound determining the name. zip up your jacket. now quickly unzip and zip up again “zee-pah”
“fly” and the chinese “fei” can both be attributed to the sound of fowls flapping their wings in preparing to fly. “f-f-f-f-f-f”: i always knew having peacocks around would benefit me someday. once somebody points such out, everybody else goes “oh yeah, that’s obvious”…but only after someone else points it out. yes some people argue that fowl, flap, fly (and flag…) are named such out of sheer coincidence.
when i was in the US ARMY, we trained more often than not without equipment. basic skills such as radio operations were practiced without the real thing. our nuclear, biological and chemical training (happily) never involved the real thing.
imaniou, i love it when they play the “why” game. if they don’t create it on their own, i teach it to them.
why?
because i like questions
why?
because questions tell you are understanding
why?
why what?
why understanding?
because that’s my job.
why?
why what?
why’s that your job?
because your mommy and daddy give me money.
why?
why what?
why mommy daddy give you money?
because they like you.
why…
and on it goes. sounds almost like a real conversation in english with taiwanese kindergarteners, doesn’t it? a few well placed words and you can turn the tables on them. the next thing they don’t know they are answering to your “why’s”.
but anybody can do this gentle inculculation of verbal communication skills without having the students be aware that they are progressing by leaps and bounds and having a great time because they think they are driving teacher crazy, right? oh yes, preserve such a field specifically for people who due to their limited exposure cannot even begin to fathom the nuances of such vs. “herd chanting’”, the only system they have experience in.
Skeptic Yank - Please don’t think I am having a go at you here. I am genuinely curious about your teaching techniques.
Why are you speaking Chinese to your students when you’re supposed to be teaching them English? I know you’re explaining things to them, but why not get them used to listening to you explain things in English?
Maybe a Chinese teacher could do your job just as well after all.
if they don’t understand what you’re saying, is that helpful?
spack:
i have never been assigned to a single class all day. they would have me doing half-hour “hit-and-run” stops. that way, i could five or six classes before lunch. some semesters/contracts i would be at only one school. at other times, i did a different kindy every morning and different ones every afternoon. i didn’t have luxury that “full time” or “immersion” teachers call “time”. the chinese that was included was there for reason: e.g., the previous “door” story- it helped me get to the meat of the lesson. i have never had a chinese co-teacher. sometimes chinese language skills are necessary. if you ain’t got a co-teacher and you have 25 kiddies in a class and some tyke says “laoshir, mary yao niao niao” it helps to understand.
does it help if they don’t understand what i’m saying?
if they don’t understand anything,it is a wash. if they understand bits 'n chunks and have other stimuli: body language, facial cues, tonal inflection they can piece it together “on the fly.” there arel always kids who are more advanced/developed/older/smarter/better guessers. they kind of lead the way and the ripple pattern of realization/comprehension undulates across the class.
the whole “to speak chinese or not” debate has merits on both sides. i have never done the full-time immersion thing. for parameters of my “career” as it is/was dropping in chunks of chinese was a great help. if baby lulu just is blanking out on “come here” a little “lai,lai,lai come here” only seems fair. it is only kindergarten. they have the rest of their lives to be bored silly, let em play.
I have been teaching a class of 8/9 year olds for 2.5x4 hours per week for a year and a half…they were absolute beginners. I could probably count on 2 hands the number of times that I have used chinese in class. They speak to me in English, they speak to each other in English, and also to students from other classes- in English. The rules were explained to them on day one…NO CHINESE in our school. Effort is constantly rewarded. These kids are excellent- the bees knees. I’m not saying that this is a perfect way- in fact I was initially apprehensive because initially there was notable stress/frustration…like being gagged I guess. withing 4 months they were all completely at home in an all English environment. If they don’t know a word or expression. They will do their best to describe so that I can teach it- i verify with a piture on the board or some kind of physical display or a sentence in context. if hey or myself are still unsure I will check with a Chinese teacher or use my own Chinese ability as a final resort.
Anyone who thinks that the average Taiwanese teacher of English can obtain such results is completely in the dark having never actually taught English in Taiwan or has taught at a shitty school that doesnt have a clue either. It is much harder for the local teachers to maintain the English environment; sometimes they slip up and the class slips back into the native tongue. As my Chinese has improved I have felt tempted just to take a shortcut and blurt out the chinese equivalent. But it wont work, so i don’t do it.
