[Du Zhong-cong / Great News / Tainan] In conjunction with the 2017 World Baseball Softball Confederation U-12 Baseball World Cup hosted by Tainan, the Tainan City Government’s Office of English as the Second Official Language (OEASOL) launched the “Let’s Play Baseball” series of activities. One of them is an English-learning activity specially designed for parents and children. The “Let’s Play Catch!” free English classes for the community will begin on June 4 (Sunday).
The OEASOL says it hopes the “Let’s Play Catch!” classes will promote parent-child interaction and achieve the objective of allowing parents and children to learn English together. It also hopes city residents will use English to cheer on all the young athletes in the upcoming baseball tournament, manifesting to all those who have come from afar the hospitality and warmth that Tainan residents are famous for.
An OEASOL foreign consultant named Chris specially created a lively and stimulating lesson plan to make these classes more exciting, and personally trained the teachers imparting the classes. It is hoped this English learning experience, with its practical and interesting courses and simple dialogue and interaction, will be a pleasant change for participants. On May 24, Chris conducted pre-course training for teachers. The OEASOL says the lineup of teachers for this event is formidable. In addition to Chris, who will personally teach classes, there are also other foreign professional teachers. James is from the United States, and is a Tainan son-in-law. He has ample experience teaching American English to adults and children, and knows quite a bit of Taiwanese as well. Emily is also American, and has lived in Taiwan for 12 years as a Tainan daughter-in-law. She has extensive professional experience in English teaching. Ralph hails from the Philippines and is currently a graduate student at National Cheng Kung University. He not only taught himself English until he attained the level of a native speaker, but also racked up a considerable amount of English teaching experience. The OEASOL believes these foreign teachers will provide the participating parents and children with a wonderful learning experience.
The 16 “Let’s Play Catch!” classes will take place between June 4 and June 24 in South District, Guiren District, Shanhua District, and Sinying District, all of which are venues for the U12 Baseball World Cup. The content of the classes is wonderful, and there will also be prize draws. Attendees will have the chance to win a limited number of baseballs autographed by the Chinatrust Brothers team, Peter Rabbit mugs, Peter Rabbit absorbent coasters, and other prizes. The OEASOL says registration is already nearly full for all “Let’s Play Catch!” sessions, showing there is keen public interest in learning baseball English. People can add their names to the waiting list, but will have to act fast.
More information on the activity’s content and registration method can be obtained through the Tainan City Government’s website, or through the following link: http://www.tainan.gov.tw/tainan/act.asp?id=%7B45FE6FF8-845D-4B6C-B653-A6982AC2D4DC%7D. The OEASOL says those who aren’t able to register shouldn’t be discouraged, because it has already uploaded the “Play Ball!” baseball English booklet and educational videos developed in conjunction with Studio Classroom to the event’s website. They can be downloaded for free. The booklet is full of exciting content, including lists of baseball vocabulary and terms in English; practical conversations and exercises; baseball songs; and information on Tainan’s delicacies and tourism. The booklet will help to familiarize residents with English baseball terms, as well as allow them to introduce “the best things to eat and do” in Tainan using English. The OEASOL encourages everyone to make good use of these resources.
“Let’s Play Catch!” website:
https://sites.google.com/view/tainanplayball2017
News report source:
http://www.greatnews.com.tw/home/news_pagein.php?iType=1010&n_id=139278
