by‧莊佳瑀 Translated by‧Christine Yang (Eagle Student, Science Park 5B)
Photography‧潘芸薇 Pictures‧provided by Eagle Corp.
Based on the concept of the global village, most countries have become internationalized. Being able to compete with others is now even more important. To have the ability to be a global competitor, speaking English well is one of the necessary strengths. Stephanie Sun founded American Eagle School to help Taiwan's next generation compete.
 
Like an Eagle Spreading Its Wings, Peering Far Ahead —
Stephanie Sun Leads American Eagle School,
Guiding a New Generation of English Education
Learning English should be a very fun, enjoyable thing to do. The moment a baby opens his mouth and calls “Mom!” is the moment he starts his way through language. The language that a child first contacts or the one that he is immersed in is a child's mother tongue. The creation of an environment can let a child learn listening, speaking, reading, and writing without any pressure. An immersion way of practicing can let a child learn two or more languages without any obstacles.
Sometimes the way you learn is incorrect. Stephanie Sun herself had a hard time learning English, so she wishes to give the best English education to Taiwan's kids. Stephanie Sun established Eagle Corporation in 1999, promoting language education. Eagle Corporation is comprised of the R&D Department and American Eagle School, which is an E.F.L. (English as First Language) school. Eagle's business revolves around the idea of promoting English education and establishing a broader and higher-quality English educational system.
Stephanie Sun had 20 years of experience in kindergarten education before establishing Eagle Corporation. In 1999 she made her decision to establish a different kind of school. Instead of using E.S.L. (English as Second Language) she imported the American and Canadian way of learning English. Eagle's R&D Department and McGraw-Hill, a prestigious American text book publisher, worked together to edit Spectrum into New Dimensions to fit with Taiwanese children's learning needs. It doesn't matter if it's the teachers, programs, textbooks, or environment. Everything is exactly like America. What American kids learn is what the kids learn at American Eagle School. This innovative idea was not supported by her friends in the education industry. Stephanie Sun didn't care. She says whenever she thought about how hard it was to learn English, it made her have confidence in the dream of American Eagle School. Because she had a dream she made Eagle. Because of Eagle she feels she is doing something practical and realizes the hardship that comes with a mission.
Immersion Education — Curriculum Equal to North American Schools
The design of its programs shows the difference between Eagle and other schools. Eagle has high-quality English classes because Eagle uses the American and Canadian system. The transitions to North American Schools are easy. Children acquire English the same way as their native language in an immersion learning environment. All of those are now the direction that English educational schools are trying to work towards. This is also what Stephanie Sun wanted in the first place.
After Eagle Corporation was established, Stephanie Sun especially hired people for the R&D Department to import the American textbooks. They merged American culture into the textbooks in order to let kids have active and fun lessons. Stephanie Sun says, to study a language, you have to immerse into their culture first. Culture contains music, arts and crafts, history, physical education, and holiday activities. Eagle Corporation used the American culture with their textbooks and edited them into a program that suits Taiwanese children's learning needs.
In the Eagle system there are six grades. Each grade is divided into three levels. After each level, all students must pass a test with a score of 70% or higher in order to advance to the next level. This is very different from other English schools. It is stricter. Eagle doesn't use test scores to mark a child's use of English. The child's actual usage of English shows the teachers how they have improved. That is why students who have had classes in Eagle can easily make the transition to the classes in American local schools.
This system of studying English has allowed kids to show excellent results, like Christine Yang, who came to Eagle in 1999 for kindergarten. Because of her father's work, her whole family moved to America. Christine learned solid English skills. She passed E.S.L. tests and could go to class in American local schools. Victor Lin, a Grade 2 student of the Downtown branch school, went to Christ Lutheran School for summer camp. The results of a test there were exactly the same as the results at Eagle. Katie Huang, who translated Charlotte's Web and Eragon, is a Grade 4 student in Eagle. What Eagle emphasizes is the usage and the communication of a child, making students learn the habit of saying the correct English. At the same time this can allow a student to have no problems with reading and writing.
