i’ve been reading a lot of micheal turton’s (i think thats his name) website, and he mentions getting business cards made. from what he says, i’m guessing that its a great way to get your name out, but i can’t imagine that its worth much if all you can put on there is an email address. is this something that most people do once they have a place to live and a phone number?
and speaking of phone numbers, are cell phones reliable and popular in taiwan, and do they cost less than land lines?
Email address and cell phone number on the card are a must, as well as a Chinese name if possible. It’s probably not going to be a huge amount of use if you’re teaching full-time at a school. However, if you go to a lot of different social events, it’ll come in handy.
Cell phones are extremely reliable in Taiwan. Per minute, they’re more expensive than land lines but getting a land line can sometimes be a real hassle.
so, would you suggest waiting until i get to taiwan and have a cell phone before having the cards made? and, i’ll need a mailing address if i’m going to get a cell phone. and if i start renting from an apartment that sort of limits me in terms of where i can work.
i think i was planning the following steps:
but, it seems like you’re suggesting that i do this instead:
Chances are you will be “interviewing” for jobs within 48 hours of arrival. If you are presentable, articulate, and have an outgoing personality, you’ll find that there is always plenty of work.
The business card is more of a social tool, and a resource to use when trying to line up private students. People often put things like “English Consultant” on their cards, but I’d be tempted to keep it simple if I were you. Getting cards printed up is cheap and fast in Taiwan. It’s not a big deal at all to get more done up as your circumstances evolve.
Keep in mind that it is technically illegal to work for anyone (including yourself as a private teacher) but the company who sponsors your work permit/residence visa, and chances are they won’t be motivated to set you up with a school sponsored business card until you have a position of responsibility in their system, like Teacher-Trainer, or Acadmeic Director (these positions usually require years of experience/seniority).
So, your business card will be all about your freelance work. You will be surprised how many of your Taiwanese friends and students will seek you out as a private teacher or introduce you to people. The question then becomes, how much private teaching can you handle (I always found it to be VERY tedious), and can you fit the privates into your legal work schedule in such a way that you aren’t spending half of your day rushing all over town.
Two pieces of advice, if you will allow me:
The Formosa Hostel is generally regarded as the best hostel to use in Taipei, but a lot will depend on who is in residence when you move in. My advice is to get yourself out of the hostel and into an apartment as soon as possible. Hostel life can lead to lots of partying, which can be fun, but if you are keen to really set yourself up for some serious work, and a tennable long-term existence in Taiwan, an apartment is the way to go.
If you have limited, or no teaching experience - be honest with yourself, and admit that you need help. Help in the way of good teacher trainning, teachable syllabi, abundant supplemental material, and a cooperative culture in the teacher’s room. I guess what I’m trying to say is, do yourself a favor and contract with a big, reputible school to start out (say one or two years), so that you can learn how to be an effective teacher - even if you know full well that the pay that they offer is somewhat less than what’s on offer from a fly-by-night setup. There’s nothing worse than being a poser, who is only selling their native language skills, and hasn’t a clue how to manage a classroom, and really doesn’t understand their own language, espcially from a ESL students point of view. Trust me, there is quite a lot to learn at the begining and it pays to learn it from people who are professionals (and get paid as you go).
I don’t know that much about the kids market, but there are several well organised schools that would be good places to start. Several people who regularly post here are kids specialists so I think, if you asked, you’d probably get some up to date advice about the best kid schools to work for.
Personally, I wouldn’t go the kiddie route if I were you. I respect the work that good kids teachers do, but to me, being at the whim of a bunch of 8 year olds and their Mom’s is kind of degrading for a grown up. (No offense to kids teachers).
If you want to teach adults, and want to get a start with a company that has an excellent teacher trainning system, and tremendous resources, I suggest KoJen English (formerly ELSI, Taiwan). I have serious issues with the management of the chain, but I have to admit for a greenhorn teacher they offer an excellent place to start out. Pay is middle of the spectrum. Use them. Learn the ropes, copy their files, build up your own collection of winner teaching materials, and then in a year or at absolute most two, look into options that are available to you now that you have become a seasoned teacher. http://www.kojenenglish.com/
KoJen is certainly not the only option, so you’ll want to ask around. The key point being finding a reputable school with a solid infrastructure set up for helping native speakers become effective English teachers.
Good luck in Taiwan
See this old thread for some more on teaching privates:
[forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … t=privates](How can I get privates? (students, that is!)
