High School Classes In Taiwan

First of all, I am a native student in Taiwan! And secondly, this article is just from MY point of view, so maybe some details aren’t as objective as they should be.

As a teacher teaching high schools in Taiwan, you have to bear the silence since probably 98 percent of the class is just going to ignore whatever you are saying. It’s kind of like this:

Situation A

Teacher: So…. um…. what did you guys do during the weekend?

Student(2%): Sleep, Eat, Study(usually said by those who don’t study)…..

Student(98%): ……

Teacher: Well, I had a pretty cool weekend…(and the teacher has to tell it like a joke so the students will actually care about what he/she is saying)

Situation B

(Teacher writes a really simple math question on the blackboard)

Teacher: So does anyone know the answer to this? I’ll give extra points for those who answer!

(Chit chat chit chat:

Student A: It’s seven, go ahead and answer.

Student B: No, you do it.

Student C: ……(probably playing his/her cell phone)

Teacher: Nobody eh? Well guess I’ll have to call on someone.

Teacher: No. 25(the seat number that every student will have), please answer the question.

(Student No. 25 looks side to side)

Student A: pssst…. it’s seven.

Student No. 25: um…. seven.

Teacher: Good.

(The process above took like about five to ten minutes and loops whenever the incident is triggered)

Basically, that’s how most students react, so if you’re an exchange student from another country, you might have to get used to these kinds of things. By the way, school starts at 7:30 and ends around 4 o’clock or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. After that, some students will stay until nine to study(the majority of students are forced, though some are voluntary). If you don’t want to stay that late, it’s perfectly fine if you’re an exchange student, so you don’t have to worry about this. Most schools let you go at 4 o’clock too.

Now for some truth talk to exchange students. If you’re the ones with blue eyes blond hair and white skin, you’ll probably be the center of attention when you walk around the school. And if you’re handsome/beautiful, then you don’t even have to worry about having no one to talk to, a lot of students will just come up and say hi to you. Well even if your looks aren’t that outstanding, as long as you’re from the western countries(and look like one), you’ll probably have a good time. As for Asian countries, if you’re a Japanese, usually you don’t have to worry either, since students in Taiwan are usually crazy about Japan. You might read about the hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese in history, but it doesn’t apply in Taiwan(I don’t know about the elder though) since everyone is quite fond of Japan. Also, I don’t know if it’s the same in China. For those who are going to China, I have to say that you might need to do more research somewhere else^^~

Advertisement