How does one find a university teaching position in Taiwan?

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
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From my personal experience …

The MA process and university teaching experience helped me as I transitioned back home. No questions regarding my degree, AFAIK.

I’ve posted about completing an MA in Taiwan. Scott’s posts on his PhD pursuit are likely more useful to you, in your position. I would encourage you to find a competent adviser - I had trouble with “highly competent” people agreeing to take me on, and then not returning phone calls or emails (I was advised to find them again and basically hound them into following though on the deal - found a better option soon after).

Teaching with an MA is still possible - I know that a few schools are looking for new blood rather consistently, which is a sign in itself. Overall, you wind up with significantly more responsibility as compared to bushiban teaching for less money. That said, you do get 3 months off per year, and are paid a 1.5 month bonus (in your second year).

The teaching itself varies - I have a business background, so my 1st/2nd year classes were full of commerce students, which was good as at least some of them realized the benefits that could be attained by competence in English speaking/writing. Colleagues with science/engineering students spoke often of trying to get blood from a stone. With only an MA, you are extremely unlikely to get any student who actually want to study English as a major - those classes generally go to the local PhD instructors, whether or not they can communicate in English at all (some are great, others would make you shudder). That’s just the way it is.

Where I taught, I had the freedom to give the grades I wanted - students who did nothing failed. When they complained to the university, I sometimes had to deal with it, but I was never forced to change a grade. (I applied at other universities that subsequently told me I would not be able to fail students under any circumstances - a non-starter from my position.) In the end, I was getting pretty good students in my classes, as I had formed a reputation for holding interesting classes, for being consistent, and for being fair - do what I ask and receive the grade you earned.

A PhD can open doors for you - even starting a PhD program, as Turton mentions. I was offered a much better position at more than one university if I was willing to start a PhD program. Be wary of any university that states they can offer Associate professorships without the PhD (or starting the program) - I have a friend who got screwed that way. He’s now working on his PhD though.

Hope there is something useful for you.

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Thanks very much for that xtrain, I appreciate it. Your balanced perspective is most informative. I have found also Scott Summer’s blog entries on his PhD experiences here and here very useful.

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I’m still mulling over your last pm. Will give you my opinion sometime this weekend.

Nice to see some more interesting posts on the subject.

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Thanks bismarck, much appreciated.

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Fortigun,

Did you ever get your distance master’s degree recognized in Taiwan for a university teaching job?

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Many years ago I read Turton’s blog and it stalled me from looking for a varsity gig - it sounded as if universities were as susceptible to all the same evils of politics as those found at buxibans. Two years ago, I saw an ad for part-time and full-time positions at a Taipei uni and and went to be interviewed on a whim (I had quit my previous coordinating job just as soon as my bonus and APRC had come through). Thank god for following through on that whim.

I feel really lucky at the varsity I am at. I do suspect (okay - I know) that conditions elsewhere might not be as pleasant, but where I am, I have the benefits (the bonus, those extended paid vacation periods), and - more importantly - a great working environment. I am in the Language Center and not the English (Lit.) Dept., and so most of my classes are for Freshmen Conversation (compulsory for all students), but I have been given free reign over some Intermediate and Advanced classes (elective) and there I have the most fun, although there I also put in the most work. Sometimes (for example, on a rainy day when everyone arrives late, and after students have been worn down by their cheer-leading practice, and have also just finished midterms) I want to freak out about apathy and what the Taiwanese education system has done to my students. At other times, we have a hell of a lot of fun and student feedback buoys me up.

It’s usually all good and sometimes awesome. I spent eight years in Taiwan before this job and I did start to expect the worst from people. After landing the job, I was shocked to find the people there both competent and caring. I do see some teachers who (we have four full-time and about ten part-timers) are only going through the motions, but all follow the center’s system and put in the work; myself: I am still into it and doing all that I can to get students practicing conversations and enjoying the class. The syllabus is provided: we democratically choose a new four skills book every two years, then making and carefully editing our final listening test. Students are streamed into lower and higher levels via a placement test which helps one know which classes need more stimulation and which need more help. Attendance is painstakingly recorded (this might be a bit draconian, but this is - after all - the Taiwanese system). Instructors are given freedom as to how to present material, but there are numerous guidelines and checks to ensure students aren’t short changed. For example, it’s just a university thing that all students must rate teachers Likert-scalewise on a number of factors, and we get feedback from students in this way as well as getting written feedback from them. You’ll have problems if scores are too low.

Our center also hosts a number of events (speech contest, skit contest, etc.) a year and it’s always gratifying to see students present playlets or impromptu speeches in languages not their own.

Geez, I started out just wanting to say that not all varsity teaching gigs are bad, but now I’m thinking that I need to go in and weep at the feet of my boss on Monday. I did get lucky. Teachers stick it out for quite a while at my school and I understand why. I’ve voluntarily taken on too many classes at the moment, but will cut back when if I do my doctorate in the future.

So: how to get a decent university position - competence and experience of course, but also pure godless, goddamn luck.

