So far as I know, Taiwan doesn’t have any CELTA, DELTA, or respectable TESOL MAs, nor do they accept online MAs. If I want to make myself more hirable without actually leaving Taiwan, what are my options? Right now I’m finishing an MA in China Studies at NCCU (hardly related to TESOL), and I’m about to get married, and I don’t want to drag my spouse somewhere to hang around while I get the CELTA certificate and then DELTA. That’d take ridiculously long…
How can I get more experience, training, certifications, etc., here?
Right now all I have is two years of experience at cram schools, some experience at an English Camp, and a 100hr TESOL Certificate.
I need more! Thanks!
Learn Chinese (if you don’t speak it already). This isn’t necessarily only to be able to translate in class (which some schools may look at with disapproval). Instead, explain that you did this to appreciate the differences in grammar between Chinese and English, and to improve your ability to fully participate in meetings and other activities where English might not be spoken.
Consider taking teachers’ continuing education classes available online. While they might not count toward a degree or certificate, they will give you skills and/or perspective on teaching issues. Maybe. Choose carefully.
The MA is only good, whether it has to do with TESOL or not. An MA degree is a graduate-level qualification, and you can argue that this improves your analytical skills, organization, and ability to read and evaluate research. If you’re doing China Studies presumably it also improves your Chinese…? Or is it in English?
Build connections. Connections are probably the most important factor in getting the “good” jobs. Most aren’t advertised. Work on charming people and maintaining connections with them in a Taiwan-appropriate manner (something I frankly suck at, wish I were better at it.) Get a few higher-profile private students. Being the English tutor to [famous person’s granddaughter] never hurts local perception of your quality or price-worthiness.
Right now one of my students is the son of two famous TV personalities… so it’s a bit funny you should mention that. But sadly, I rarely see them because they’re so busy.
My China Studies MA Is mostly taught in English, however I am also taking Chinese classes.
I’ll look into an online MA in TESOL, but my understanding is it would only help me get jobs that are totally unaffiliated with universities or government schools. I also found a DELTA class apparently is available online, and soon CELTA will be partially available online but you have to go to an approved center for the teaching portion (60 hours, so probably less than a month; could be a worthwhile “vacation”).
Could you recommend me any online teaching programs?
This degree is not online. It is offered at locations abroad in an intensive format. You read the books before the two week intensive classes and then attend intensive classes at a university in Asia.
My understanding is that Taiwan does not recognize online degrees at all.[/quote]
The Taiwanese government doesn’t, however, any job not affiliated with the government or needing approval by the MoE will happily accept an accredited online degree from what I’ve heard!
But you wouldn’t be able to use an online degree as a credential for a work visa, right? I thought that was more the concern with the ROC government not recognizing online degrees.
I am sadly beginning to suspect this is true for some of the better jobs in Taiwan. I wish it wasn’t, but it is. The question is, “How do we get to know these people?” This is something I want to do.
About connections:
My friend here worked at a cram school whose boss also had a stake in a local private school (actually quite a famous one). They offered him a job at the private school, but he had no MA, no TESOL certificate, no background in education, and only 4 years experience teaching at cram schools. Since the boss liked him, he just asked the government to fill out some form saying he has a de facto teaching license because of his years of experience in Taiwan’s education system, so he now works at a private school from 9-5, earning about 75000+ each month, and more than half of his day consists of office hours in which he watches NBA games, reads books, and watches movies. He teaches only for a few hours, straight from the textbook, so they don’t want him to prepare more than 20 minutes per day. He has had this job now for a couple years and they give him significant raises every year…
Lucky son of a dick.
[quote=“steelersman”][quote=“steelersman”]If you can travel to Korea for intensive classes you could earn an M.A. in Education from this American University.
This degree is not online. It is offered at locations abroad in an intensive format. You read the books before the two week intensive classes and then attend intensive classes at a university in Asia.[/quote]
I like this. But I probably won’t have time for it too soon. If I’m still not where I want to be in a couple of years, I think I’ll do this. The teaching license and accredited non-online MA that this offers would be really useful.
[quote=“dashgalaxy86”][quote=“steelersman”][quote=“steelersman”]If you can travel to Korea for intensive classes you could earn an M.A. in Education from this American University.
This degree is not online. It is offered at locations abroad in an intensive format. You read the books before the two week intensive classes and then attend intensive classes at a university in Asia.[/quote]
I like this. But I probably won’t have time for it too soon. If I’m still not where I want to be in a couple of years, I think I’ll do this. The teaching license and accredited non-online MA that this offers would be really useful.[/quote]
So, I looked a bit into the program and decided to drop the school a line. They currently offer the MA in International Teaching here, and have the MA in TESOL in Korea. I asked the school if they would be willing to offer the MA in TESOL in Taiwan, and I was told that with an enrollment of 20-25 they might be willing to do it. I just figured I’d let you guys know. Perhaps you can contact the school as well if you want to do it, so that they know they would be able to get the minimum enrollment needed in Taiwan.
Yeah, I got another response last night from the contact person here in Taiwan. She said that they did a survey about it last year and there didn’t seem to be enough interest. That’s why I was thinking that if more people contact them, then they’ll see that there is enough interest, and they might open the program.
[quote=“dashgalaxy86”]So far as I know, Taiwan doesn’t have any CELTA, DELTA, or respectable TESOL MAs, nor do they accept online MAs. If I want to make myself more hirable without actually leaving Taiwan, what are my options? Right now I’m finishing an MA in China Studies at NCCU (hardly related to TESOL), and I’m about to get married, and I don’t want to drag my spouse somewhere to hang around while I get the CELTA certificate and then DELTA. That’d take ridiculously long…
[/quote]
The CELTA is a one month course and IIRC you can’t do the DELTA right away anyway (wait a couple of years?). That’s hardly ridiculously long.
Assuming that you are going to get married to a Taiwanese woman, the initialism that will improve your resume the most will be the JFRV. This will immediately open many doors to much higher paid work.
Other than that you should be realistic about the benefits of the TESOL courses you have mentioned. They probably won’t provide any immediate improvement in your income. However, over time they will make a difference. You will find a lot of teaching opportunities open up to you that you wouldn’t have otherwise been allowed to apply for. Many higher paying gigs require, at bare minimum, 2 years post CELTA (or CELTA equivalent) teaching experience. ADOS/DOS positions in countries where ESL/EFL is taken seriously tend to require a minimum of around 6 years post DELTA or MA teaching experience. If you ain’t got that, then your resume is ignored regardless of how fantastic and naturally gifted a teacher you may be. Strangely, a significant proportion of EFL teachers in Taiwan don’t seem to get this. I’ve never been able to understand their thought processes.
