TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung Municipal Heti Primary School on Wednesday ran a campuswide program that combined English learning with social-emotional learning to help students build interpersonal skills.

CNA reported the program used checkpoint games, role-playing, and group tasks to help students recognize emotions and express feelings in English. The school said activities were tailored by grade to match students’ needs and keep them engaged.

Kaohsiung Education Bureau Director-General Wu Li-sen (吳立森) said education should go beyond test scores and help students handle change and daily challenges. He said social-emotional learning is a foundation for well-rounded growth and future skills.

UDN and Liberty Times reported the school said pairing social-emotional learning with English helped students speak up in a safe setting and better understand themselves and others. It added that the approach also boosted interest in learning English through real-life use.

The education bureau said it is promoting social-emotional learning programs across city schools and has designated the school as a local hub for the effort. It added it will fund in-service training with universities during winter break to help principals and teachers expand social-emotional learning classes.