Is Taichung abc/cbc friendly city for teaching?

I’m planning to move to Taiwan to teach in Sept/Oct and I’m trying to do a ton of research/prep beforehand. I know Taipei is very central and a lot of foreigners go there first, but it’d be nice to know what my other options are. How is it in Taichung?? What schools should I apply for that don’t discriminate (besides Hess/Kojen) and that are reliable? It’s also my first-time teaching.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks :slight_smile:

You might start with this page that has a list of schools in Taichung:

http://www.geocities.com/allhou/schootaich.htm

I came here originally with a cbc partner. It was interesting to observe her job search first hand. I found that it’s actually not that difficult for a foreign born Chinese to get work here. There is discrimination out there, so get ready for it. However, once settled, you can do alright. One thing I did find, though, is a lot of places will only hire FBCs locally and won’t pay agents or otherwise hire them from overseas. Be prepared for some places to try to hire you as a local teacher on local pay. Simply walk away from such places.

[quote=“laperla”]I’m planning to move to Taiwan to teach in Sept/Oct and I’m trying to do a ton of research/prep beforehand. I know Taipei is very central and a lot of foreigners go there first, but it’d be nice to know what my other options are. How is it in Taichung?? What schools should I apply for that don’t discriminate (besides Hess/Kojen) and that are reliable? It’s also my first-time teaching.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks :-)[/quote]

sorry to be a pedant but taipei is in the north…taichung is central hence the “chung” in the name :sunglasses:

laperla,

If you can read Chinese, the newspapers have a bunch of want ads in them for English teachers, which I always found ironic. Then all you need is a 49.9cc put-put scooter and your dreams to becoming an independent contract teacher is made. Okay you might need to depend on public transportation, until you get a put-put.

When I use to teach English, I always found it helpful to stilt my Chinese and get a little sloppy on the tones, to accentuate the fact I’m suppose to preceived as foreign ABC. In addition, use vocabulary and grammer no greater than a junior high school level, if you can restrict your vocabulary to elementary school level without being percieved as slow, that will help a lot.

Unless the employer is from North America, then there is no point, since they can tell by your North American accent that you’re a native speaker.

Hmm, if you’re a student doing it for the summer before going back to school. Lie through your teeth that you’re going be in Taiwan for at least a year.

Oh and don’t wear la perla to work, people might get the wrong idea. :laughing:

[quote=“the bear”][quote=“laperla”]I’m planning to move to Taiwan to teach in Sept/Oct and I’m trying to do a ton of research/prep beforehand. I know Taipei is very central and a lot of foreigners go there first, but it’d be nice to know what my other options are. How is it in Taichung?? What schools should I apply for that don’t discriminate (besides Hess/Kojen) and that are reliable? It’s also my first-time teaching.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks :-)[/quote]

sorry to be a pedant but Taipei is in the north…Taichung is central hence the “chung” in the name :sunglasses:[/quote]

Haha :doh: …err…I knew that.

No actually I was in Taichung & Taipei last November so I do have some idea where the cities are. I got lost in Da-Ken and was saved by an english teacher. Now I’ve idealized Taichung AND english teachers. :laughing:

[quote=“ac_dropout”]laperla,

If you can read Chinese, the newspapers have a bunch of want ads in them for English teachers, which I always found ironic. Then all you need is a 49.9cc put-put scooter and your dreams to becoming an independent contract teacher is made. Okay you might need to depend on public transportation, until you get a put-put.

When I use to teach English, I always found it helpful to stilt my Chinese and get a little sloppy on the tones, to accentuate the fact I’m suppose to preceived as foreign ABC. In addition, use vocabulary and grammer no greater than a junior high school level, if you can restrict your vocabulary to elementary school level without being percieved as slow, that will help a lot.

Unless the employer is from North America, then there was no point, since they can tell by your North American accent that you’re a native speaker.

Hmm, if you’re a student doing it for the summer before going back to school. Lie through your teach that your going be in Taiwan for at least a year.

