CERRITOS – A collaborative effort between Staff and Students at Cerritos College, ABCUSD and Taiwan Education Officials resulted in a very successful online Taipei-California English Summer Camp for Taiwanese students from Elementary through High School for 3 weeks in July. The entire local group gathered on August 5 in El Monte to acknowledge and award the many volunteer participants.

Participants in this event included Representatives from Cerritos College, Vice President Dr. Wei Zhou, Board Member Dr. Shin Liu, and Board Member Ernie Nishii and Sophia Tse of ABC School District , Taipei Economic and Culture Center (TECO) director general Louis M. Huang, and the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women (GFCBW) Greater Los Angeles Chapter President Sabrina Lin.  Other attendees included two alumni of Gong Jheng Elementary School and their spouses, 34 volunteers and their families, making the total of 120 attendees.

The “English Camp” program was launched by Cerritos College with the active support from trustee Shin Liu. This is the third time the college provided the English camp program for Taiwanese students.  This year, fifty-five volunteers participated in the program and helped more than 300 Taiwanese students learn English and understand more about American culture.  Twenty-five ABC district students volunteered in this program, Ten Cerritos College students participated in the program, some community members also joined in the program.  High school students Jayden Lin, Nicole Tan, Evelyn Tan, Evelyn Chen, Kaitlyn Wang, Aaron Pan, Benjamin Chen, and Lawrence Pang expressed that not only Taiwanese students benefit greatly from the program but they also benefit from experiencing the joy of service and better understand the significance of sharing.

Cerritos College student, “Jonathan Chou” got the students in Taiwan to order a Starbucks in La Mirada store.  Thanks to the fantastic staff who were patient and friendly with the students, 9,000 miles away.  

Taiwanese students were able to use the English they learned to order a Starbuck coffee across the Pacific Ocean.  A 50-year neighbor of Cerritos College and Teacher in ABCUSD, Linda Hernandez, also enjoyed the experience in sharing culture and languages.  Linda provides the Taiwanese students with a video tour of her home and also introduces them to American Sign Language.

Volunteers collected used English books and donated them to Taiwan, which is another amazing activity and vital donation as reading is critical for learning.   Volunteers collected used English Books from parents, Cerritos public library, Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation Cerritos office, ABC district, Cerritos College library. These thousands of English books donated to Gong Jheng Elementary School will be used to establish the first bilingual library in eastern Taiwan; the books will be rotated to the libraries of various schools within the county for students and local residents to read; the county government will set up a mobile library program to also benefit remote schools in different counties of eastern Taiwan.

Notes:

  1.  Book donations project video:
  • Comments and feedback from the volunteers

The following are statements from Volunteers.   Feel free to use them

  1. Linda Hernandez

As a 50-year neighbor of Cerritos College and Teacher in ABCUSD, I was so honored to have been invited by Trustee and Vice President, Dr. Shin Liu, to participate as a volunteer

in their collaborative effort to provide an English Summer Camp by Zoom for students in Taiwan. Led by our able Team Leader, recent Cerritos College Graduate, Jonathan Chou, I was able to provide the students with a video tour of my home and to introduce them to American Sign Language. This was a fun diversion for them from their very intense academic studies. I found that learning the alphabet and basic phrases in sign language helped them to practice conversation and lose some of their reluctance to speak English. All Cerritos College and ABCUSD volunteers were treated to a lovely Awards Ceremony by The Global Federation of Chinese Business Women of Greater Los Angeles. Below is a photo of me and Dr. Liu (second and third from left) with other volunteers receiving our awards from local Taiwanese dignitaries.

Sincerely,

Linda Hernandez

Retired ABCUSD Teacher

  • Jonathan Chou

Since this summer camp is online, we decided to bring students from Taiwan out of just online learning and talk to us. We take them to the movie theater, CVS, and the supermarket to learn and compare the cultural differences between Taiwan and the USA. This year we also got the students to Starbucks for an exciting “Ordering Starbucks across the Pacific Ocean and across different time zones.” How it was done was I logged in to Google Meet on my phone, and thanks to the fantastic staff from the Rosecrans & La Mirada, La Mirada store, they were really patient and friendly with the student. The student from Taiwan would either order what they liked or ask for the worker’s suggestion. The students enjoyed this experience; there was even a student saying I should have all the students do it instead of just picking the first few students who raised their hands. Still, I say I can’t because I do not have that much money, which students think is hilarious.

On August 5, 2022, the “English Camp and Book Donation Project Award Ceremony” was held by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA), aiming to present the vigorous development on the Taiwan-US education collaboration.

