I am a 32 year old mature male student in England on my final year of an English literary bachelors degree, to end in the summer of 2015. My intention after graduating is to come to live in Taiwan at first to teach English and then to study at a university. I’d be grateful if anyone could provide information on the universities, which ones offer scholarships and how I go about trying to enroll (wesbite suggestions would be great!). I also wondered about the criteria of joining and whether it is indeed true that there are scholarships that apply to subjects that do not involve the use of Mandarin (though I am weighing up the option to become a full-time student of Chinese, a probability at some point). However, I did intend to teach first, and by the time I graduate I’ll also attend a month-long CELTA course with the view of strengthening my job potential, though I understand it would be rather reckless to go out to Taiwan ‘blind’, and I should know what sort of teaching jobs are the better type and so on and try to possibly arrange a job beforehand. Does anyone recommend certain type of schools, or companies? More to the point, does anyone particularly warn against others?
Any advice would be gratefully received and I’m very much looking forward to seeing this splendid island next year!
There are tons of scholarships on the Island, but I would not expect the level of education to be commensurate with the UK. Taiwan has unwisely allowed tons of people to litter the Island via scholarship from some of the poorest countries on Earth. Most of these people will never leave, and they have intermarried with local people. The tragedy is that Taiwan is slowly changing from a second world country to a third world country. The education level for these programs is incredibly low. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, most of these programs claim to be offered in “English”. Of course, the textbooks are in English, but classes are delivered and tested in Mandarin. The programs are filled with second language learners from Taiwan and third world countries, and the result is that the English level and learning level that occurs is probably close to what you would expect in middle school in the UK.
Yes, I wasn’t expecting it to be equal to Britain, but still wished to further my study. I’m thinking that since Mandarin is an absolute must and is a language I have already started to study over the past year (bogged down in an hour a day of Rosetta Stone presently - more enjoyable than it sounds!), it would be the natural course to study it full time in a higher institution. Anything else would be second rate; to think, if I did have a masters or more in literature it would be extraneous over there. However, I think literature is more of a personal interest within me, rather than an academic pursuit,and has evolved my way of thinking and interpretation, qualities embedded within the psyche to be used in real life.
Sorry to steer off course there, but thanks for the advice. My plan is to teach for a year or two, and to study Mandarin in my private time, until I can reach the standard they would require to enroll me onto a programme to study Mandarin at university. Do you think it would be wise to arrange a job beforehand and wait until I’m in Taiwan to look into the universities? Initially, I was just going to arrive in Taiwan with nothing arranged, but I’m going to organise something to be waiting for me, though, to be honest, I know what to expect from the teaching scenario, though I’m more than happy to teach but do not want to be quagmired in too many hours and unsympathetic school leaders driven purely by profit. How about the schools HESS and the like?
I see what you mean about the third world immigration tendency, it is also a stark aspect of Europe today, particularly in Britain.
Thanks man, your advice is sincerely appreciated, and if you knew of any university/employment websites I’d be very grateful.
There are a handful of good universities in Taiwan. Generally anything with the words “National” + “Taiwan” in the name is a solid school. Above poster is correct that most of the English language programs are not up to Anglo country standards.
Contact your local Taiwanese representative office and ask for help. I suggest calling or setting up an in-person appointment rather than e-mailing, as they might overlook an e-mail. You can apply for a scholarship with Taiwan’s government or with the school itself.
MA in Lit in Taiwan? If you were doing one in Taiwanese or Chinese Lit, I could see it being worthwhile (although extremely strenuous). English lit, not so much.
Hi Rob,
This website has a lot of scholarships: studyintaiwan.org/scholarships.html. It has links to the university websites so you can find out more about what courses they offer and the scholarships.