Taiwan MOE Sponsored Visiting Mandarin Teacher & Visiting Mandarin Teaching Assistant Arrive in Houston
Peter Chen, the new Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston who arrived in Houston on September 29, 2017, attended his first official luncheon there to welcome them both on behalf of the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. Mr. Chien Yi-Chia, the visiting teacher from Taiwan will be working at Rice University and Peter Chen praised the new two-year partnership between Rice University and Taiwan’s Ministry of Education. Ms. Cheng Yi-Ting, the visiting teaching assistant will be undertaking an internship at Sharpstown International School teaching Mandarin as a second language.
Peter Chen said in his remarks: “We live in a world brought closer by technology. In education, technology plays an important role in access and reach, but a good teacher is worth a thousand apps. Rice University and TECO came together as a team to bring Mr. Chien Yi-Chia from Taiwan because communication is about more than just knowing a language; it’s also about culture and customs. Mr. Chien and Ms. Cheng will be able to use their own experiences to help bring Mandarin and Taiwanese culture alive for their students.”
Photo:
L-R,Mr. Bryan Bordelon, principal of Sharpstown International School; Ms. Jade Adams, assistant principal of Sharpstown International School; Dr. Christine Medina, Assistant Director of the Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication at Rice University; Ms. Cheng Yi-Ting, visiting teaching assistant from Taiwan; Mr. Chien Yi-Chia, visiting teacher from Taiwan; Professor M. Rafael Salaberry, Director of the Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication, Rice University; Peter Chen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston; Sonny Lim, Special Assistant for International Collaboration, Office of the President, Rice University; Professor Yeh Meng, Rice University; and Sophie Chou, Director of the Education Division at TECO in Houston.