立人ESL外師 / Ms. Cassandra BrennanMy Teaching PhilosophyMy name is Cassandra Brennan; better known as Miss

Brown around the halls of Lizen ESL. I first set foot on

Ilsa Formosa back in 2008 spending my first year and a

half in the city of Changhua. Living in Changhua was a

great introduction to my adventure abroad. Challenged

by language barriers and cultural differences, at the

time, I had no idea these would be the reasons I came

to love Taiwan so much.

Throughout my years teaching in Taiwan, I have been

lucky to gain experience with different age groups and

learning environments. From arts, math, science to PE,

and instructing young children, adolescents and adults

I have had the chance to develop my own skills both

as teacher and a person. What I cherish most about

my experience is how it has allowed me to develop and

strengthen my classroom philosophy over the years.

All teachers are different when it comes to classroom

management, instructional activities, and overall

implementation of goals. The following describes the

method behind my madness.

It’s an attitude.Having a good time with my students is an attitude.

It comes from a desire to enjoy my job, to build

relationships with my students, and to make my

classroom a special, and unique experience. Teachers

so very often forget the influential position we find

ourselves in daily; and being a role model while

providing students with exemplarily behavior to follow,

is an integral part of setting the tone in the classroom.

How can I expect my students to act in a certain way, if

I myself the teacher, doesn’t?

It’s a mood.One of the ways I assess my own c lassroom

management is by gauging the level of happy students

in the class. An interesting and exciting class will leave

students feeling positive and confident about their

environment. When they are comfortable, they do their

best learning. A positive attitude even helps other more

reserved students get involved.

It’s a feeling.My students don’t have to be sweaty and crimson-

faced to have a good time. I don’t have to make the

classroom riotous and chaotic. And I never have to be

over the top silly or funny. Games are meant to be fun

and encouraging but not to add more pressure to an

already stressful environment. Students should enjoy

participating and encouraging each other in order to

make everyone feel included.

It’s a connection.The simple act of making personal, no-strings-attached

connections with students, through shared smiles

and sweet laughter, will bring contagious joy to your

classroom. You don’t have to be a comedian or a

prankster. Just be open to having a good time with your

students, and the rest will take care of itself.

It’s everywhere.Despite how tough their lives can be, kids wake up

ready to laugh. They’re built for it. And teaching

presents so many silly, goofy, and absurdly funny

situations that are just waiting to be noticed and taken

advantage of. I am always keeping my eyes and ear

open so I don’t miss these wonderful moments.

It’s in a story.If you’ve read stories in your class, then you know

that story telling is a skill. Nothing I’ve ever done as

a teacher has gotten more response from students or

generated more fun, more mystery, more excitement,

and more behavior-influencing rapport than telling a

story.

It’s a choice.You can’t have fun with your students if you don’t like them. Seeing the best in my students, enjoying

who they are as people, and appreciating their

sense of humor and unique personalities is a choice

I make. Sharing a laugh or smile, particularly with

difficult students, is so powerful and motivating.

Encouragement and recognition does wonders for a

student’s confidence.

It’s reciprocated.When I bring more student-defined fun into my

classroom, my relationship with my students grows

closer, more trusting, and more influential. My

classroom management plan has more leverage and

my students appreciate me more, want to please me,

and desire to get to know me better too!

All the things that teachers work so hard to achieve with

their students will improve, as the teacher gets better at

creating an environment their students love being part

of.

Having an attitude of fun amidst the hard work I ask

of my students is a simple little thing. But it means so

much—both to my students and to my own hopes of

creating a class where every student can enjoy and

prosper.

Teaching philosophies are what define a teacher in the

classroom, and I hope that mine helps you get to know

and understand me a little better!

立人ESL外師 / Mr. Nicolas Boorer

Teaching in Taiwan ; Teaching at Lizen Lizen ESL Department is already a great English school

and I am just a new teacher here. What do I have to

offer to your children to make their experience here

even more profitable? Perhaps if I explain how I came

to be teaching here and the experiences that have

shaped me along the way, you might have a better

understanding of what I can give to the school and to

your children. I might also be able to show you how you

too can help your children to gain even more from their

experience at Lizen.

I trained to teach English as a Foreign Language in

1996, while I was studying Chinese at university in the

UK. Since then I have taught English in Beijing, the UK,

Poland, Ukraine, and Italy. I have taught students of all

ages from countries all around the world.

After graduating, I studied law and worked as a lawyer

in the UK and then as a legal editor and translator at a

law firm in Beijing. I discovered that I was a great law

student but a terrible lawyer so I returned to teaching

English while I was still in Beijing. However, editing

the English of my Chinese colleagues and translating

Chinese into English gave me great insights into how

Chinese-speakers think about using English and I still

use all of the lessons I learned during that time to help

my students overcome their Chinglish habits and learn

to speak “real” English.

