Assistant Professor Kayo Ito of Si Wan College teaches a course on intercultural communication and has recently organized a lecture, “From Iran to Taiwan to the World: Esperanto for intercultural communication”, inviting Reza Kheirkhah, an Iranian teacher living in Pingtung, to introduce the culture of Iran and share his knowledge about Esperanto.

In his lecture, Reza Kheirkhah introduced Iran’s culture, activities, everyday items, musical instruments, and told students how and when do Iranians use them, as well as presented Iran’s festivals and customs for the audience to learn more about this faraway country.

Reza Kheirkhah comes from Iran and lives in Pingtung in southern Taiwan, where he teaches English and Esperanto. For the lecture, Kheirkhah invited a friend who also teaches Esperanto in Pingtung, a city in south Taiwan, to introduce the Esperanto language, its pronunciation and use to the students. Reza Kheirkhah believes that learning Esperanto can help students make friends with people of different cultures and nationalities. He said that there is already an elementary school in Pingtung that set up an Esperanto club, and it even corresponded with international elementary school pupils in Esperanto.

The lecture was very interactive. Teacher Reza stimulated the students with rhetorical questions and welcomed them to ask questions. He encouraged the students to participate by rewarding them with Iranian banknotes and coins. He prepared many items from Iran, as well as Esperanto study materials and manuals for students to see and gain cross-cultural experience.

NSYSU News