I will be graduating this spring thus obtaining my BA in history. I have only about 30 hours of volunteer experience in an elementary school in Atlanta. As I would like to teach in Taiwan, I was wondering if I should get a TESOL certificate before applying for jobs, or if I should rely on my BA and charm to score myself a job. I am 6’1" and white with brown hair. I have read all over that it is best to apply for work IN Taiwan, but I am paranoid that I could arrive and struggle to find work, resulting in frustration and wasted money. I do not know Chinese in the slightest, but I am familiar with living in a foreign country, as I studied in the Netherlands for 6 months this previous year. Any of your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!
By the way, I am very curious about a school called Global Kids English school as they appear to offer $600 NT/hr AND free accommodation. If anyone has any experience with this place please PM me if you do not wish to share with the rest of class
First, I have not actually arrived in Taiwan yet, so take my experience with a grain of salt.
Tall, white, female, American.
I’ve sent about 20 emails of “Teacher’s Position” inquiries to the ads on Tealit. With it was my resume (which states Ive tutored foreign exchange kids and no other relevant experience except my award-winning English and ability to bullshit myself to the highest levels of charmed perfection, no TESOL/TEFL/certificate), diploma, and picture.
I received responses from all but a few. They basically go like this “We would love to interview you and are very interested in you joining our team. Please send us an email letting us know when you actually arrive in Taiwan.” And I even said I was available over Skype until I arrive, but they didn’t care.
So my recommendation for you is do not bother with sending applications unless you are willing to work for a chain school like Hess or Shane (there are plenty of threads detailing what working for “chains” implies).
As to your offer of $600nt, that is the baseline for most inexperienced salaries, so don’t be so impressed.
The free accommodation more than likely means a dorm room where you are not allowed to cook (meaning extra money out of your pocket to buy food outside for basically every meal.
And btw, Spring has passed. Do you mean Spring of 2012?
Oh and are you white? Cause apparently that’s a big deal and since you mentioned you’re from Atlanta I wonder.
I am indeed, white. And according to many, very good looking. I’m tall and muscular but not intimidating like a roid-head or anything. I’m sure that there is a catch with any chain school, but my susceptibility to advertisements (being an American) hinders my ability to grasp the concept of arriving in Taiwan without any experience or certification. I am referring to Spring 2012 as my graduation date. When are you arriving? And do you have interviews lined up?
White, tall, “very good looking”? Great, hit me up when you get here.
You shouldn’t have a problem finding a job, other than the fact that you’re male. Appartenly they like females over here for their “motherly” nature and perceived ability to teach kids better than males ( :roflmao: I’ll have them fooled! )
And uh, my susceptibility to verbose language hinders my ability to quickly and easily understand your 4th sentence. What the hell are you talking about?
Read the advertisements and you’ll quickly notice that “EXPERIENCE not necessary!!” sine many schools advertise that they “PROVIDE: LEARNING MATERIALS!”
2012? Yea, I started planning about a year before hand. I learned that its better to just focus on graduating and learning your university material. Once you’re graduated, then start the intense apartment hunting. Don’t bother with finding a job until you get here, unless -again- you’re willing to start at a chain school. Just keep an eye on Tealit to see what the pattern is being offered so you don’t walk off the plane completely lost. You can use the remaining summer break and the upcoming winter break to learn about the Visa laws and plan on buying your plane ticket. Maybe take an intro Chinese class so you won’t get too lost walking around the city.
I’m arriving in 2 weeks. Holy shit. I have no English Teaching interviews lined up for the reasons I posted in my first post.
Sorry if I’m vague! I meant that the chain schools have the most advertisements, which I am susceptible to. Im not very comfortable with arriving with no job when the chains make themselves so available. I understand that there are many downsides but, if a chain offers 600 which is standard, why should I risk arriving with no prospects? Unless anybody here knows of first timers with no experience starting out with much more… Thoughts??
Your rationale makes perfect sense. If I were going just for work, I’d do it as well. But Im going for Chinese education. Work if an after-thought so therefore I have a bunch of limitations.
As for the characteristics of Chains… I’ve gathered that chains have schools all over the island- hence “Chain”. They’ll place you probably where ever they need you, which might just end up being in bumbofuck Taiwan. Who knows. If that doesn’t bother you then by all means go for it.