I finally left China in 2011 and found a job teaching for

a very large chain of English schools at their branch in

Changhua.

Teaching in Taiwan has been one of my greatest

challenges. The large English school chains all

claim to have a special system that uniquely makes

learning English magically easier. Every student has

to go through this “system” at the same speed and

teachers are not allowed to change anything in order

to help their classes learn better or more effectively.

In addition, many, if not most, Taiwanese students

believe that there is a short cut to learning English –

a special trick that will somehow cut out all of the hard

work and give them special abilities.

But learning a language is not like that. Just like with

maths, or any other school subject, learning a language

requires a lot of hard work and constant practice.

Moreover, every student is different and has individual

talents and difficulties that they need to pay attention to.

Indeed, if they find something difficult, that is a signal

that they need to spend more time on that issue, not on

the things they find easy.

That is why it has been so nice to come to work at

Lizen. At Lizen there is no magic system or special

class structure. The teachers have a tight syllabus

to teach but how they teach each class is entirely up

to them. This gives them the freedom to change and

adapt their teaching for every different class and every

individual student.

And the really wonderful thing is that it clearly works.

My grade 2 students here at Lizen, who have only

been at the school for one and a half or two and a half

years already have much much better English skills in

all areas than any of my students at my former chain

school who had been studying there every day for 5

years. Not only that, but Lizen students can use their

English to talk about so much more. Our students can

discuss science and maths, and tell stories and learn

new things about the world with ease. Their learning is

rich and varied and surprisingly deep.

However, it is important to remember that much of the

student's learning does not come while the teacher

is in the classroom. If you think about it, a 60 minute

class for 20 students, for example, means that the

teacher only has a maximum of 3 minutes to spend

with each student, even if he or she does no whole

class teaching. That is why our students' parents are so

vital to our students' success. It is the parents who can

help our students to take their classroom learning and

transform it into strong, deep, and lasting memories.

Many parents have asked me this year how to help their

children review and study better at home. My answers

are always the same. Read the material with the

children. Try to understand and learn it yourself. Then

ask your children questions to test their understanding

and memory. It doesn't even matter if the children make

mistakes. The act of simply testing them will make their

memory stronger and improve their learning. Another

great trick is to ask your child to teach you about this

week's topic. Having to explain something to somebody

else makes you learn it much, much better. Finally,

youtube is a fantastic resource and a quick search

for keywords relating to the current topic your child

is studying will almost certainly bring up hundreds of

videos for you to watch and discuss together. If your

English is not so good, maybe you could watch videos

with your child and ask your child to explain it to you in

Chinese.

Parents can use all of these strategies to really

transform the students' learning and take their

English and their subject knowledge to the next level.

Yes, of course it is hard work, but the satisfaction

of successfully mastering something difficult and

challenging is a magnificent motivator and wil l

increasingly make your child happier, more confident,

and more enthusiastic about learning English.

I hope that, in this short piece, I have shown you how

my teaching and other working experiences around

the world have shaped the teacher that I am today.

Even my non-teaching work experience has given me

insights and experience that I apply every day in my

classrooms. Teaching is about constantly trying new

ideas and discarding the ideas that are not working

so well so I am constantly reading and researching

to make sure that everything I do in the classroom

is designed to maximise my students' learning.

Teaching is also about putting yourself in the shoes

of your students and understanding their difficulties.

Having been a language student nearly all of my life,

I understand deeply all of the challenges my students

face here at Lizen and that with that understanding I

try ever day to help every single student achieve their

full potential and reach beyond what they thought was

possible.

外師/Ms. Sabr ina BahirTo My Dearest Students,It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since we

have seen each other. I still think about you and miss

you every day! I show my friends and family your

pictures and talk about how much I learned from you

and how you brought so much joy into my life. I was

always so proud of all of you and impressed by your

hard work and determination to learn English.

A lot has happened since we last saw each other. In

March, I moved to Chicago to be closer to my family.

In August my older brother and his wife had a baby!

I am a proud auntie and very excited to be able to

spend time with my new nephew! In September I was

hired as the National Director of Student Affairs for an

agency that brings students from China to the United

States to attend private high schools. Currently we only

work with China but we will soon be expanding to other

countries. I work with our colleagues in China who

choose students who are eager to learn in America and

who have a high level of English proficiency. They must

be high achieving students in their schools in China in

order to get accepted to the schools in the U.S. I help

our students prepare for their interviews, match them

with the right schools, work with the schools to process

the application and visa, find them a family to live with,

and even greet them at the airport when they arrive

in America! I chose to work for this company because

of its vision, which is to foster cultural understanding

between people around the world. When we have

opportunities to meet people from different parts of the

globe, we have a greater sense of connectedness and

appreciation for who we are and the unique way we all

exist in the world.

