The Taipei City Government’s Discovery Center is running a course teaching students how to serve as guides at the facility and work as ambassadors for their city.
As part of the five-day course, students are instructed how to use puppets, lead tours outdoors, appreciation films and cultivate their ability to observe and interact with the groups they lead.
According to city officials, the guides introduce Taipei’s various highlights and food through the use of puppets. “This innovative technique appeals to the young and old, while helping visitors understand the depth of changes experienced by Taipei over the years,” they said.
Around 180 tertiary students will participate in the course, which has attracted participants from all over Taiwan.
A veteran guide of seven years said she encourages rookies to improve their speaking skills and develop fluency in Taiwanese and foreign languages. “But even if some of the students might not have the greatest language skills, they can rely on their enthusiasm and gestures to communicate their meaning.”
The guides, who lead groups through the facility, usually do not have any problems carrying out their work smoothly. However, it is inevitable that sometimes there will be mistakes.
“Guides have to pay special attention as to whether the people are laughing at what they are saying,” a city official said. “At this level, mistakes cannot be tolerated.”
The veteran guide revealed that she once told a group of academics that the 508-meter tall Taipei 101 building had 508 floors and was 101 meters tall. “The academics started doing the math and remarked how odd it was that each floor was so small,” she said.
City officials said although visitors respond well to older students working as guides, they plan to experiment with younger children in the role next year.
(This article appeared July 19 in The Liberty Times.)