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September 2009 ESL Newsletter

Hello ESL Teachers!

Welcome to another great month in Asia! September is an exciting time of year for us as we welcome many new ESL teachers from all over the world. We hope that you are enjoying the start of the new academic year and that you find teaching ESL an exciting and rewarding challenge.

This month we have a new teacher profile, some useful teaching tips and a great new restaurant to try in Taipei. Enjoy!

The Reach To Teach Team

Teacher Profile - Warner Sills

ESL Teacher Warner Profile Picture

The hardest part of abandoning one life to start anew on foreign soil is making the initial decision to do it. After that comes the anticipation, which can be frustrating (or frightening), but is ultimately part of the fun of it all.

It takes a lot of guts to leave the familiar in lieu of the unfamiliar but it is this courage that makes traveling or working abroad all the more rewarding. I certainly didn't know what to expect coming to the Far East.

Some people will tell you that the first taste of being in a foreign land comes when you step off the plane. For me it came twenty hours earlier while I was boarding my flight to Taipei. Leaving the States during the initial stages of the "oink-oink" flu scare (or H1N1 as it is now referred to) I should have anticipated a high level of cautiousness on a cramped airplane, but never did I suspect that the majority of my fellow travelers would be donning various forms of surgical face masks. Having not received the memo encouraging all passengers on Air Malaysia Flight #95 to arrive looking like dental hygienists, I boarded in a state of bewilderment, but also excitement. Was I making the right decision? Had I lost my sanity? Am I even on the right plane? Will I be quarantined and sterilized for not having a mask? I was clearly about to step into the unknown.

In terms of life in Taiwan, I couldn't have picked a better place to launch my explorations of East and Southeast Asia. The people are kind and welcoming, the food is a never-ending adventure for the taste buds-sometimes ethereal, sometimes bizarre, but always rewarding-the island's scenery morphs from fast-paced to breathtaking and life as an English teacher is a daily escapade in itself.

The fun of teaching will come when your students give you your first nickname. At first I was Teacher Water, then came the more daring, Teacher Watermelon. The job is whatever you make of it. If you allow yourself to get frustrated over occasional textbook mistakes or illogical run-ins with the bosses, you will ultimately be unhappy. If you take things a day at a time, are patient, have a sense of humor and a creative mind, the benefits of life as a teacher in Taiwan are bountiful. When learning and teaching English is fun for all parties involved, you know your doing something right!

For those of you still clinging to the diving board, my only advice to you is this: if you have even the slightest desire to make the leap, don't spend your time pondering the pros and cons, just think to yourself, "What's stopping me?" There are plenty of others like you and those that decide to jump in can attest: regret just doesn't have a place in life here in Taiwan.

Warner Sills

Teaching Tips - Warm-up/Interludes

ESL Teaching Tips - Warm-Ups

Most teachers like to warm-up their class with a physical activity. This activity can set the tone and mood for the rest of the class. It can also give you a sense of where the students are that day. Are they enthusiastic, or tepid? Are they active or lethargic? Are they in for a challenge or seem to want the comfort of something familiar?

Songs or chants are always a good way to warm up the class. Total Physical Response (TPR) helps get a class up and physical while working their minds into English mode.

Interludes include short activities between longer ones, and activities to get the energy back after a long session of drills, reading, etc.

Interludes can include short songs or chants. They may also include simple guessing games. "What is in my hand?" Or riddles. "What is big and has a long nose."

Tastes of Taipei - DOZO Japanese Restaurant

Tastes of Taipei

If you are looking for a fun atmosphere and some truly fantastic Japanese food I would highly recommend a visit to DOZO, a contemporary izakaya ("Japanese beer hall") in the heart of Taipei. It is a great place for either a set meal or light snack while you enjoy a beer with your friends.

The extensive menu includes all the traditional snack foods one would expect at an izakaya in addition to dishes like omogoieyyuo, often found only at specialty restaurants.

There are many grilled, deep fried and barbeque meat options as well as some sashimi, which can be ordered in small sizes or in assorted combos. I also highly recommend the charcoal grilled beef with garlic sauce and the seafood and avocado salad. Yummy!

There is also a good selection of vegetable and tofu dishes to satisfy vegetarian and vegan restrictions. The tofu and seaweed salad is made with fresh, soft tofu and served over a bed of greens and savory homemade sesame dressing. It's too good to share.

There is a separate beverage menu with a range of cocktail concoctions made with green tea or fresh fruit. Economically, beer is the better option with choice of bottled Asahi or pints of Orion draft. A word to the wise: the samurai -- a lethal cocktail -- packs a punch and may make you want to commit ritual suicide the next day.

Operated by the same group that owns TU and Brown Sugar, DOZO's lively atmosphere is more like a trendy Taipei lounge bar than a restaurant.

Address: 102, Guangfu S. Road, Taipei (台北市大安區光復南路102號1樓)
Telephone: (02) 2778 1135
Website: www.dozo.com.tw
Open: Daily 6pm to 3am (last food order at 2pm)
Average meal: NT$500
Details: English and Chinese Menu. Credit cards accepted

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