I am also traveling a lot. I went to California in October

to build relationships with new schools for my agency,

will be going to Washington in March to meet some of

our new students, and China in June to take a group

of American students on a tour and to visit some of the

schools their friends from China went to before moving

to the United States!

Keep working hard on your studies and someday you

can study abroad and show-off your English language

skills, learn about other cultures, and make new friends!

Wishing you much success in all you do and sending

you lots of love!

(Teacher) Sabrina

P.S. If you want to send me a message, you can email

me at bahirsabrina@gmail.com. I would love to hear

from you!

Sabr ina and her brother Sabr ina and her students

By 2A 仲恩的媽媽

因著外子博士後學術研究的機緣， 2013年夏天，我們

一家人遠征美國來到Columbus,Ohio。正值就讀一年級

的仲恩，懷抱著無比好奇心，勇闖美國小學，著實成

為「小小留學生」。還記得入學前，美國學校安排了

「聽、說、讀、寫」的測驗，仲恩能聽、能說，但讀與

寫則未通過，因此需要課後接續ESL課程加強。美國上

課課程內容相當生活化，結合四季氣候、節慶活動，從

玩樂的遊戲中學習，由親手操作的實驗中反思，更從數

學推理上解釋題目而非死記活背。愉快的學習過程與經

驗，效果加倍，進步斐然，半年後，老師再次檢測，認

為仲恩程度已經許可，不需額外加強。欣見於她熱衷參

與和進步，其實歸功於每天至少Reading二十分鐘，這

是美國小學「最大的homework」，也是美國教育從小

培養閱讀習慣，養成自學的關鍵。如此，在全英語的環

境下浸濡薰染一年，這一趟壯遊美國之行，可說是沒有

白費。但是，當再度回到台灣，想當然爾，如何接續英

文學習，是身為父母的我們最擔心與煩惱的問題。

學習之門、開一扇窗

果不其然，回國後，首當其衝，急忙選擇合適的課後安

親卻遍尋不著，有授課內容淺顯無法相應程度者，有年

級限制無法跳級者，更有過度制式無法跳脫填鴨窠臼

者，諸多原因讓我們思考再三、猶豫良久。終於，曙光

出現，仲恩通過立人ESL檢測，找到了適合她程度且能

接續她喜愛的美國課程繼續學習，也終於，我們可以放

下心中的那塊大石頭。

找對門路，用對方法

就因為曾親自進入美國教育體系，眼見孩子沉浸其中展

現歡顏；就因為曾感觸在藍天綠地中，校園裡享受學習

的快樂滋味，我們毅然決然選擇立人ESL推廣部接續仲

恩的英文學習，這堅定選擇，從其反應感受與表達上完

全印證，每天接她回家時，總是開心回應今天上課有趣

的課程話題。在立人ESL，針對孩子不同的程度量身設

計，且外師授課活潑引導，有如打開另一扇學習興趣之

門，使仲恩更能建立自信愛上英文，到認識文法、書寫

句型，應用所需所學。而Teacher Zoe Wang如同專屬

家教般，對孩子的狀況瞭如指掌，在課後與家長聯繫，

意見溝通交流，及時反應孩子學習情況，確保教學成

效，都是我們最放心的地方。

最後，謹此感謝立人ESL團隊與中外籍教師的用心。希

望，那方小小講台是阿拉丁的魔毯，在老師們的帶領下

探索、遨遊英文殿堂；盼望，在立人ESL的孩子們都喜

歡學習，像春風吹來，每一片樹葉以口哨響應，悅耳以

聽。

美國小學初體驗

By 1A&4B 苡睿&苡寧的媽媽家有雙寶 樂學美語“Good afternoon Ladies, Gentleman and

Judges，my name is Yining….”

