Expanding Horizons: Fulbright EMI Overseas Training, Advancing Globally
The Fulbright EMI program's highlight at the end of the year is the opportunities for professors to do training overseas. The diverse training gives professors opportunities to improve their soft and hard skills in EMI courses.
This year marks the first time that a larger number of professors and faculty members from colleges and universities have been recommended to participate in overseas training programs. The training institutions, including the University of Maryland, San Diego California University, and the University of California, Davis, gave teachers intense training in different campus settings. Importantly, there's a notable increase in participants, mainly from professors in the EMI support teams of the five schools and many from other newest colleges and universities.
After the fourteen-day training, these professors returned with praise and support for the program. They also shared valuable experiences and feedback from their training at each institution.
Feedback after training
1.
The lectures provided by UMD instructors themselves exemplified the demonstration of EMI courses, including lectures, activity-based learning, and just-in-time evaluation. Furthermore, the opportunity to observe classes and engage in micro-teaching sessions allowed us to apply the learned content effectively, resulting in a synergistic learning experience.
Engaging in cultural experiences enabled insightful discussions with instructors on local teaching methods, lifestyle, and other pertinent topics, which proved to be highly enriching. The primary objective of this course is to integrate the acquired knowledge into our teaching practices and implement the learned content in upcoming EMI courses in the following semester. Achieving this learning outcome, of course, requires gradual progress. I hope to leverage EMI teaching to realize transdisciplinary collaborative projects, thereby contributing to solving global challenges together.
2.
I had the greatest takeaway from the overseas training. Firstly, some invaluable teaching experiences and methods gained through interactions with instructors during the courses, as well as the friendships established with other professors and faculty members, showed that despite significant differences in the fields of the professors, their enthusiasm for teaching and the challenges they encountered were largely similar. Regardless of the varying levels of teaching experience and different years of teaching, there was a wealth of knowledge to be gained from each other's experiences.
Rita
I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to participate in this training program. Through this experience, I've had the chance to meet professors from different schools and forge friendships with them. They've not only become great friends but also invaluable learning resources.The schedule for this training was quite packed, with daytime hours spent in class with all the participants. During breaks, we had the chance to interact and learn from each other. This interaction not only helped us understand each other's fields better but also set the stage for potential future collaborations in EMI teaching.
Moreover, having the training at the University of Maryland was a fantastic experience for me. I've always wanted to visit UMD, and during the two-week course, not only did I get to attend classes there, but I also got a taste of the university's culture, which was truly wonderful. I'm eagerly looking forward to any future opportunities to visit UMD again.
I must express my sincere gratitude to Fulbright and the Center for Bilingual Learning at NTUT for their assistance. Their support in both pre-planning and execution of the program was invaluable and contributed significantly to its successful completion. Once again, thank you.
Kenny
Fulbright has been organizing overseas teacher training for the past three years, and who were invited to participate expressed significant gains. This year's EMI overseas training resonated deeply with us as well. The UCSD arranged numerous teaching workshops introducing concepts like flipped classrooms and student-centered learning methods. While these may not be new concepts, the instructors'' in-depth discussions provided the local Taiwanese English teachers with a fresh perspective.
During the training, we had the opportunity to sit in classrooms alongside local students and observe how lessons were conducted, as well as the interactions between teachers and peers. One of the most significant discoveries was the proactive nature of the students. Whether they were sitting in the front or back rows, they were actively engaged in discussions, and those using laptops were diligently taking notes. The learning atmosphere among American students is truly commendable and worth emulating.
Change doesn't happen overnight, but we hope that through continuous improvement, local Taiwanese English teachers can bring more stimulation and inspiration to Taiwanese students at primary, secondary, and university levels.
跨界啟迪：Fulbright EMI 海外培訓
Fulbright EMI計畫的多元培訓課程，讓合作的教授們在EMI課程中持續提升及具備軟實力和硬實力。今年計畫擴大薦送大專校院師長參與海外研習計畫，為期十四天課程中，團隊至美國馬里蘭大學、加州大學聖地牙哥分校與加州大學戴維斯分校參訪和學習，在風格多元化的校園中接受了密集且豐富的培訓課程。值得一提的是，此次培訓的參與人數突破性增長，主要由EMI 支援團隊的五校師長和多所大專校院師長組成，師長們回國後紛紛給予計畫大力的讚賞與支持。他們也分享了在各學校培訓期間的寶貴經驗和回饋。
培訓回饋
1.
UMD 老師的授課本身就已經展現了EMI課程的演示，包含講授，活動（activity based learning），即時回饋 （just-in-time evaluation） 等，同時在把所學的內容應證在觀課活動，也安排了受訓老師能發揮所學的微教學（micro teaching），有相輔相乘的學習效果。在文化體驗中能和老師深聊當地教學，生活等議題也非常有收穫。在本課程最重要的目標就是能將習得知識帶回教學工作，把所學習的的內容實作在接下來學期的EMI課程，最後，這個學習的實現當然是得逐步進步到位的，希望能藉著EMI的教學達成跨學科（transdisciplinary）的合作計畫，共同解決世界的挑戰。
2
此次行程對我來說最大的收穫，第一個就是透過課程與老師們交流之間得到地寶貴教學經驗與方法，以及與其他老師之間建立的友誼，雖然老師們所在的領域差異相當大，但是對於教學的熱忱與教學上會遇到的困難基本上大同小異，不管老師們的教學經驗、年資是大是小，都可以從對方的經驗中獲取許多知識。