Get your cellphone first. Buy a prepaid package. Then you’ve got the number for people contacting you about jobs.
brian
thanks for the advice, mwalimu. how do i find the forumosa hostel? also, would you suggest applying to ELSI before or after i arrive in taiwan?
brian: can i get a cell phone while i’m living in the hostel?
Monoxide,
I’m a bit out-of-touch with the present reality at KoJen, but based on my long experience with them I’d say that applying after you arrive in Taiwan is the way to go. The reason being is that if you apply from abroad they will offer you a one year contract - which basically obliges you to work any schedule that they arrange for you; kids, adults, ESP classes, high-schools. This might not be a terrible thing in itself because it will give you some exposure to a variety of teaching situations, but they tend to assign lots of kiddie hours (they have a very large, very profitable kids division).
KoJen yearly contracts, which they offer to teachers who they recruit from abroad, work out to be less money per teaching hour than option B, which I’ll describe below…
Option B, your best bet, would be to apply in person at a couple of the bigger Taipei branches. If you do this you will be interviewing with one of the Academic Directors, not the head-office. The A.D.'s will almost certainly be fellow foreigners, and ex-teachers who have risen through the ranks of the compnay. Most of them aren’t dicks so they will play it straight with you, as opposed to the head-office who just love to take advantage of their contract teachers. The A.D. will offer you a local contract, which comes with a starting hourly wage, and a commitment to teach no less than 20/hours a week (if they have that many hours to give to you). It’s more flexible.
The big schools that I would recommend are:
School # 5 (kojenenglish.com/About/Locat … /tpe5.html)
I learned the ropes here, was a teacher trainer, and the academic director, so I’m partial to this one. They have less kids, so more of a chance to focus on adult teaching
School #3
(kojenenglish.com/About/Locat … /tpe3.html)
The branch with the largest number of students, which means lots of teachers, and potentially, lots of hours.
School #2, and School #6 are also not bad, but #6 is way uptown, but the A.D. there, Terry (if she’s still with the company) is the must sincere person you’ll meet.
Good luck, and don’t forget to ask around about other good adult schools after you arrive.
Pre-paid. You buy a phone or bring one with you. Then you go to the 7-11, buy a Sim-card package (‘OK’, probably best), ask the clerk to show you how to start it and maybe even set the account to English for you. And you’re away. No address or anything needed.
Brian
brilliant. thanks a ton for this advice guys.
What’s the price range? Graphics, etc?
I paid #300 a box and had to buy 3 boxes for a set that wasn’t too bad!
What about double sided ones?
Kenneth
Ok, i would love to go straight to the Forumosa Hostel when i get off the plane at 9pm, but i have no idea how i would even go about finding it. Can someone give me a clue? maybe i should book a couple nights in a cheap hotel so i can have a couple nights of peaceful rest before i begin my job hunt.
I paid 100 for a box of 100 black and white business cards. The same shop wants 250 for a box of black and white double sided business cards.
Hey there Monoxide,
Looks like you are about to Fly. Great. You must be excited.
The address and phone number of the Formosa Hostel is:
Formosa Hostel I
Lane 20, 16 Chung Shan North Road
Section 2, 3rd Floor
Taipei, Taiwan
([color=red]02) 2562-2035[/color]
Formosa Hostel II
Lane 62, 5 Chung Shan North Road
Section 2, 2nd Floor
Taipei, Taiwan
(02) 2511-6744
The person to ask for is Lin Tai Tai (Mrs. Lin – “Tai Tai” = Mrs)
I prefer Formosa I, to Formosa II, but as I mentioned in an earlier post it depends on who the hostel mates are at any given time, and most importantly where the free bed is.
Can you confirm when you are coming to Taiwan? Maybe one of your fellow formousans who live in Taipei could ring Lin Tai Tai for you, and let her know that you are coming, and to save a bed for you?
When you arrive at the airport look for the buses to downtown, I think the ticket windows should be to your left as you come out of Immigration and customs… You want to go to the western part of the city, not the Eastern side. You could ask for a bus that can let you off at or near the Taipei Train Station. It’s a short and cheap taxi ride from there to the Formosa Hostel.
If you are really feeling like a private hotel room, there are a number of cheap hotels in the vicinity of the Train Station.
Any of you guys free to give Monoxide a hand? Help him hook up with the Formosa? Can someone write the hostel’s address in Chinese and post it as an image that Monoxide could print out to show to a cabbie?