每每聽到Yining站在台前，台風穩健的搭配著肢體語

言，口中流串出清晰悅耳流暢的語感，聽在父母的耳

裏，滿是感動與驕傲。

學習世界上任何一種語言都一樣，環境才是最好的老

師。台灣社會沒有美語環境，父母唯一能做的，就是替

孩子找到一個適合的學習環境。因此，在孩子幼稚園畢

業時就決定選擇立人ESL做為國小課後安親，但父母認

為最好的，孩子不一定喜歡。唯有孩子喜歡，學習才

會有加乘的效果。還好，Yining的個性活潑外向，一進

IEP就相當適應立人的學習環境，倒是沒讓我們擔心太

多。我想，這是因為立人的多元教學內容，美式的教育

體制與優質的教學團隊讓孩子們在這個環境中，樂於學

習，而快樂的學習經驗才是培養「終身學習」的最佳土

壤。

每天接送Yining往返立人已有5年多的時間，在這段不

算短的日子裏，非常慶幸Yining自始至終都保持對美語

的學習熱忱，即使每天下課回家後仍得面對一大堆國小

作業，仍不願放棄。感謝T. YoYo在IEP階段的啟蒙，

耐心與愛心教導，讓Yining的美語基礎打得十分扎實。

接下來在T. Michelle的帶領下，繼續探索美語世界的驚

奇並奠定對美語的喜愛，最後，是Yining亦師亦友的T.

Jennifer，費心帶領這一群步入青春期情緒善變的孩子

們，在繁重的課業壓力下除了持續引發孩子們的學習動

力外，更扮演著心靈導師的角色。還有許多的Speech

& Drama、聖誕誔節、萬聖節等表演活動，再再的激發孩

子們的表演能力與臨場反應。

去年，家裏的二寶Yiruei也追隨著姊姊進入了立人的學

習行列，和Yining相比， Yiruei是極為內向與害羞的小

孩，雖然考進了1A，但在美語的基礎並不穩固且認識

的單字也不多之下，學習的過程中受挫頻頻，好在，

T. Rachael主動於每日放學後幫Yiruei加強IEP單字背誦

並不斷鼓勵，經過二個多月，Yiruei不但進步很多而且

不再排斥到立人上課，從習慣英語的環境到掌握語言邏

輯，然後愛上英文學習並建立信心與興趣，這就是我們

選擇立人的原因。

Yining & Yiruei媽咪

By IEP D 柏羽的媽媽

時光飛逝，轉眼間又是新的一年。回想起過去半年的歲

月，孩子的學習過程由一開始的度日如年，到逐漸產生

學習興趣，進而有了成就感。我原本的擔心也漸漸放

下，取而代之的是陪著他一起成長………

記得Ethan小時候與阿公阿媽不時在家中玩文字接龍，

我靈機一動，中文行，英文也可依樣畫葫蘆，因此開始

在日常生活中教導簡單的字彙。經過了數個月的練習，

Ethan已可與哥哥們利用簡單的單字玩起文字接龍。

但，學習英文的過程如同蓋房子一般，有了如同磚頭的

單字，仍須學習語法，才能使零散的磚頭有規律地排

列，成就建築。因此，在多方打聽下，選擇立人推廣部

做為Ethan學習英文的環境。

在立人學習美語，經由短暫的環境適應，老師隨即規定

孩子們在校需要以美語和他人溝通，搭配一外一中的師

資，讓孩子在學習上很快能進入狀況，也能立即了解孩

子使用語言的情況。課後導師Zoe亦能在需要家長協助

配合時，即時聯絡我們，讓我們能完全掌握學習的進度

與狀況，非常感謝中師與外師的努力付出，讓Ethan在

學習上獲得幫助。

每週，立人都會安排作業，並於下週實施測驗，了解學

生學習的狀況，讓我們能立即進行補救。特別的日子亦

會舉辦活動，安排學生參與各種演出，這讓原本害羞內

向的Ethan能有機會不斷的練習，進而在適度壓力的情

況下學習如何表現自己。學期間，Ethan經由不斷的努

力，而有機會代表班級參與「英文朗讀」比賽。賽前導

師Zoe每天都會在放學後將Ethan留下，不斷修正他的

發音、語調，這無悔的付出、多樣化的學習內容，讓身

為家長的我們十分感動。

過年期間，Ethan在國外工作多年的乾媽來電拜年，在

寒暄幾句之後，令我感到詫異的事情就這麼發生了，

Ethan主動開始以完整的英文句子和乾媽對話，而且還

煞有其事的說了十分鐘之久，或許文法上還不是非常的

健全完整，但已令我十分令人感動，這就是我希望他能

學會帶著走的能力，將英文視為語言，大方地和他人溝

通，而非只是紙上談兵。

這一學期的過程，看到孩子能樂於學習，勇於表現，

收穫豐盛！雖然目前只是Ethan的一小步，但對我們而

言，感覺是前進了一大步。相較於許多的安親教室能

在孩子回家前協助完成學校的功課，而Ethan卻必須等

回家後才能開始著手，這對剛升上小一的他的確有點辛

苦，但基於學習語言要趁早，學習環境也很重要，這半

年的成果讓身為父母的我們肯定當時的選擇，也期許他

能在這樣的環境與老師的教導下持續的進步！

立人學習簡介