Category: Casual Read

Translation

Lessons from Teaching

Before I went to Taiwan to teach, I had actually never done any formal teaching work! I had similar experiences, but I had no classroom experience at all. I was really nervous at first to teach in a public elementary school. Have you ever heard of “imposter syndrome”? In such a new environment, with grand expectations from the principal and the director, of course I felt like an imposter. If you have never heard of imposter syndrome, it makes you think like this: “What qualifications do I really have to teach at this school?”

However, the good news is that because I knew that I couldn’t teach perfectly at the beginning, I realized the most important thing was to just try. By watching other teachers’ methods and through my own ideas, I gradually cultivated my own teaching ability. In fact, I even became a popular foreign teacher within the Education Bureau. These two years turned out to be the biggest period of growth in my life. I am not only extremely proud of myself, but I also know that I can use this experience as motivation to continue to learn and grow in the future. No matter what, I know it is inevitable to make mistakes along this journey. However, because of my teaching experience in Taiwan, I am no longer as afraid of making mistakes as I was before. Instead, I am even more willing to try things I haven’t done before.

How to Adapt?

When I flew to Taoyuan Airport, I immediately discovered that when it comes to learning a language, there are many regional differences. For example, when I was looking for a taxi, I couldn’t find the correct sign, and quickly realized that there is another word for taxi in Taiwan. In my opinion, it is most respectful to emulate the local accent and expressions where you live. It also helps you adapt as quickly as possible. Once when I was in a taxi, the driver looked back and was surprised to see a foreigner. Though I had only lived there for about 6 months, due to my accent, he mistakenly thought I was a local.

Even after being in Taiwan for more than 9 months, I continued to learn dialectical differences. When I was buying breakfast, I suddenly discovered that the Taiwanese word for potatoes is also different. I nearly laughed myself to death, but you have to remember: you don’t know everything! There will always be room to learn new things. Fun fact: even among speakers of the same language, there are regional dialectical differences. I’m learning more and more about this now living in New Zealand. There are so many English words and phrases that seem odd to me. I once asked myself “What is ‘rubbish’? Can I not say ‘trash” or ‘garbage’?” I found that the word “rubbish” is similar to Taiwan’s way of saying “garbage”! (Did you know? The pronunciation of “garbage” in Taiwan is lèsè, and not lājī, though the characters are the same.)

Remember to Speak!

When I lived in Taiwan for two years, not only did I make progress with the language, but I also learned a lot of life lessons. You might be wondering what my biggest lesson was? It’s that you need to be willing to experience things. Put simply, I think you should learn not to be discouraged when you don’t know something. Of course, you still have to remember the vocabulary you have learned, or maybe even preview vocab first! The important point is that it is easy to forget how to use new knowledge without connecting it in real, everyday life application. Do the brave thing and try to connect with real people to try to use these new words. In my experience, Taiwanese people are especially patient and willing to listen.

Actually, I have not been seriously studying these past two years. Instead, I have focused on improving my speaking ability. Because I forced myself to go outside and speak with real people every day, the result was that my self confidence and communication skills improved greatly over time. After speaking mainly Chinese for so long and having improved so much, my family came to visit me in Taiwan and I “played translator” for them. Suddenly I was challenged when I needed to quickly translate at a high level from Chinese to English. I even, at some moments, forgot what language I was speaking. This certainly caused many amusing moments!

Believe in Your Ability

Finally, it’s a simple fact that the more you do something the easier it gets. So trust that the experience will teach you a lesson, whether that be in life, career, or language. Remember that it’s the people you meet along the way that make up that experience. It’s only because of them that you have this opportunity to learn.