I need your Taiwan success stories

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
#1

Hi guys.

I need your success stories for an article I’m writing about ESL as a short-term career option for liberal arts majors. You don’t have to be a liberal arts major to contribute.

I want to publish this article in the Virginia Tech liberal arts alumni newsletter, so the tone should be positive. I’m particularly interested in people who successfully moved up from ESL after a few years to become newspaper editors, school managers, small business owners, university faculty, freelance translators, and so forth. I want to know how ESL helped you get a leg up.

If you have a positive experience to share, please post it here.

Thanks,

Spam

#2

[quote=“beautifulspam”]Hi guys.

I need your success stories for an article I’m writing about ESL as a short-term career option for liberal arts majors. You don’t have to be a liberal arts major to contribute.

I want to publish this article in the Virginia Tech liberal arts alumni newsletter, so the tone should be positive. I’m particularly interested in people who successfully moved up from ESL after a few years to become newspaper editors, school managers, small business owners, university faculty, freelance translators, and so forth. I want to know how ESL helped you get a leg up.

If you have a positive experience to share, please post it here.

Thanks,

Spam[/quote]

Will there be the other side about Asians having lower quality unqualified teachers than learners in the west, or will it just be from the furriner teacher side?

#3

I want to tell the story from the foreigner teacher side. It’s a biased angle I know, but I’m trying to get published in a certain magazine and I have to write to my audience.

#4

Damned, this is all about boring English teaching again. Otherwise I would have written about my front tooth which doesn’t fall out anymore since my Malaysian dentist in NeiHu fixed it.

#5

yeah, and define success I mean is it all about a better career, can’t it be spiritual, or involve the happiness of your loved ones? :roflmao:

#6

TEFL is a dead end job 99.9% of the time, and most EFL teachers treat it as such. It is not a career or even a stepping stone for most people; it is simply a way to live abroad and experience a new culture and see new places.

The only success stories you’ll find are the ones who actually stuck with the plan and got out after a few years.

#7

[quote] Reply with quote
TEFL is a dead end job 99.9% of the time, and most EFL teachers treat it as such. It is not a career or even a stepping stone for most people; it is simply a way to live abroad and experience a new culture and see new places.

The only success stories you’ll find are the ones who actually stuck with the plan and got out after a few years.[/quote]

That’s what I did, and I’m doing just fine now.

But I want to hear from the .1 percent. I could write about failure, but nobody wants to hear about that.

For instance, I know that on this board we have at least one college professor, a professional translator, and one or two editors. I also know some former teachers who became school managers and buxiban owners, and in Taipei I worked for a guy who owned his own translation company. Those are the kind of people I’d like to hear from.

Please, after 5 years of reading this board I know every negative and sarcastic comment anyone is likely to make. Post if you have something to contribute. Otherwise…don’t :slight_smile:

#8

My success story, came here, love it, love teaching here, love to teach the kiddies, BUT NOW, after 8 weeks, qualified (legit), certified teacher, no work permit, they told me to GO.

No job. That’s negative???)

#9

I’m a ‘success’, whatever that means. I’d do it for linguistics grads thinking of entering my profession. Not for the thickie’s gap year ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ readership, though.

#10

[quote=“beautifulspam”]For instance, I know that on this board we have at least one college professor, a professional translator, and one or two editors. I also know some former teachers who became school managers and buxiban owners, and in Taipei I worked for a guy who owned his own translation company. Those are the kind of people I’d like to hear from.
[/quote]
I thought you wanted to hear from successful people.

Talk to bob.

#11

I don’t want to rain on your parade, but ‘moved up’ from ESL teaching seems a bit down the nose to me. Which I can’t imagine is a good starting point for any article. Plus in Asia, it is EFL teaching. There is quite a distinction. Then there is the issue of regarding newspaper editing or school management as progress. Anyone who knows anything about language teaching, living in Asia, newspaper editing or school management will tell you this concept is a fallacy.

Newspaper editing is underpaid, late night work, surrounded by a bunch of over opinionated drunks, stressed by deadlines, spelling errors, and incompetent management.

School management is underpaid work, 12 hour days, surrounded by a bunch of over opinionated Chinese teachers obsessed weird grammar questions, and incompetent straight off the boat “English Teachers” with liberal arts degrees printed in Thailand.

There are few more rewarding jobs than English teaching. For those who are skilled and have minimal entrepreneurial flair, the opportunities for making a very decent income in Asia are plentiful. Believe me they are not for newspaper editing and school management, they are costs to a business not products.

If you ever want to make money or be successful never get on the cost side of the balance sheet.