What does your dream room look like?
A look into a breakout session
The collaborative International Companions for Learning event was hosted by Wang & Wu Foundation in collaboration with Kang Ning Elementary School, with support from the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of China, on the evening of April 16th. The Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors in the San Francisco Bay Area (FASCA SFBA) had the opportunity to observe the tutoring sessions.
Typically, sessions are held weekly, virtually, to support Kang Ning Elementary School students’ English language learning. Wang & Wu Foundation invited members of FASCA SFBA, in hopes of inspiring and encouraging the FASCA members to join the International Companions for Learning mission.
Stephanie from Kang Ning class 502 shared with us that they “really like having these conversation classes with Taiwanese-American big brothers and big sisters as our English conversation tutors, it is a very good opportunity to improve conversational skills. Sometimes, these teachers will lead activities like arts and crafts to help with our learning beyond the textbook. We really like it! During class, tutors are also engaging and humorous.”
Taking us into what a breakout session looks like, we were able to witness high school tutor Eva conduct a creative activity to get the Kang Ning staff & administrators present to think imaginatively in English. The prompt was about what their dream room would look like. Some prompts that were given were “What colors are the walls, floor, and ceiling?” “What kind of furniture is in your room?”, and “If someone walked into your room, what would they notice first?” After contemplating these guiding questions, each teacher shared their version of their dream room, such as a preference for decor or a more simplistic design.
The Director of the Counseling Office, Anna Yao, broke down the participants who joined the session from Kang Ning Elementary School. "Forty Kang Ning students were spread out between fourteen meeting rooms. Teachers, administrators, the Principal, directors, bilingual art and craft teachers, tutors, special education teachers, and bilingual physical education teachers all participated in the event, learning alongside their students."
Over eighty people participated in this historic initiative, including forty fifth-grade students from Kang Ning Elementary School, seven teachers and administrators of the school, twenty Fast Fluency International Tutoring Program (FFITP) high school tutors, three FFITP Advisors, and ten FASCA SFBA students. To help foster closer connections between FFITP student teachers and the Kang Ning Elementary School students, breakout rooms were created, allowing participants to engage in small group discussions and the chance to share their progress.
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