外埠參訪-學校國際化典範學校

School international visit

By Eric Wang/staff reporter

On November 15th, 2023, we were privileged to pay a visit to Gong guan Junior High School, which is well known for the promotion of international education. After a long commute from Taipei to Miaoli, we eventually arrived in Miaoli County where the origin of Hakka community emerged at an early age. When entering Gong guan Junior School, we were totally impressed by its appearance of the building. The major feature is that the campus was decorated against the backdrop of internationalization, with the flags of different nations hung on the main buildings. At the start of the school visit, the staff from this campus guided us to experience the activity that incorporates sport and the elements of international education. One of its teachers mentioned the primary reason is that the incorporation of sport is always the useful way to help students excite individual learning interests and meanwhile broaden their knowledge. Afterwards, Fong, Li-ping(方麗萍), the principal of Gong guan Junior High School brought us to walk around the beautiful campus and introduced how the spirit of global education was formed in this place and the way teachers instilled the concepts of international education into every student’s daily life. After strolling around every corner of this beautiful place, we had moved to its translucent library where readers might unconsciously immerse themselves in such a tranquil atmosphere, and their supervisors began introducing the process of developing international exchanges patiently and how they formed a communal consensus in the pursuit of the award of teaching excellence. Mrs. Fang claimed that the success of school internationalization lies in collective efforts, and this requires mutual trusts. Also, the successful international collaboration between Gong guan Junior High and Victoria Junior High from Singapore truly provided a successful example for us to follow suit in later years. Later on, we were invited to participate in a teaching observation led by LU,JIA-LING(呂佳玲), an experienced English teacher who is also responsible for teaching international education. During the teaching observation, Mrs. Lu pioneered the lesson in full English and took advantage of EMI teaching drills to engage students. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that students spoke English confidently and had no fear of expressing their perspectives during the lesson. Finally, we put the school visit to an end by giving positive feedback respectively and presenting school pennant as a way to commemorate friendships between both schools.

At noon time, we had a hearty meal at a local restaurant serving traditional Hakka cuisines, including Hakka-style Salty Pork, Salted Chicken, Hakka-style stir-fried squid, and Hakka-style bamboo shoots. These water-mouthing Hakka dishes not only fulfilled our appetite but enriched the entire journey. After having a lunch, we took a visit to Farmers’ Union in Miaoli County and then tasted peculiar snacks made of Jujube, which satisfied our desire to taste sweets. At the end of this journey, we traveled to Nan Liao Fishing Harbor, located in Hsinchu, and initiated a beach cleanup. The cleanup process enabled us to fulfill the obligation as global citizens and do our part to reduce plastic pollution. Meanwhile, the participation in this meaningful action truly brought us together and formed a sense of unity that we’ve been expecting! Eventually, we are grateful for having the opportunity to experience this fruitful journey and cherishing a joyful time with colleagues!