Second, it seems chains give you really nuanced contracts that might be even more outrageous than regular old schools in the cities (unpaid work hours, severance fees, etc.). If you’re ok with that, again, go right ahead.
At the end of day, obviously they couldn’t be that horrible if they’ve got hundreds of teachers with them to begin with.
If you do get free accommodation, it probably means less privacy or flexibility than you would have otherwise. But it would save you a bundle in $$. If you can’t cook there and have to buy your food outside, don’t worry… eating out at local food stalls and mom-and-pop eateries can be very cheap in Taiwan.
[quote=“Lili”]Your rationale makes perfect sense. If I were going just for work, I’d do it as well. But Im going for Chinese education. Work if an after-thought so therefore I have a bunch of limitations.
As for the characteristics of Chains… I’ve gathered that chains have schools all over the island- hence “Chain”. They’ll place you probably where ever they need you, which might just end up being in bumbofuck Taiwan. Who knows. If that doesn’t bother you then by all means go for it.
Second, it seems chains give you really nuanced contracts that might be even more outrageous than regular old schools in the cities (unpaid work hours, severance fees, etc.). If you’re ok with that, again, go right ahead.
At the end of day, obviously they couldn’t be that horrible if they’ve got hundreds of teachers with them to begin with.[/quote]
Chains are kind of the middle ground of the ESL industry in Taiwan. Typically they have more students and at least an established (but mediocre) curriculum. And a chain school can be very good to terrible depending on the local management (incredibly important). But there are a lot worse schools than the chain schools and there is no way of knowing that until you arrive. You can also decline a job placement if it’s in rural Taiwan.
In all likelihood most newbs end up in chain schools for the first year or longer. I worked at a smaller branch that was gradually losing students and my hours varied from 14-20 while I worked there. This combined with Saturday classes and mountains of HW and test grading drove me away. But other chain schools have very little grading and no Saturday classes. If I worked in some of the other chains that I know of I wouldn’t have left.
How much better is it too get a TESOL before you go? Does it provide you with a better job/pay, or does it not matter at all.
Just wondering because the classes are pretty expensive here (Canada) and I don’t want to waste my time/money if there’s no real improvements in pay/job in Taiwan.
How much better is it too get a TESOL before you go? Does it provide you with a better job/pay, or does it not matter at all.
Just wondering because the classes are pretty expensive here (Canada) and I don’t want to waste my time/money if there’s no real improvements in pay/job in Taiwan.[/quote]
Don’t waste your time and money.
Having some kind of a TEFL qualification certainly makes a difference if the OP is considering teaching EFL long term. If he’s only here for a year or two, you’re correct, it isn’t worth the time and money. If he’s teaching long term then there are a few peach teaching jobs in Taiwan, and even more elsewhere, that will not consider applicants without the minimum of a CELTA (and sometimes even a DELTA). Thankfully, the serious educational establishments have standards .
The general industry requirement is 2 years post CELTA (or equivalent) teaching experience.
Having some kind of a TEFL qualification certainly makes a difference if the OP is considering teaching EFL long term. If he’s only here for a year or two, you’re correct, it isn’t worth the time and money. If he’s teaching long term then there are a few peach teaching jobs in Taiwan, and even more elsewhere, that will not consider applicants without the minimum of a CELTA (and sometimes even a DELTA). Thankfully, the serious educational establishments have standards .
The general industry requirement is 2 years post CELTA (or equivalent) teaching experience.[/quote]
Thanks for the advice!
Seems that there’s no need to do it then. I’ll most likely only be in Taiwan for a year. I really would have thought it would help you with getting a job/better job.
Yes, one would assume that would be the case. Traditionally in Taiwan it makes little odds.
It is a hirer’s market at the moment, so every little helps, but a TEFL qualification still isn’t worth the investment. A couple of the cram school chains are beginning to demand TEFL qualifications. I think Shane do now - at least they do when they recruit through their head office. I have a feeling that it might become a qualification that more chains demand over time. Most of them don’t give a toss at the moment.
Recent graduates by in large go to teach in foreign countries because it’s an easier entry-level job that does not require certifications. The employee pool will dry up fast if undergraduates have to go to even further expense to get these pointless acronyms attached to their titles.
I looked at the prices. You might as well invest that money in graduate school. If worse comes to worse in that route, I couldn’t think of a chain school on Earth that would turn down an applicant with an MA in anything.
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