  • Jayden Lin

I think that the Virtual English Camp is a very worthwhile experience, as you get to interact with students from other countries, learning about the various differences in our cultures and daily lives. Every time I teach the students overseas, I am not only helping them learn, but I am also learning myself, whether it is because of the research for my teaching material or from their answers to my questions. Overall, I have very much enjoyed the Virtual English Camp, and, although it is unfortunate we are unable to travel overseas in person because of the pandemic, it is still a great program.

  • Nicole Tan

I am Nicole Tan. I’m 15 years old and I attend Whitney High School. This summer, I participated in this Taiwan English Summer Camp. I’m glad I got to be able to communicate and talk with the students from Taiwan. It was fun getting to know the students from Taiwan. In each class, we always start with introductions and icebreakers in order to get to know each other. Then we continue with presentations, and finally, we end with breakout rooms to talk and get to know each other better. I learned a lot of new things during this camp. I got to meet new people from Taiwan and worked with my team members to plan and organize the camp. This summer camp was exceeding and I look forward to participating in the next one. 

  • Evelyn Tan

Hi, my name is Evelyn Tan, and I attend Leal Elementary School. I was very excited to participate in this Taiwan English Summer Camp. After meeting the students of Taiwan for the first time, I was very happy that I could talk with them. During breakout groups, I got to talk and  chat with them. We chatted about our lives or about what we enjoyed. We also played games, such as “Never have I ever.”I had so much fun teaching them and getting to know them better. This program is very good,  because it allows people to communicate and have fun , while learning.

  • Evelyn Chen

Hi, my name is Evelyn Tan, and I attend Leal Elementary School. I was very excited to participate in this Taiwan English Summer Camp. After meeting the students of Taiwan for the first time, I was very happy that I could talk with them. During breakout groups, I got to talk and  chat with them. We chatted about our lives or about what we enjoyed. We also played games, such as “Never have I ever.”I had so much fun teaching them and getting to know them better. This program is very good,  because it allows people to communicate and have fun , while learning.

  • Kaitly wang

My name is Kaitlyn Wang and I go to Leal Elementary.

My experience as a teacher in this camp was amazing. Not just it being fun and exciting, but I learned a lot, too. A few students talked about their Virtual Reality experiences and life in Taiwan. This camp also helped me become better at teamwork and teaching. Honestly, I’m really happy I spent a few weeks of my summer on this!

  • Aaron Pan

Hello, I am Aaron Pan, and I go to Whitney High School. Throughout my English camp experience as a volunteer, I had the opportunity to talk and get to know more about Taiwan and the student’s culture. In addition, I was able to interact with the students by asking questions to one another. Ultimately, the Taiwan English summer camp has allowed both myself and the Taiwan students to practice their English and interaction skills with one another. Glad I could volunteer and help these students prosper in the future!

This week I was able to inspire 8th graders from Taiwan to pursue careers in fields of game design, history, architecture, and 3D design. The kids were very energetic, instantly unmuting after the full presentation and asking, “Hey, Teacher?” When we split into breakouts, there was one student who I vividly remember asking me about using my computer for 3D Computer Aided Design which was the topic I had taught for the day. She conveyed her affection for the computer in clear English about coding and video games. She and the other 2 children were able to talk about their favorite hobbies.

After doing icebreakers, I helped inspire the kids in the room by bringing up Mario 3D World, a game which all 3 of them had played and enjoyed. They were amazed to know how the 3D characters were modeled using a demonstration from Mario 3D World and started to converse more freely, talking to each other in good English about coding, history, math, and engineering. It was a wonderful treat to teach the children English this week.

10. Lawrence Pang

Working in this class has been a privilege and a useful learning experience. Volunteering by teaching is a way to gain insights into the importance of community service. By working to benefit others, I have learned how to improve society by helping individuals in a meaningful way. This class also teaches the importance of specific skills in a globalized world. The ability to effectively communicate with others despite any difficulties is incredibly useful. This class also helps teach how to engage others during an online class. It also helps encourage collaboration and teamwork to pull off a lesson that is both educational and interesting to students. I would like to thank Professor Liu for providing this opportunity and I hope it will still be offered for years to come.

library program to also benefit remote schools in different counties of eastern Taiwan.

Participants in this event included Director Rebecca Lan, Director Amy Wang and Education Officer Huichen Pan from TECO-LA. Representatives from Global Federation of Chinese Business Women (GFCBW) Greater Los Angeles Chapter include President Sabrina Lin, dozens of board members, as well as key executive members from GFCBW. Also, on behalf of the Cerritos College, Vice President Wei Zhou, Board Member Dr. Shin Liu, and Board Member Mr. Ernie Nishii and Mrs. Sophia Tse of ABC School District, attended the event to present certificates respectively. Other attendees included two alumni of Gong Jheng Elementary School and their spouses, 34 volunteers and their families, making the total of 120 attendees.