I know…Typos galore. It’s late you know.
upyerbum
[quote=“Bassman”]:offtopic: :saywhat:
Feiren,
Please post a link if you have one for the article that you read.
[/quote]
news.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/n … 41,00.html
news.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/n … 37,00.html
The first one has more to say about teachers.
Expect someone else to sue the government and get these changes reversed again.
Taibei city has kindergartens by the balls. Someone aint gonna like that. It’s not a ball rub that’s going on here. It’s ball crushing. Try putting your foot on someones twig and berries and see what reaction you get. It should be the same thing here.
Just wait until the higly connected customers of the English Kindergardens get all worked up. There will be hell to pay. The government will reverse itself yet again and things will go back to “normal”. I give it maybe two weeks.
[quote=“Feiren”][quote=“Bassman”]:offtopic: :saywhat:
Feiren,
Please post a link if you have one for the article that you read.
[/quote]
news.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/n … 41,00.html
news.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/n … 37,00.html
The first one has more to say about teachers.[/quote]
The first one has this to say: 某幼稚園在市場的壓力下，聘了兩名外籍教師。有一天，一名外籍老師沒有到校上課，學校找了好久，終於探聽到這名老師被抓到警察局了，被抓的原因是吸毒。
Damned drug-taking foreigners 
Good post Feiren.
But the MOE has no right to pass a regulation that overrides a law. If they came to a kindergarten with a JFRV teacher, what could they actually do?
It seems clear to me that the parents/customers/voters want their children to learn English, and prefer native-speaking teachers. It is also patently obvious to me that the native speakers are not taking jobs away from locals, because the locals just can not do the job. Traditional kindergartens and daycare centres are effectively a different kind of business than an immersion kindergarten. If traditional kindergartens lose out to English language kindergartens, then that’s just a consumer trend. The MOE should not be denying parents the choice of what to do with their children before the undergo compulsory schooling.
Brian
I would bet that they would tell the owner that she is breaking the law and will be fined/sent to jail for employing a foreigner illegally. The penalties for illegally employing foreigners are quite stiff now.
The foreigner would probably just get a warning.
You are absolutely correct when you say that the MOE cannot make a regulation that contravenes a law. But this is precisely what happened when they allowed foreigners to teach in kindergartens. Kindergarten teachers then put political pressure on the Control Yuan to censure the Ministry. The Control Yuan agreed that the Ministry had overstepped the law and censured the Ministry. The Ministry withdrew the offending regulations.
So you see, if an agency puts regulations in violation of the law (which happens frequently), you have to challenge the agency through the proper channels (the Control Yuan or the administrative courts). Without some kind of Foreign Teacher’s Union, this is unlikely to happen.
Is there actually a law that says foreigners can’t teach in kindergartens?
Brian
The Labor law says that foreigners can only do certain types of work. Teaching in Buxibans is listed, but teaching in kindergartens is not. Therefore, ‘ordinary’ foreigners can’t work in kindies.
If you have an Open Work Permit, you are (in theory)not subject to those restrictions.
Foreigners can’t be dentists, brain surgeons, lawyers, etc. on an open work permit either, unless they can qualify for a license to do so.
A Taiwanese with a green card (admittedly much better off than any of us on whatever work permits are currently available in Taiwan 
) can WORK in the US, generally speaking, but he couldn’t practice medicine. He will not necessarily be able to teach school in the US either. He would, however, have the right to get himself certified to teach school (and in the US, the law of supply and demand says that schools are encouraging people – whoever they are – to meet the requirements to be a teacher and giving them ever-more-convenient ways to get certified).
AND – the big difference – he could teach for three years on a provisional certificate, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. And (here I go again) he would have phone service while he was doing so.
Oh, boy. Am I in trouble…
The China Times Evening express is reporting that the Ministry of Education has ordered all cities and counties to enforce the ban on immersion English programs for children six and under. Buxibans claimimg to be 雙語幼兒園, 美語幼兒學校 and the like will be given a deadline to ‘mprove’ or have their licenses revoked. Kindergartens will also not be allowed to call themselves by similar names. This was announced at the annual meeting of local educational bureaus with the Ministry, so it’s going to be Taiwan-wide. Nothing was said about foreign teachers, and it sounds like Buxibans and kindergartens will still be able to offer English classes, just not immersion programs.