Page 2 - Spotlight Issue 36

2 Kang Chiao Spotlight Qingshan Campus‧Issue 35 / September 2021

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Meeting Our New Friends
Meeting Our New Friends
Meeting Our New Friends
the Book Meeting Our New Friends

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~ Ms. Patty
English Teacher, International Department
Immigrants in Taiwan

Kang Chiao is an international school in a very international city. Members of our school
community come from all around the world. At the end of the last school year, our third grade
students completed a project titled Meeting Our New Friends in Taiwan. We tasked them with
thinking critically about the lives of people who immigrate here. They explored the reasons why
someone would do that and how they all come together to make our country a unique place.

Walking in Others’ Shoes
Our project began with an in-class reading A Nation of Immigrants. Afterwards, students discussed
the causes of immigration around the world. Then, they started discussing their personal experiences
with immigrants in Taiwan. Of course, many of them talked about our teachers since most of them
came from English native countries such as America and the United Kingdom. We dug deeper and
discussed rates of immigration from different countries in Taiwan. To the students’ surprise, they found
that the majority of immigrants in Taiwan actually come from China and Southeast Asia. Students
suddenly realized immigrants are not far away from them. In fact, immigrants are interconnected with
their lives. Our discussions led to some big questions. Why do people from those countries come to
Taiwan? What are their lives like before and after they emigrate? What causes the differences?

Bridging the Gap through Cultures
A good way to answer these questions and learn about these new friends was to understand the
cultures those immigrants grew up in. We focused on immigrants from Vietnam, the Philippines, and
Indonesia because immigrants from these countries have bigger
populations here and they face greater cultural differences
compared to others. Through research, we explored five
aspects of cultures － food, language, religion, traditions, and
festivals. Students started to understand the kind of lifestyles
these immigrants had before they came to Taiwan. The more
the students learned about their cultural backgrounds, the more
they realized how difficult it is for these immigrants to live in and
adjust to a foreign country.

Respect is Our Mutual Language
To help students know more about our new friends here, and even go a step further to
empathize with them, we organized the information of the cultures and created posters to
promote respect for other cultures. We want our classmates and our school to be a friendly,
welcoming host in an international country, Taiwan. During the process, some students
interviewed the Southeast Asian immigrants they know in order to collect the most authentic
information about their countries.

The students came back with positive feedback; the immigrant home helpers were glad to
have a chance to introduce themselves and their cultures to the locals. The students understood
their home helpers more than before and they started to care more. One “auntie” even
volunteered to attend an online lesson with a student and taught the class how to say some
simple Indonesian words. Through these interactions, the students realized the immigrants are
just like us, only living in a foreign country.
At the end of this project, students talked about the way their mindset towards immigrants
had changed. Then they discussed some proper ways to respect immigrants and show
acceptance towards their differences. This project broadened our students’ worldview and
cultivated their attitudes as global citizens. We hope this benefits them when they grow up and
explore the world.

win Quiz Contest What’s New?
What’s New?
What’s New?
What’s New?
prizes
Read our “Be a Science Wizard” on Page 4. How is a soccer ball
swinging on the end of a piece of string the same as a roller Thanksgiving Day is at hand. Our 6 th
coaster? graders would like to invite you to join
(A) They both race around a track when you let them go. a fundraising activity in weeks 12 and
(B) They both use potential energy to move when you let them go. 13. It’s better to give than to receive.
(C) They both need an engine to help them move. Feel free and join us!
Use the QR Code to submit your answer before 11/17 (Wed.)