TAIWAN BY HAND

Nearly 30 language teachers from schools across the Philippines gathered on 30 May for a cultural training workshop that introduced the traditions of Taiwan’s Dragon Boat Festival while highlighting shared values that resonate with Filipino communities.

Organized by the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines under a cultural education initiative supported by Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council, the workshop, titled “Dragon Boat Festival: Tradition Through Hands-On Experience,” combined cultural presentations with a traditional rice dumpling-making session, providing educators with practical ideas for classroom instruction and cultural activities.

Speaking at the event, Culture Center director Eric Po-chih Chuang noted that cultural festivals offer valuable opportunities to connect language learning with history, traditions and everyday life.

“Like many Filipino celebrations that bring families and communities together, Taiwan’s Dragon Boat Festival emphasizes remembrance, gratitude, community spirit and the sharing of food,” Chuang said.

“Through activities such as zongzi-making, students can experience culture in a meaningful and memorable way while developing language skills.”

He encouraged teachers to integrate cultural themes into language instruction and take advantage of the digital resources available through Taiwan’s HuayuWorld platform (https://www.huayuworld.org/), which offers a wide range of teaching materials and multimedia content.

The center also provided supplementary educational resources for participants to use in their classrooms.

The workshop was led by Mei-Chuan Huang, a teacher from Hope Christian High School, who introduced the history, legends and customs associated with the Dragon Boat Festival through videos and interactive discussions.

Participants then took part in a hands-on session learning how to wrap zongzi, the traditional sticky rice dumpling that has become one of the festival’s most recognizable symbols.

Teachers found interesting cultural parallels between zongzi and familiar Filipino rice-based delicacies such as suman and biko, which are likewise associated with family gatherings and community celebrations.

The comparison sparked lively discussions on how food traditions help preserve cultural identity and strengthen social bonds in both Taiwan and the Philippines.

Participants described the workshop as both educational and enjoyable, saying it provided new ideas that could be adapted for classroom activities and school cultural programs.

Many expressed interest in introducing students to Taiwan’s festival traditions through interactive learning experiences that combine language, history, food and culture.