I have a friend who has a two year college diploma and he wants to work in taiwan. Is there any way he can get a work permit with a two year diploma plus tefl certification?
In a nutshell yes. (Sorry I don’t know the exact details, but it has to be an acredited college, and an acredited TESOL type qualification.
Brian
Thanks, and do you think an accredited TEFL certification would be possible instead of TESOL?
I think so. It just has to be a real course. I’m not even sure that the MOE have clear regs on this. It might just be a case of try and see. The best info I could find out, when I tried to find out was 2-years plus TEFL/TESOL/CELTA etc
Brian
Thanks Brian!
I’ll give my friend to OK to take the accredited TEFL course. BTW Do you think the TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certifications are handy?
Hey man, to my knowledge you have to have 3 year accredited College Diploma plus a TEFL from aaccredited College. Last year, when we went to get our papers checked by the MOE they were very carefull to make sure our diplomas were for 3 years! MAKE SURE THAT THE COLLEGE DIPLOMA AND THE TEFL CERTIFICATE ARE BOTH FROM ACCREDITED SCHOOLS. The MOE will check, they did for us.
I’d always heard a university degree (BA, BS) was required… in the US, that is usually four years. I haven’t heard that two-year college degrees (AA, for example) are eligible or that having TEFL or TESOL makes a difference in regard to visa application as long a school was willing to sponsor you and you had a uni degree. I have heard of folks who managed to get around the uni qualification one way or another but I can’t confirm exactly how they did it. I don’t know if there are standard qualifications for non-uni applicants. If someone’s got a current, definitive answer, please let us know.
4 year degree without TESOL (although three year seems to work), 2 year diploma with TESOL.
Brian
Hello everyone, I have been doing some research on various job opportunities within Taiwan for teaching English. Through this research I have done, I have mostly found schools which require BA degrees. However, I came across the HESS website and discovered that they had a minimum requirement of an AA and TEFL certification. Since I would truly prefer not to spend another two years in school because I believe it would not help any more than studying on my own, I was wondering if teaching with only an AA and TEFL certification is a viable option? Are there many other teaching organizations that allow this as the minimum requirement? And I only want to work legitimately, so any under the table employment situation is out of the question for me. Thank you in advance 
If this is the minimum requirement for a big employer then I would guess it’s a viable option. They wouldn’t be advertising it if they couldn’t hire you, would they?
Hess is the biggest and best-known chain school on the island. They don’t do under-the-table, and they’re pretty good to work for. I was at their head office yesterday, for the first time in two years, and they seem like a good crowd still.
Doing another two years at college won’t make you any more employable or get you any more money. If you want to come and they’ll take you then send your application right away.
OK. Let me be the one to ask the stupid question. What’s an AA?
I am actually in the process of getting my AA (Associate’s Degree for the above poster), and I will graduate by fall. After that I will spend some time in Denver to get the Cambridge CELTA certificate. I’m specifically looking for a job in, or close to Taipei because I have a friend who will help me with living arrangements and all that good stuff. Since HESS has so many locations, are they generally open to people asking to be located in a certain area?
oh, and are there any other schools asides from HESS that carry the same minimum requirement? I dont want to have to soley depend on this one school.
Yes, and Hess isn’t the only game in town. But they’re definitely a good one to start with.
If you know exactly where you want to go you can tell the Hess recruiter ahead of time and they can most likely hook you up. They do try to accomodate you in your placement.
Awesome, thanks for the help .
I posted this question in another thread but seems this one might not be bad either. What if iam just taking some time off before my last semester of school. Iam not getting an AA or anything like that, just a break from school. Would i be able to get work legally with a TEFL certificate and my education, or would i have to go another route such as studying chinese here and teach on the side?
I heard that the gov. will grant work visa to English teachers with 2 year (Associate’s Degrees) if that degree is in an ESL teaching-related area. For example, graduates of a 2 yr early childhood ed. program in Toronto (the become a daycare centre worker diploma) can get a work visa for Taiwan. This was announced in 2001.// Now that there are no more foreign kindergarten teachers allowed, maybe things have changed.
Well, it seems that one could obtain a work permit with any AA and a TEFL. Maybe I am a little off, but that is what I am understanding.
Not in Taiwan. Mainland China will welcome you, though.
Thank you for answering my question. It seems kind of silly that iam less than a semester away and it isnt good enough, but someone who went for two years and get the piece of paper is acceptable.
I am currently finishing up my TEFL certificate course and I am wondering, once again, what the legal situation of teaching with a TEFL + AA (Associate’s/2 year Degree) is. I have asked this once before and was told that it is infact legal to teach under these circumstances. Since then, however, I have heard many contradicting reports. Could anyone give me an update. I would hate to be forced to take another 2+ years out of my life just so I can teach English.