The “2018 Tainan English Reading Festival – Peppa Pig Fun English-Learning Party” won’t take place until July 1, but it is already creating a stir! Ray Du and Crown Du, founders of the biggest English-learning YouTube channel in Taiwan that currently has over one million subscribers, attended the festival’s opening press conference in their capacity as official spokespersons. The YouTubers showed off their English skills during the press conference, facing off against Tainan junior high and senior high school students in the “English Buzz In Cooperation Challenge.” The challenge covered Tainan’s specialties, such as its scenic spots, famous products, and culinary delicacies. Answers included “bowl rice cakes, shrimp crackers, Anping Tree House, Eternal Golden Castle, Tainan Confucius Temple, and rice cakes.” Ray Du and Crown Du praised the English of Tainan’s students as “excellent.” They also jointly held bags of “Cheng Gong Potato Chips” with the students to express their best wishes for the “cheng gong” (success) of the Tainan English Reading Festival.
Ray Du said, “The Tainan City Government has dedicated a considerable amount of resources and organized in-person activities to promote English as the second official language. I hope this will create an environment conducive to the learning of English for Tainan residents, as well as bring Tainan to the attention of the world, allowing it to truly become an English-friendly city. We are also very happy to see that more and more Tainan residents are starting to learn English.” He thanked the FLOMO Education Foundation for its wholehearted support of the festival. The Tainan City Government’s Office of English as the Second Official Language (OEASOL) commissioned Caves Books, a bookstore chain with abundant foreign language study resources, to help organize festival events. It also asked international publishers to authorize the use of their English learning content because “giving city residents the opportunity to learn English both online and offline and maintaining this passion towards learning will make the study of English more meaningful.”
Crown Du believes reading is very important when it comes to the study of languages. From July 1 to Sept. 30, everyone who contributes book reviews to the Tainan English Reading Festival’s official website will have the chance to win great prizes. All those who love reading are welcome to take part in this event specially organized for bookworms!
- On July 12, the reading festival promotional video “Tainan Vibes” will be released. In the video, Ray Du and Crown Du eat at and visit Tainan’s bilingual restaurants and shops, experiencing their English-language services for themselves. They also sample “the snacks of gods,” which are exclusive to the prefectural capital, as well as teach everyone fun English phrases related to Tainan! Everyone is invited to visit Ray Du’s YouTube channel at 9 p.m. on July 12 to watch the video.
- The exciting activities forming the “2018 Tainan English Reading Festival” include “Ray Du’s Special Lectures,” the “English Book Review Contest,” “Peppa Pig’s Story Time,” “Celebrity Lectures on English Learning,” and “ArtSpot Educational Theatre.” “Peppa Pig’s Story Time” has proven to be a huge hit already. The reading festival is not yet officially open, but registration for sessions in the month of July is already full. Registration for August will begin today (June 28). Hong Cun-yu, assistant manager of Caves Bookstore’s Languages Department, says Caves Bookstore will work together with the Tainan City Government to transform Tainan into an international city that uses English.
- The “English study resources” available through the “www.tainanlovesreading.com.tw” website are split into the “Children’s Learning Zone,” “Joint Parent-Child Learning Zone,” “Youths’ Learning Zone,” “Adults’ Learning Zone,” “21st Century Cross-Disciplinary Learning Tools,” and “Oxford Special Zone.” The “Children’s Learning Zone” includes abundant and fun resources from 30 excellent international English-learning websites, such as Wonderopolis, Little Fox, ELA Games, Super Simple Songs, Interactive English Games, Children’s Storybooks Online, and National Geographic Kids. There are English e-books, videos, games, songs, grammar lessons, and more. We welcome parents and kids to make good use of everything!
- For the “English Book Review Contest,” all those who contribute book reviews and answer a few simple questions (responses can be in either Chinese or English) through the following website will have the chance to take part in a prize draw with hundreds of prizes. The prizes range from iPads and suitcases to Just Herb essential oils and mini photo printers. This activity will begin today. The more you contribute, the higher your chances of winning! The website is “http://bookreview.tainanlovesreading.com.tw/Index.aspx.”
- A total of 74,000 “English Reading Passports” will be distributed to elementary school students in Tainan. The passports provide information on the festival’s various activities and introduce English-learning resources. The OEASOL would like to thank the FLOMO Education Foundation for sponsoring the activities, prizes, and reading passports of the “2018 Tainan English Reading Festival.” It also thanks Caves Bookstore and Just Herb for sponsoring prizes and allowing Tainan residents to read their way to big prizes!
Registration has already begun for the August sessions of “Peppa Pig’s Story Time” and “Celebrity Lectures on English Learning.” We encourage parents and children to take advantage of this opportunity. The registration websites are:
- Peppa Pig’s Story Time – August sessions: https://goo.gl/XB7hmW
- Celebrity Lectures on English Learning: https://goo.gl/dfrqxa
- The official website of “Tainan Loves Reading – 2018 Tainan English Reading Festival” will be launched on July 1. We welcome all city residents to make good use of the plentiful English learning resources available through the website, which can be found at: http://www.tainanlovesreading.com.tw
- The “English Book Review Contest” is already underway. The website is: http://bookreview.tainanlovesreading.com.tw/Index.aspx.
