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Dr. Ian Clarke

Dr. Ian Clarke comes from New Zealand.  He studied at the University of Tsukuba, Japan where he received his B.A. in Anthropology and his M.A. in Anthropology & Area Studies, focusing on S.E. Asia, specifically Malaysia.  Clarke received his Ph.D. from in Anthropology from the University of Otago, New Zealand.  He teaches Cross-Cultural Communication, English Composition & Reading Comprehension at Kainan University.  Dr. Clarke has been in Asia over ten years. Three and a half years teaching at Kainan University and 7 years in Japan.

Describing the society in Taiwan the terms Dr. Clarke uses are Energy, Vitality & Dynamism.  He notes that there is always something interesting going on.  Unlike other countries, where new elections can often mean just the same policies rehashed by a different party, in Taiwan Clarke finds that “…you get the sense that something is happening; people can make a difference….”  This he believes is the source of the country’s energy.

Describing the learning environment in Taiwan Dr. Clarke touched on numerous points.  Specifically at Kainan University he noted that here, instead of vast impersonal lecture halls, he has “a lot more personal connection with the teaching here and I really enjoy that with my students.” 

At a macro level he noted Taiwan’s Test Culture - where students study madly just to find a means or method to successfully pass an unceasing hierarchy of entrance exams.  This he decried and pointed out that revision of this practice would require a re-thinking of the society’s concept of what learning means. 

Describing the specific issues many local students find themselves facing Dr. Clarke turned to the topic of learning English.  His goal is to get students to take an active role in learning the language.  Beyond merely learning about English he pushes his students “to try and see, particularly with the language, that it can be used more; to actually practice using it rather than…” seeing it as abstract knowledge.  His methodology –

“…even if they are just watching movies, reading novels - encourage students to do this as much as possible, just so they can see the language is alive and useful to them.  Language in particular you have to practice a lot.  What we can do in a classroom with language is very limited.  We have to show the

students how to learn and they have to do a lot themselves.  So, push them and make them understand that it can be interesting and fun.  See it as a living language, as a useful body of knowledge so they can use it more.”

 

For international students Dr. Clarke described many advantages of studying at Kainan University.  Kainan’s superior International Honors Program offers students the opportunity to combine a business major with learning Chinese, putting overseas students at the frontier of the vast Greater China market and at the nexus of all the established Fortune 500 companies located in Taiwan. 

Further, Dr. Clarke said that international students will find Taiwan to be a very open culture and strongly recommended it to anyone considering attending university overseas.  “Its really easy to get on here.  There are other places you go overseas to study and its hard to connect to the local culture.”  In Taiwan

“people are always trying to make connections with you, so it’s a good place for a foreign student to study.  You can learn practical things: you can learn Chinese; you learn about Taiwan - it’s a fascinating place – but, you can have this sort of cross cultural experience and more so than in many other places because its very different, but at the same time very open very accessible for foreign students here.”