American Environment — Studying Naturally
Your first step into Eagle makes you feel that Eagle is a different school. The design of white walls and natural wood makes the school feel warm like home. American Eagle School doesn't want the parents and students to feel uneasy. That is why Eagle doesn't have the design of an administration reception area. Without the counter, Eagle can have full use of the space, which makes the school feel bigger and more comfortable. This is why Eagle can be called a school, rather than an ordinary cram school. Eagle gives a feeling of a high-quality American school. Every kid who comes to Eagle for English lessons can feel it is like having school in the States. Christine Yang says Eagle makes her feel like being at home. The students and teachers are like families and relatives. At Eagle, she feels happy and doesn't have pressure. English is everywhere. What she enjoys the most the whole day is when she comes to Eagle. The staff at the door always gives the students a warm welcome.
At first, Eagle Corporation started with an English-only kindergarten. An English-only learning environment gave the school a high reputation. Because it was a success, Stephanie Sun decided to expand the school with elementary English classes. Eagle is located at Ching-shan 7th Street, in Hsin-chu, a street full of North American culture. The walls outside were painted white just like the houses in North America. If there wasn't a sign saying “American Eagle School,” it would be really hard to tell that there was a kindergarten there. Unlike most Taiwanese kindergartens, which paint their walls with many different colors, Eagle uses white walls with natural wood for all designs, full of American spirit, which also gives warmth with a safe feeling like home.
The curriculum of the kindergarten is full of an American educational spirit. The curriculum includes language, math, science, arts and crafts, music, and physical education, all with an American-style learning process. The class preparation has connections between all areas, so after students graduate students can easily transition to North American schools. Every child studying at Eagle's kindergarten is very active and adorable. The school gives the children a conception of globalization, freedom, and independency. The son of the chairman of a well-known company in Hsin-chu Science Park, Samuel Jhou, went to America for school after graduating from kindergarten at Eagle. There were no transition problems at all. The daughter of the president of a biotechnology company, Tiffany Huang, also had the same experience. There were no problems on the adaptation to the textbooks and class schedules.
High-quality English Education — Having the Parents' Trust
Eagle Corporation was established in 1999. The location at Hsin-chu Science Park wasn't chosen just because Stephanie Sun lived here. The only place like Silicon Valley in Taiwan is Hsin-chu. Hsin-chu is where all of the talented people in Taiwan gather. Most of them wish to give their children a high-quality English education. If those parents trust Eagle’s results, then Eagle has succeeded in establishing the school.
Eagle has been established for seven years next to the Science Park. This means Eagle has successfully passed the parents' high expectations. In all, there are now 600 students having English lessons at Eagle. That proves that the teaching results can be trusted. Because Eagle can let children have a wonderful performance in all areas of English usage, it makes the parents believe and count on American Eagle School.
At first the thought of establishing Eagle Corporation was turned down by a lot of people, because insisting on the programs would raise the costs higher. But Stephanie Sun believed that only the right way of teaching English could achieve the best results. Stephanie Sun and her co-worker Elsa Wey named the school Eagle, after the bird, because it can fly the highest and the farthest of all. The Eagle also represents “an open mind and a far-reaching sight”. When a fledgling is going to become a mature eagle, they have to pick out all of their feathers and claws. Then, they break off their beak with a stone. Worst of all, they can't eat, and they have to wait until their feathers, claws, and the beak grow out again. The Chinese name is “Yi Gou.” “Yi” means arrow. When you are using an arrow, you need to find the direction. “Gou” means the direction's goal.
Because Eagle Wants to Be First — So Eagle Insists
Stephanie Sun expresses that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the English educational industry. A regular cram school has a “study English, memorize English, take tests” way of learning English. Eagle is different. Eagle uses immersion programs and uses a “study English, speak English, use English” way to create a “speaking English” environment. That is why all of the Eagle's parents rely on and trust Eagle.
