Brilliant…not so much.
Positions vacant by the thousands.
Hard and troublesome to find licensed replacements.
Wages wont go up.
They will turn to the English speaking Taiwanese to fill the vacancies. Cheaper and easier. Business in Taiwan is always the path of least resistance.
I disagree. The parents want a white face.
Oh god please no. I live next to one and can hear the lessons being taught in a complete monotone with all the children repeating the same monotone.
English has tones too, y’know.
They are already doing it.
Many positions at private schools and buxibans are being filled in by locals. Owners are wising up that they can pay less, demand more and Taiwanese staff wont fuss.
True, as we’ve been discussing in another thread. That doesn’t stop them, because (A) demand and (B) corruption.
Teach kids in a school or buxiban? Teaching certification should be required in all cases! The number of foreign teachers would plummet and demand for proper ones would rise, as would wages. The masses of people that do not have certification? Back to school.
Or time to cook chicken or make me an espresso.
M. Dawg is living in a fantasy world. It’s not unlicensed foreign teachers – it’s unlicensed teachers, period.
I was confused until I realized that was about the teachers, not the Seattle thing. 
Meanwhile in semi-related news: The City of Seattle has just filed a motion to vacate all convictions & drop all charges for marijuana possession for anyone arrested in the city over the last 30 years!!
I assume most of them are not currently in jail, so in general this move would make it easier for them to find jobs.
I hope you’re right, but with the three-strikes law, who knows?
I dunno. This whole licensed teacher thing. Does it matter? These kids are just rats in a maze, eventually they’ll emerged with a bullshit degree from a US university and then they’ll plunge back into the maze with a bullshit job in some company in Taiwan where people play on FB all day and drop English words into their conversation.
#moredieofheartbreak
1 Like
TEFL qualifications are going to be much more useful. Anything with an emphasis on language acquisition and observed teaching. There’s a similar issue at tertiary level. My uni is recruiting English language teachers at the moment and they are looking for a Masters or preferably a PhD. The MOE won’t give a lecturer’s license to someone with, say, a DELTA which would be way more useful. It doesn’t make sense.
They can want a white face but they won’t get it with those demands. It’s not like licenced teachers anywhere are chomping at the bit to come here. That won’t change much with higher money either as certified teachers can make much more in the States or UAE
The public will just end up lobbying the govt to reverse the rules and it would be political suicide for whoever proposed it.
As a side point I’m actually shocked how many local students prefer a Taiwanese teacher , they can translate easier, explain the nuances better.
Even to the point where the foreign teachers only have 1 or two students and the local teachers class is full. Although they end up teaching the students wrong accents and pronunciation
The students may prefer a local teacher, but the ignorance is with the parents. And the parents, more so than the students, have the purchasing power. Until that ignorance is addressed, there will be a market for dumb people with minimal qualifications.
Well that was pretty harsh.
I have met plenty of “qualified” teachers who could not teach worth shit.
I have also met plenty of “unqualified” teachers who could teach circles around “qualified” teachers.
Yes, there are those that are unqualified who also can’t teach and probably should not be teaching, but to lump everyone as “dumb people”, wow. Harsh man. Not cool.
I am not saying all of them are dumb, but there is a market for dumb people meaning they can be taken advantage of for low wages. Unqualified people that are paid a minimal wage but look like a stereotypical blond haired, blue-eyed westerner. These people are often a big hit with Taiwanese parents who think that to learn, the teacher needs to visually represent their ideal of Western stereotypes. I am not against teaching (as has been alluded to many times in years past). I am against unregulated teaching. It does a disservice to those that have decades of experience. You want registered doctors, dentists, architects, but there is an acceptance that every Tom, Dick and Harry can teach. It is an insult to real teachers.
Should we not respect it as a profession rather than a service than anyone can do?
1 Like
Well let’s face it Taiwanese like teachers who look flashy. Doesn’t matter if its ball room dancing or billiards. Style over content wins every time.
Yip and it is hardly limited to Taiwan (it is a worldwide trend). But in the buxiban industry, I would be surprised to hear of anyone who thinks content and quality wins!
So if Taiwan were to drug test foreign English teachers regularly, would the punishment be deportation or community service/rehab/meetings for x months?
You have to teach classes on Sunday
hahahahaha imagine that
For 2 years.
You have to wear a big sign around your neck everywhere you go that says ENGLISH TEACHER
1 Like