Check the newspapers (I got mine through a Taipei Times ad), and put yourself out there. Don’t waste your time praying, but hope for the best. I feel lucky and won’t let go of this position any time in the future. In a way, I know I deserve it (experience, MA, attitude, etc.), but it is very much (as are all things in life) also about just being in the right place at the right time.

It’s largely luck, but the people who have tried harder in one way or another are more likely to be lucky. So keep trying. Each university is different. And there are some universities in Taiwan where one can be happy.

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That’s a good description, Thread Killer.

I’m curious if Fortigurn every got that distance master’s degree approved for a university teaching position in Taiwan.

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[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]Fortigun,

Did you ever get your distance master’s degree recognized in Taiwan for a university teaching job?[/quote]

I haven’t tried to yet. But given that I started it in Australia and carried out much of the work on campus as a full time student, I may have a good chance.

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Thanks. Yes, Please post your results here when (If) you do it. I’m also curious about this aspect about distance master degrees being accepted in Taiwan.

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It would be utterly idiotic if they weren’t. I studied my Masters degree full time and part time in Australia before moving to Taiwan and completing it by distance learning. It’s not as if it’s from a backwater bush college either, it’s from Monash, one of the Group of Eight.

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It would be utterly idiotic if they weren’t. I studied my Masters degree full time and part time in Australia before moving to Taiwan and completing it by distance learning. It’s not as if it’s from a backwater bush college either, it’s from Monash, one of the Group of Eight.[/quote]
I’d love to know what the MoE’s actual beef is with distance education. I can understand there are some dodgy institutions out there, but surely it wouldn’t be that hard to have an acceptable list of distance institutions? Several institutions that offer distance education are internationally recognised and have academics on their staff that would put NTU to shame. And as a person who has used this method before, I can attest that distance learning takes a lot more discipline and resolve than spending two years drinking and carousing full time to get an MA.

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With regards to distance learning, I’ll ask more questions when I go in on Monday.

But I will say that the latest full-time instructor who has been tentatively signed on for the language center at our uni got his MA distance-wise. He worked for our center for a year and he’s a damn good guy, so I asked our assistants about the chance of his processing being messed up because he studied distance. They told me that if you are Taiwanese, MOE gets picky by checking dates in passports to see if you actually studied elsewhere, but that that wasn’t the case with foreigners.

I know that our center chooses people based on the interview process and that the interviewee’s charisma and skills are most important (our laoban seems more concerned with quality). Provided someone has an MA, they have a chance. The administration building still picks on our center for hiring people with only MAs and without PhD.s, though.

To reply to concerns about the need to be married or to have appropriate status - at present, our department has 4 full-timers: me with an MA and APRC (might never be married), a married guy with his PhD (making him an assistant professor), an unmarried guy who was trying for his PHD at Tamkang but just gave that idea up (he has an ARC through the university), and a married guy with an MA. Our fifth guy in the next semester will hopefully be the guy with the distance-learning MA (who’ll be granted a teaching certificate and ARC through the school). We have a number of part-time teachers who need a first-sponsor ARC (not sure of the correct term?) outside of the school, before they are signed on. I’ve seen my school be particularly helpful when some of these part-time teachers ran into some trouble though (assisting by calling government offices, etc.). Our department fully expects everyone to need an ARC and will happily apply for them if need.

There are unchangeable rules (you need an MA), but I feel that the rest is made up by each department of each university. It seems that you can get in with a distance learning certificate if they want you. In the case of the newest recruit to our department, he has worked for us for a year already in a part-time position and is just one of those people that (I’m jealous) will be instantly loved by all. He’s fun, dedicated to the job and much more intelligent than other people who have suffered the same extent of sleep deprivation that he has (although I’ll fight with him about his religious convictions when we share an office next year, no doubt).

So, a.) distance learning might be okay, and b.) try and get a part-time gig as my soon-to-be colleague did. Get to know universities. You often don’t need an MA to work part-time at the universities.

Every university is different and I’ve heard horrible things about some of the more established ones from some of my part-time colleagues (re the schools not applying for ARCs, etc.). But I have friends who are happy in their positions and have heard (mail-wise) from people who are happy in their spots. It can be done. And it can be good.

Sometimes luck. Sometimes perseverance. Sometimes both.

So it can be done.

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[quote=“ThreadKiller”]With regards to distance learning, I’ll ask more questions when I go in on Monday.

But I will say that the latest full-time instructor who has been tentatively signed on for the language center at our uni got his MA distance-wise. He worked for our center for a year and he’s a damn good guy, so I asked our assistants about the chance of his processing being messed up because he studied distance. They told me that if you are Taiwanese, MOE gets picky by checking dates in passports to see if you actually studied elsewhere, but that that wasn’t the case with foreigners.[/quote]

Threadkiller,

Thank you for the information you have posted. I find this interesting since when I was looking into doing a distance degree a few years ago, I was told by several schools that I could not use a master’s degree obtained by distance study. The Department Assistants and Professors I spoke to about this stated the MoE, whom they would have to apply to on my behalf to obtain a teaching certificate, is unequivocal in their stance towards distance study.