The specialty of Eagle Corporation is that Eagle established what others haven't. Eagle insists on the right way, and Eagle gives the best to the customers. Eagle insists on five classes a week, so the students can easily use English without any problems. That is why Eagle has succeeded. In the past, parents thought that five days a week was too much pressure, and wished to decrease the number of classes. Stephanie Sun thought, learning a language needs a long process, and the creation of an environment. Learning a language is different from learning a technique. You should use effective time management or other ways to conquer the problem of school pressure. Eagle's educational slogan tells the parents that insistence and patience is the only way.
Eagle also cares about a child's learning attitude. The Vice President and Publishing and Division, Elsa Wey, of Eagle Corporation expresses that in other countries, people mostly express emotion directly, but with a child's education most teachers and schools use cards to show kids their results. Eagle does the same thing to develop a kid to aspire the honor of a good learning attitude. Eagle uses a “reward system” to award kids with great performance. Eagle also uses yellow cards. If you get three yellow cards, you will get suspended. The kids will naturally pay attention to their behavior, in order to have a good reputation. At Eagle, being perfect on one subject isn't enough. Being able to have a stable improvement in all areas is the best. This is one of the firm educational priorities.
Chinese and Foreign Teachers Work in Harmony
— Eagle Is Outstanding
Using a North American textbook is Eagle's specialty. The reputation rests on Eagle's well-trained teachers. Eagle uses teachers from countries with English as their native language. After the teachers come to Taiwan, all of them have to be trained in order to teach the classes. They are trained to merge with the conception of Eagle's business culture. Every teacher signs a contract of one year, which gives the program a high and steady performance.
Jerry Beamer was a professor at Washington University in America. She is now the Chief Editor and Writer at Eagle Corporation. She was one of the first teachers when Eagle was first established. As a skillful foreign teacher, she says that she would stay in Taiwan and do her best at what she is doing now, because Eagle's idea of English education is what she has been looking for. Jerry Beamer recalls, when she first came to Taiwan, Eagle had only finished their construction, but Eagle had already set high goals. As Eagle's Program Director, she thought Eagle provided plenty of textbooks and resources, which gave her a lot of help in her teaching career. Teaching at Eagle for seven years was a very happy experience for her.
Even though the Chinese staff have the main jobs of liaison for a foreign teacher and as an administrative staff, Eagle still hires administrative staff with high education. Most of them graduated with a degree of foreign languages or from a related educational department. Stephanie Sun proudly expresses that in these seven years, the staff turnover of Eagle Corporation is nearly zero, because the relationship between the teachers and students makes Eagle a big family. A low turnover is also an advantage for the high-quality of Eagle's English classes.
Reproduce Teaching Know-How
— The New Generation of English Education
The issue of English Education has become a topic that a lot of people care about. Recently, the English usage rate has risen in Taiwan's society, the population of foreigners in Taiwan has increased and passing an English proficiency test is a plus for work. All of these explain how important it is to learn English. The government is now more and more concerned about English education. In downtown Taipei the signs of roads and important places all have Chinese and English labeled. The Taipei MRT system also provides an English service. There is now an English version of Taiwan news. The international current is more and more obvious. Eagle understands this social trend, so Eagle follows the drift and constructs an environment that can stimulate learning.
Because Eagle has the reputation of quality, so there are more and more students. Besides providing a good environment for students, Eagle also works with overseas well-known colleges to provide overseas summer camps, short-term overseas studies, and studying abroad opportunities for the students.
Besides the headquarters of the language center and kindergarten at the Hsin-chu Science Park and the Dungda branch school, there are now franchises like Jhubei, Hualien, Zouying District of Koachiung, and Neihu and Jhongshan District of Taipei. They use a systemized and standardized educational program with the teaching know-how. Eagle wants to initiate a new high-quality English learning generation to give Taiwan's children a future with many more international competitive advantages.
 文章取自於卓越國際媒體月刊2006 年3月份，No. 259
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