English Villages are VERY popular in Taiwan. I did a little research and found that the concept actually started in Europe but really expanded in Korea. It's the Korean English Villages that inspired the movement in Taiwan. English Villages are buildings full of theme rooms where students can use English in practical, life-like situations. The idea is that it is a kind of language immersion environment. Schools can take a field-trip to an English Village for a day or even rent one for a week or so for a camp. So, not every school has their own English Village. Only schools with the physical space, financial backing and political connections house English Villages.
I've seen English Villages as small as three rooms to as large as 11 rooms (my school). They are staffed by both foreign and Taiwanese English teachers. Chris and Kathy wrote the curriculum and textbooks for our English Village and I assisted with the content in the later stages of curriculum development.
Opening day was a MAJOR production. We had dignitaries, principals and visitors from all over Kaohsiung County and Taiwan. We trained student and parent volunteers for months to give tours of the rooms. The entire second grade did a special dance. Our orchestra played and our drum ensemble also performed. There were more speakers and ceremonial events than I could keep track of.
After the ceremony, the governor and his entourage took a tour of the English Village. This is where my old journalism and public relations skills came into play. I had to do a weather report with the governor in the weather station room. I also had to interview the governor. After the interview, I gave a short teaching demonstration. It was nice to put my undergrad education to good use along with my new career.
Since the opening, we've been teaching in the English Village. It's a very different way of teaching. I'm now teaching first, second and third grade and I feel like I'm back where I belong. I had fun with the fifth and sixth graders (and I kind of miss them) but I wasn't the best teacher I could be for them. I was out of my element. Now, I'm back in it in a sense.
I've started out by teaching the students in the weather room. They get two weeks there. The first week they give a weather report on television. There's a camera hooked up to the projector so they can see themselves on the big screen. The second week they play Weather Jeopardy. These students really like it. All the shyness I've seen in classrooms when it comes to speaking English melts away when they can see themselves doing it on camera.
I have to admit the English Village is impressive. We have 11 theme rooms: weather station, theater, airport (with real airplane seats and airplane bathroom), cooking room, homestay, Wufu Land (giant map with moveable buildings), Pet Planet, MRT (subway), Wufu Burger, convenience store and cyber cafe. Cyber Cafe and MRT were recent additions in the month before the opening. The students have been learning about these theme rooms since the beginning of the year and now they are applying their knowledge.
I've included pictures from the opening day and some from my classes. You can learn more about my English Village by visiting www.wufuvillage.blogspot.com.
I'm sure you'll be hearing more about English Village from me in the future. Lately, my life has revolved around it. I'll be honest. It's easy teaching. I teach the same lesson plan 44 times and only need two plans a month. For that reason, it's not very challenging. I miss regular classroom teaching and am looking forward to getting back to that when I return in July.
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