Oh and don’t wear la perla to work, people might get the wrong idea. :laughing:[/quote]

Aw, thanks for the advice, ac! Do you live/have lived in Taichung? I heard as you get further away from Taipei, the discrimination increases so I thought about asking about Taichung specifically.

I graduated last year so it’s more of a permanent move abroad. Chinese parents are so restricting, I think I’ll suffocate if I stayed any longer ahh!! I speak cantonese so I don’t think I have to stilt my chinese. I can read chinese though.

About the photo (i think this may be a stupid question), what kind are employers looking for? A super big smile with kids in the background? Or business casual? Professional suit?

laperla,

I have lived in Taichung. It is smaller and quieter than Taipei. It’s easier to make friends in Taichung in my opinion, because of the slower pace of the city. But because of the slower pace there also a little less opportunities overall.

Why not head out to HK if you speak Canto? Probably more job opportunities in different fields besides teaching English. A lot of ABC/CBC in HK as well.

Reverse discrimination in jobs. I use to be like what is this all about. But as I got older I realise I can’t really blame the buxiban owners really, because they have nothing else to market their services, beside having a gwailo on staff. Without the token gwailo how would anyone know they are learning proper English?

However, if you’re persistant and take all those screening exams, there’s always someone willing to hire you. They have English teacher jobs all the way from pre-K to adults. So just choose an age group, look in the help wanted section, and head out to the interviews.

As for discrimination among the locals. Well if you don’t speak much Minnan and your Mandarin is iffy, then most of it will go right by you. Taichung has a sizeable WSR population, and a couple of larger universities, so it is not like they never met someone from abroad.

Head shot. Usually black & white student id photos are submitted for people in your age group. It’s pretty common in Taiwan since you need them for school ID and your National ID card. Just go to any photo place and get a set of four done.

Back on topic. My wife was born in Taiwan but raised in the US (since 3 years of age). Her primary language is English. She got a job teaching English when we were in Taiwan but was fired because too many parents complained that a “Chinese person” was teaching their children English. Nevermind that my wife speaks English with a North American accent, speaks only basic Mandarin, knows very little about Chinese culture, and considers herself American. The ignorant parents wanted a white face, and she didn’t fit the mold.

And this was in Taipei. I question whether Taichung or any place in Taiwan at all is truly “friendly” to FBC English teachers.

[quote=“gao_bo_han”]Back on topic. My wife was born in Taiwan but raised in the US (since 3 years of age). Her primary language is English. She got a job teaching English when we were in Taiwan but was fired because too many parents complained that a “Chinese person” was teaching their children English. Nevermind that my wife speaks English with a North American accent, speaks only basic Mandarin, knows very little about Chinese culture, and considers herself American. The ignorant parents wanted a white face, and she didn’t fit the mold.

And this was in Taipei. I question whether Taichung or any place in Taiwan at all is truly “friendly” to FBC English teachers.[/quote]

No offense but I think the whole “FBC having problems finding jobs in the EFL teaching industry” to be wildly overstated. There are EFL language centers who do actively discriminate because they want a white marketing tool but those are usually the less reputable schools whose sole objective is relieving the parents of as much money as possible. The prestigious institutions all over Asia focus more on credentials and what you have to offer as a teacher than racial gimmickery. This goes for nearly all the decent schools in Asia. I am a FBC who has worked teaching EFL in several Asian countries and it’s the same story everywhere. If you are a FBC and you apply high then your chances are actually better than settling for some fly by night EFL operations where they want the dog and pony show.

Anyways, FBCs in Taiwan should probably find another niche to work in anyways. With dual citizenship the sky’s the limit when it comes to opportunity and businesses there is little reason to teach english to begin with. To all the FBCS out there: Why not own a language center and have foreigners work for you instead?

Hey, I’m CBC and I was able to find work within a week of looking. I did expereince a few schools who wouldn’t even accept my resume. But who wants to work for a racist school anyways? If you give a good demo, and have a four year degree, good schools will not care. In general, being CBC is not a bonus, but there’s enough opportunity so you’ll find a good job. Just hang in there, and don’t settle.