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Dr. Jonathan Butler

Dr. Jonathan Butler was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.  He holds a BA in English Literature & Philosophy from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and an M.A. & Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto.

After 5 years of teaching in Canada, Dr. Butler began to consider multiple offers from overseas universities, including Taiwan, Korea and the Middle-East.  Originally having decided to join a classmate from his bachelor’s degree days who was teaching at a Middle-Eastern university, an unexpected delay in the promised position led Butler to re-evaluate campuses in Asia.  As he began to focus on Taiwan he approached the topic with the same scholarly precision as his work—investigating the culture and background of Taiwan. Feeling satisfied with the results, Dr. Butler and his wife told themselves they would give Taiwan “a 1-year try.”

Three years going and today Dr. Butler remains at Kainan University in Taiwan teaching in the Department of Applied English.  Among the many reasons that have led the Butlers to stay on in Taiwan Dr. Butler cites the friendliness of the people and the serene social atmosphere.

Describing teaching to non-native speakers, Dr. Butler outlined his ideas: “In a north American classroom you walk in you lecture for 3 hours and people take notes and you can be certain everyone's absorbed what you've said—at least on one level.  Here, because it's a language you are teaching as well as a subject, you need to constantly be checking…to know if what you're saying is getting through.  So, there's a little more work to do when you're actually in the teaching classroom in terms of monitoring the students and how much they’re absorbing.  When you're teaching in your native culture you can assume transparency of communication—that everything you say will at least be understood in terms of the language…”

Considering differences in classroom culture, Butler notes that while North American students are quick to volunteer an answer to an question posed to the class at large, among Taiwanese students, few are “interested in being the first to put up their hand to answer a question…so the simple solution is to target individuals, to just start picking people at random….In terms of being a professor, it's a simple technical adjustment in my teaching strategy that has worked out as well as I had hoped.…”

Aside from strictly academic issues for local students, Dr. Butler has found that, after the mechanics of the English language itself, his other mission is to help increase students’ confidence to speak in front of a group. For international students, he counsels steady work in their new environment and encourages students to look and listen.  “Then, be patient.  Learn from the people with whom you share your life here.”

Regarding Kainan University: “In terms of dealing with fellow colleagues here—it’s been nothing short of an absolute pleasure…I mean people are very friendly and helpful and if you have questions they are willing to take time to answer them.  It has been relatively easy to adjust to both the collegial life here as well as the workload.”

As for Taiwan itself, Dr. Butler enjoys the varied geography the island has to offer, coining the term “ the beautiful dangers of the island.”  He has played golf in the mountains of Miaoli and considers the vistas he viewed there to be among the most beautiful he has seen in his travels around the globe. He has also been to the mountains near the east cost city of Taitung, waking up with the sun to see it rise out of the ocean spanning the horizon behind Green Island, the sunlight shimmering on the sea and seeming close enough to touch.

Among the other attractive aspects for Dr. Butler is the proximity of all points in Taiwan to the ocean.  It means more beautiful dangers: driving to Kenting, where he has surfed on Jialeshui beach 佳樂水 —the steady waves and the friendly surfers riding them making it a perfect time, the best place in the world he has surfed so far—better than Waikiki!

Dr. Butler and his wife have found that Taiwanese people invite you into their lives—taking time with overseas folks.  Meeting people socially they have found themselves welcome guests to a panoply of social events and gatherings at private homes. Staying each year in Taiwan for 10 months and then returning to Canada during the summer where he reconnects with family and makes great use of the research libraries in Toronto, Dr. Butler has found a long-term working-home in Taiwan and at Kainan University.