Could it be that this new teacher at your school is a “Project Based” teacher and not a bona fide MoE stipulated faculty level instructor?

NTU, for example, about 5 years ago, started hiring such teachers as special “Project Instructors” for EFL teaching positions in their Department of Foreign Languages and Literature. I have also been told that a few other universities in recent years like Ming Chuan University, Chinese Culture University, and Yuan Ze University recently hire people under these contracts.

These special “Project Instructor” positions are not “tenure-like” and continue subject to funding. That means, if the money runs out, you lose your job at the end of the 1-year contract.

I’m just wondering if this new 5th guy you reported at your school might have been hired under a “Project Instructor” titled contract. Also, do you know if he will be issued a Certificate of Lectureship for this position?

Here is a link that lists the “Project Instructors” in the NTU Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures Website:

Link: Project English Teachers

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Shimokitazawa,

I wouldn’t have posted the previous if his position wasn’t going to be that of a full-time bona fide instructor. We have numerous part-time teachers, but anybody who gets in full-time needs to receive a teaching certificate. Of course things will be processed in the correct way and we will have to wait to see if it is all processed and accepted by MOE, but our seasoned assistant has made the calls and checked things out and I trust her judgment. If she says it can be done, it probably will be done.

He will most likely end up being a bona fide instructor at a bona fide university. And will get all the perks (paid vacations, bonus, etc.) that the rest of us do.

I suspect that distance learning is frowned upon (perhaps unfairly) but that there are ways around it for foreigners if a department really wants (which they probably usually don’t). It will be hard to find a full-time position with a distance learning degree, but I’m happy my colleague has.

Our university is respected but not one of the two or three biggest. Our boss is really dedicated to improving English ability. Maybe for us, it’s easier to be more concerned about quality of teacher than about insisting on PhDs or non-distance certification.

We have no “Project Instructors” - just either full-time or part-time teachers. I’m pretty alert and I think I would have been able to tell the difference between a new employee being chosen as a fully-fledged instructor or as something else.

I’ll let you know what develops.

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Thanks for your reply and information on this.

I’m curious and would like to know more about it and if things are changing in Taiwan with regards to distance master’s degrees (I made my inquiries about using a distance master’s to get a university EFL teaching severals years back).

When I made my inquiries with a few Department Assistants / Professors in universities in the Taipei area to see if they would hire me with a master’s degree obtained through distance study, I was told that they would not hire me with that kind of degree. They all gave the same reason - MoE does not recognize such degrees.

I would believe what you wrote above that, if the university wants to hire someone badly enough, they will find a way to hire the person.

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[quote=“Fortigurn”]It would be utterly idiotic if they weren’t. I studied my Masters degree full time and part time in Australia before moving to Taiwan and completing it by distance learning.

It’s not as if it’s from a backwater bush college either, it’s from Monash, one of the Group of Eight.[/quote]

Forigurn, I re-read your post here and started wondering about something you wrote. You mention that you studied full time and part-time in Australia.

Were you studying by distance education in Australia or on campus?

If on campus, how many semesters were you on campus for? Will the Taiwan MoE accept master’s degrees that were obtained by a combination of both distance and on-campus format?

I’ve not considered doing it this way before. It would be a lot cheaper and more convenient to not have to do the entire degree there if possible.

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From what I understand, you need to have spent at least one year on campus for it to be accepted. I believe that’s what Fortigurn had done, so he’s all good AFAIK. I could be wrong, though…

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[quote=“bismarck”]
From what I understand, you need to have spent at least one year on campus for it to be accepted. I believe that’s what Fortigurn had done, so he’s all good AFAIK. I could be wrong, though…[/quote]

I looked into this before going to do my Masters, and I don’t have the link, but I definitely read on the MOE website that you need to spend at least 9 months on campus. That was in 2005 or 2006, so I don’t know if it still holds true.

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[quote=“Indiana”][quote=“bismarck”]
From what I understand, you need to have spent at least one year on campus for it to be accepted. I believe that’s what Fortigurn had done, so he’s all good AFAIK. I could be wrong, though…[/quote]

I looked into this before going to do my Masters, and I don’t have the link, but I definitely read on the MOE website that you need to spend at least 9 months on campus. That was in 2005 or 2006, so I don’t know if it still holds true.[/quote]
That’s what I understood to be the rule. As I also know a few people who did a one year MA TESOL and teach at local unis. Would make sense. Doing a one year MA or spending a year on site as part of two or three years. Same-same? :idunno:

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[quote=“Shimokitazawa”][quote=“Fortigurn”]It would be utterly idiotic if they weren’t. I studied my Masters degree full time and part time in Australia before moving to Taiwan and completing it by distance learning.

It’s not as if it’s from a backwater bush college either, it’s from Monash, one of the Group of Eight.[/quote]

Forigurn, I re-read your post here and started wondering about something you wrote. You mention that you studied full time and part-time in Australia.[/quote]

Yes.

On campus.

That’s exactly what I want to know. I was on campus for around a year and a half.