My experience going from an EFL noob to international/private teacher

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
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When it comes to finding jobs in private bilingual and accredited international schools, I have a few cents to chip in that I hope will help anyone looking to go that route. I know someone is preparing a post regarding this, so maybe this will be better off as part of that thread. This is just my experience. I hope it will help anyone wanting to navigate their way towards the higher end private bilingual and international schools.

I’ve been in Taiwan for almost 15 years. I’ve worked in TES as an EAL teacher in addition to Kang Chiao. I’ve also worked in a smaller international school in Hsinchu, and I currently work at a private bilingual school that pays the higher end of the teaching salary scale in Taiwan. Even when I got myself established in such schools, I still had a short period between jobs where I fell back on cram school work and I was damn glad that I had the experience to do so.

I started at a cram school in Taiwan with no teaching experience whatsoever. After a couple years, I started to apply for the smaller private schools. These are the private elementary schools where the director has managed to get parents to trade a cow for five magic beans but there’s definitely nothing magic about them. Parents see expensive and equate it with quality.

While at such schools, I continued with my own professional development to make myself more marketable. I did short literacy courses, maths courses - essentially courses geared towards elementary class teachers. That private school experience and being proactive with PD got my foot in the door at KC elementary. During my time at KC, I completed a graduate international teaching qualification - the iPGCE - which included theory and teaching practice observed my university and school mentors. There are loads of these courses of varying quality - both British and American - which can now lead to licensed teacher status. It was expensive, but I saw it as an investment in my future.

Eventually, I applied to the European School thinking I was hot stuff, but I was hired as a teaching assistant. The principal didn’t consider my experience suitable for a teaching position. It was a drop in salary but I accepted it as it got my foot in the door. As luck would have it, an EAL teacher left in the first two weeks of the new term and I got the job on a temporary basis which led to a full-time position.

I stayed at TES for several years, but I really wanted to teach my subject. It’s impossible to get a subject teaching job there with no experience teaching the actual subject. Fair enough!

I sent my CV around the smaller schools on Tealit and any that came up on Google search and it took almost a year for a school to get in touch regarding a subject teaching position. By this time, I was making bank as a local hire EAL support teacher at TES (although that’s still significantly lower than local hire class teachers and way lower than international hires). Again I took a pay cut. It was a proper international school, but the salary was in the 80ks with no bonus or pension. I just thought of the experience.

I spent two years at this smaller school in Hsinchu. The journey from Taipei everyday was a nightmare but it got me what I needed. I was actually signing for a third year but another school - who I had sent an updated CV to - contacted me and offered me my current job. It wasn’t a given by any means and I wouldn’t have gotten the job had I not gained some experience in Hsinchu first. My salary is now above what I made as an EAL teacher at TES but still roughly 15% lower than TES class teachers. Compared to TAS I’m on the poverty line! :laughing:

Anyway, that’s how I worked my way from a noob EFL teacher to a good paying - but busy - subject teacher job.

I invested a lot in graduate programs - easily 400,000 NT -and I had to work through the smaller private and international schools. And while I was at TES, I still never managed to get a subject position in the high school!

One last thing. I know of people who came to Taiwan as EFL teachers and ended up at TAS, and while it’s probably not the norm, it has been done. Also, an ex colleague from my school in Hsinchu met the principal of TAS and they hit it off. The lucky dude ended up being offered a job there the following year.

If anyone wants to know more then pm me.

Cheers

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Nice one!

For me the main takeaway is professional development. So many teachers don’t seem to bother with it, which is fine, but don’t complain years down the line if you can’t get anywhere.

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Are you saying TES was paying you in 80k as a local hire? When was that? What pay increase did you get when they hired you full time?

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I’ve been considering teaching math, physics or CS as a side job. Any tips are appreciated. I got all the subject degrees but almost no teaching experience or education courses.
I don’t need the money, just thought it’ll be interesting.

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I took a pay cut to teach at the school in Hsinchu. I was earning 80k at Hsinchu. At TES I was earning more as an EAL teacher. I was at TES for several years. My salary there started in the 80s. For class teachers the salary scale is different. I’m talking about the elementary school.

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Tealit does actually have a few subject related posts come up throughout the year. Do a Google search for other schools and see what comes up. You can PM me if you want to.

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Wow. It took you 15 years to get to that point? And you still haven’t gained the high paying subject teacher position in an international position you desire. It seems like too much effort for too little reward.

Look, here’s what you do. Go back home and enroll in an alternative teacher licensure plan. There are many paths to becoming a licensed teacher these days. You don’t need to waste a year of time and tuition gaining a useless Education degree (you learn to teach by actual teaching, not studying theories on how to teach.) These programs demand that you serve out a year at least, maybe two or three years depending on the program, on a provisional license. When your term is finished, come back to Taiwan as a licensed teacher with real world experience. Most real schools do not consider working in a buxiban as real teaching experience, I’m sorry to say. You have wasted a decade in terms of professional development teaching in cram schools if that was your goal.

Look into pathways to teacher licensure in your state or country. Some states accept American Board which can be done entirely online in a few months. You’re too old for Teach America but there are other programs to teach poor kids in exchange for a license - check your state’s program. The hitch to all this is that you will need to spend a couple of years teaching back home. Which, if you have a wife here or are just so enamored of Taiwan that you just can’t leave, may be a problem.

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Eh, what are you talking about? I never said I spent 15 years trying to get into teach my subject so duh! I did spend time improving and getting into better schools. I only decided to teach my subject 4-5 years ago and it took some time for me to do anything about it because I was being paid well and the vacation time was great. But thanks for dumping on a post that was just meant to help people.

“You don’t need to waste a year of time and tuition gaining a useless Education degree (you learn to teach by actual teaching, not studying theories on how to teach.)… I’m sorry to say. You have wasted a decade in terms of professional development teaching in cram schools if that was your goal.”

You clearly didn’t read my post. Although I didn’t elaborate, I completed my teaching practice in Taiwan. I had a school mentor and my teaching was observed via my mentor and university. I am now a qualified teacher. And where in my post does it say I did a decade or professional development in cram schools. I spent a couple of years in a cram school. The rest of my time has been in private schools.

And by the way, I do teach my subject which was the goal - not to teach it at an international school.

People don’t need to leave Taiwan to get qualified these days - although your suggestion is completely valid - provided they can find a school that would allow them to train as a teacher which definitely happens here. The reason being the UK allows teachers to train internationally and gain qualified teacher status while abroad. You don’t need to be from the UK, the qualification is recognized worldwide, and it is for life. No need to renew your license every few years. You can also change it for a US license in your home state.

I guess you felt good dumping on someone who was trying to help which says more about you.

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It’s not just teachers. Seems like most people in most professions don’t give a shit about Professional development unless they’re compelled to. Those who do are the ones who actually care and are passionate about what they do.

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One of the best descriptions I have heard of private schools in Taiwan.

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Some people may want to stay in Taiwan during that time so that they can get an APRC, and there are other reasons to, as you mention at the very end of your post.

Getting a degree in education isn’t “useless” as usually people get a masters degree and that looks very good on a resume plus often involves getting in at a higher pay scale. It pays for itself over time. Not to mention that even if it didn’t, the sense of satisfaction/self respect and taking control of one’s life and moving away from buxiban teaching is well, well worth the cost of the time, energy and money.

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