Hey there Monoxide,
Looks like you are about to Fly. Great. You must be excited.
The address and phone number of the Formosa Hostel is:
Formosa Hostel I
Lane 20, 16 Chung Shan North Road
Section 2, 3rd Floor
Taipei, Taiwan
([color=red]02) 2562-2035[/color]
Formosa Hostel II
Lane 62, 5 Chung Shan North Road
Section 2, 2nd Floor
Taipei, Taiwan
(02) 2511-6744
The person to ask for is Lin Tai Tai (Mrs. Lin – “Tai Tai” = Mrs)
I prefer Formosa I, to Formosa II, but as I mentioned in an earlier post it depends on who the hostel mates are at any given time, and most importantly where the free bed is.
Can you confirm when you are coming to Taiwan? Maybe one of your fellow formousans who live in Taipei could ring Lin Tai Tai for you, and let her know that you are coming, and to save a bed for you?
When you arrive at the airport look for the buses to downtown, I think the ticket windows should be to your left as you come out of Immigration and customs… You want to go to the western part of the city, not the Eastern side. You could ask for a bus that can let you off at or near the Taipei Train Station. It’s a short and cheap taxi ride from there to the Formosa Hostel.
If you are really feeling like a private hotel room, there are a number of cheap hotels in the vicinity of the Train Station.
Any of you guys free to give Monoxide a hand? Help him hook up with the Formosa? Can someone write the hostel’s address in Chinese and post it as an image that Monoxide could print out to show to a cabbie?
yes. i’ve got a ticket for the 16th of august. i’m giving myself 2 months to find a job, and if i haven’t found something, i’ll consider myself a lost cause and take my return flight.
So, you’ll be arriving in Taiwan on the 17th in the morning? Is that right?
Trust me, you’ll have no trouble finding work. As I mentioned earlier, the key is to commit to the best job possible, and that doesn’t always mean the one that pays the best.
Looks like you are going with some savings to tide you over. Great. If that’s the case, you can afford to be choosey about the jobs you take. As you know, I’m a big advocate of specialzing in Adults - and unlike a lot of teachers who work under-the-table or who make their living at little private kiddie school, I also favor commiting, for a year, to a big reuputable chain school, in order to take advantage of their trainning resources. I suggested KoJen, but with your money buffer - you should shop around. Not being desperate for money or work, puts you in a nice position.
Let’s see if anyone volunteers to help you with the Formosa Hostel.
Sorry for the double posting.
Mesheel or Ken, I know it may be a bit off-topic, but can you post the contact info or address of the companies you used to get your business cards made.
Thanks.
[quote]You could ask for a bus that can let you off at or near the Taipei Train Station. It’s a short and cheap taxi ride from there to the Formosa Hostel.
[/quote]
Just be aware that the only crooked cabbies in Taipei are the ones that lurk by that bus stop. It seems stupid, but I suggest walking to the main road ahead fo you and getting a taxi there (one that is moving, not one that is waiting there).
Also if you get a taxi you’re going to have the problem of telling the cabbie where to go if you don’t speak Chinese. The best thing to do would be search online for the address of your hotel in Chinese, print it, and show it to the cabbie.
Brian
[quote=“Bu Lai En”][quote]You could ask for a bus that can let you off at or near the Taipei Train Station. It’s a short and cheap taxi ride from there to the Formosa Hostel.
[/quote]
Just be aware that the only crooked cabbies in Taipei are the ones that lurk by that bus stop. It seems stupid, but I suggest walking to the main road ahead fo you and getting a taxi there (one that is moving, not one that is waiting there).
Also if you get a taxi you’re going to have the problem of telling the cabbie where to go if you don’t speak Chinese. The best thing to do would be search online for the address of your hotel in Chinese, print it, and show it to the cabbie.
Brian[/quote]
That’s a good point about the cabbies that wait around that bus stop, Bri. If you don’t have too much gear, Monoxide, you may want to take that advice.
actually, the flight is scheduled to arrive around 9pm on the 17th. i do have a bit of savings to tide me over. i really hope that i can keep my living expenses down enough that i don’t drain it in 1 month…
anyway, i will definately be looking for a place that can give me some training. i was thinking that the best way to look for openings is to look in the english papers that i’ve heard of, and maybe just apply to some of the bigger chains like KoJen. is there an english phone book i could get a hold of that might have a huge listing?
oh, and my name is matt… lol its so weird to be referred to as ‘monoxide’…