Apply to Shane. You’ll be fine. Taiwan loves ‘communicative’. It doesn’t neccessarily ‘work’, but it’s where the current paradigm is. 
Good luck!
Cheers Buttercup! I’m actually surprised to hear they’ve even heard about communication when it comes to language! So many times I’ve seen people talking about one just “goes through the book…” which just makes me think less planning for me then!
But seriously, it’s a relief to know ‘communicative’ can be a buzzword in Taiwan, it means my job will be easier: maybe not in many ways but at least the boss won’t have a problem if I try to get them talking!
[quote=“Buttercup”]Apply to Shane. You’ll be fine. Taiwan loves ‘communicative’. It doesn’t neccessarily ‘work’, but it’s where the current paradigm is.
Good luck![/quote]
Everybody knows that the best teaching method is always the one with the longest acronym. I used to be into CLT but now I’m well prescriptive about TBLT. It f’ing rocks!
Ooops, technically I don’t think they’re acronyms because you can’t pronounce them as a word.
EDIT - no, I think they’re still OK.
Yes Task Based Learning is the natural development of CLL (or CLT as you put it). I totally agree with you: language is about usage and that includes working out a bus timetable!
[quote=“tomthorne”]Ooops, technically I don’t think they’re acronyms because you can’t pronounce them as a word.
EDIT - no, I think te UK. It isn’t in Taiwan. They don’t want or need to read bus timetables. They need to pass IELTS at band 6.5 or ace their junior high test.
I think the main point is there’s no clear definition of what the ‘communicative approach’ actually is.
OP - you’ve clearly done some research which is highly admirable. Be aware that you will be expected to teach the PPP method in Taiwan. Try getting the kids to ‘produce’ the same language ‘taught’ in a previous lesson a couple of weeks later.
[quote=“Buttercup”][quote=“tomthorne”]Ooops, technically I don’t think they’re acronyms because you can’t pronounce them as a word.
EDIT - no, I think they’re still OK.[/quote]
‘Initialisatons’, as enny fule no. [/quote]
Depends how you say 'em. I’ve had a couple of g & ts…
I can handle PPP Tom, no worries 
But bear in mind it is more than just Cambridge and Trinity who are pushing it. If you look at current trends in Eastern Europe for instance you will see they are becoming militantly communicative in their approach too.
[quote]Respect their ‘silent periods’ and you’ll be a lot more successful. The boss will have a problem when you try and fail and they complain about you. 
Blend in. Smile. Input is as important as output.[/quote]
That is good advice. I see it, thanks.
I was just using it as an example for Tom, in Taiwan I would find something more appropriate, however in truth I will of course give them what they want.
goodluck sweep! =)
Just out of curiosity, what method would you say is a successful way to learn? That question isn’t me looking to debate or disagree btw!
PS. Cheers ramz 
‘Method’? Dunno really. I never figured it out. I concluded that it’s down to the student, not the teacher, to be honest. I quit teaching a couple of years ago.
Eastern Europe is a monumentally different market, culturally, socially and linguistically. Polish speakers don’t seem to have much trouble with liddle old English, and they lap up products like ‘Headway’, and that sort of thing. 
Blimey, don’t say that in deepest darkest Essex :neutral:
I will never say that in deepest darkest Essex.
Thinking about picking up some basic language before I get there, I know I’d pretty much just need Mandarin in the north, but I wonder if the further I go south would I need more Mandarin or Taiwanese?
I’d stick with the Mandarin and stay in Taipei. There are more a lot more job opportunities. The further south you go, the more they speak Taiwanese, and it’ll just confuse the hell out of you if you’re just learning, since the 2 dialects are sometimes combined.
Just out of curiosity, what method would you say is a successful way to learn? That question isn’t me looking to debate or disagree btw!
PS. Cheers ramz [/quote]
Successful to learn? Comprehensible-input based instruction. Communicative teaching is SO 90s. The underlying philosophy of language acquisition is totally different in the two methods. (And I’m sure you didn’t hear much about CI on your TESOL course.)
Successful to get and keep a job in Taiwan? Communicative, with a solid underpinning of grammar-translation.
Unrelated hint: when in Taiwan, even if someone completely mis-reads or misunderstands what you said/wrote, don’t come back with “as I stated in my original post/as I said before.” It sounds condescending, and the Taiwanese, especially those in a position of authority or who might be purchasing something from you, won’t like that.
mandarin is the dominant language (and English is common) in the four major cities (and pretty much all of the big ones) that you’ll probably be looking for jobs. And you can get away without knowing any. However it is fun to be able to talk to people in Mandarin. I think the first basics that should be learned is how to pronounce words in pinyin since that is what you’re little dictionary will use. Pinyin is not English and the words are much different than how you would try to pronounce them. Next it would probably be helpful to start doing some of the tone drills that are on the internet. I don’t have a particular site in mind since I do these alot in my language exchange. It probably bores my LE partner horribly but I can learn characters and word definitions at home.
But in reality you aren’t going to learn enough at home to communicate at a basic level unless you get involved in some serious studies. at least that’s my two cents.
Oh fer heaven’s sake. Take an eight-hour basic course with me via Skype and you will have basic Mandarin skills. It is a language, not Holy Orders! I do them all the time for folks going to China.
This is what I was thinking. Someone I know said Taipei - and he readily admits he hates it there - is filthy, over-crowded and where 90% of the dodgy school bosses and landlords are. He said in the south he has only ever been treated with respect from school bosses, in fact he claims he’s only ever seen contracts written in English! I know the English language contract apparently means nothing and only the Chinese one is official so with all these opinions it’s hard to work out a balanced picture.
If there is less work in the south there is also likely less English teachers. Cheaper accommodation and more saving capacity sure would be nice, but so would being in an area that isn’t the back end of nowhere.
Decisions decisions…
Hmm so maybe if I stick to a larger city in the south I could find best of both worlds?
Yes I want to be able to do this at least informally.
Ok but first I want to know what I should concentrate on once I feel I have an answer for my ‘Taiwanese or Mandarin’ question. It seems obvious I should go for a little Mandarin, but I felt I would ask rather than assuming, especially in the context of the south.
Oh blimey, really? In most languages one can at least pick up a few very basics before leaving, such as yes, no, please, thank you and a few phrases.
I’ll probably seek out a basic taster once I know where my focus should be. I’m sure that will be Mandarin but like I said I don’t want to assume anything.
So my next question would be…
If I go south and head out of the cities could I get by with Mandarin or would I find a Taiwanese-Mandarin nightmare scenario similar to kaikai’s description? and following on from this, is it at all recommended to learn Taiwanese over Mandarin in any circumstance?
Cheers for all the replies folks 