2024/03/07 

On March 7th, the international exchange at Yung-Ning was led by the Class 503 students, who acted as ambassadors, engaging in an online meet-and-greet activity with Nakagawa Elementary School in Ibaraki Prefecture. The students of Class 503 had been tirelessly preparing during the winter break, practicing either the Yung-Ning campus presentation or their individual English self-introductions. On the day of the exchange, we encountered an urgent network outage, causing a chaotic moment during the interaction. However, our teachers and students remained calm under pressure. After some swift troubleshooting, we successfully completed the exchange activity. The children later reflected that the network outage was truly an unforgettable experience!

The fifth-grade students from both Taiwan and Japan diligently greeted each other and asked questions in English. Although there were moments of not fully understanding each other, the children used body language, spoke slowly, and made thoughtful guesses, still managing to communicate splendidly. They learned from the experience that "English is indeed a practical tool for communication."

The Japanese teachers shared with us after the activity that even during the waiting time for us to restore the network, the Japanese students were filled with excitement and anticipation. No wonder when the camera turned on, the students were so enthusiastic and energetic.

The students of Class 503 gave feedback that the Japanese students were attentive; they asked questions while taking notes. Some children mentioned learning a bit of Japanese and expressed that it might come in handy when visiting Japan in the future. Betty said: "I was initially nervous and afraid of making mistakes, but once I started speaking, it flowed smoothly. I have to give myself credit for that!"

International education broadens the horizons of Yung-Ning's children, allowing them to see their own brilliance through exchanges, and learn from the strengths of others. This is also the primary goal of promoting international education.