White.
āNative speakerā in this case means a passport holder from a country that the government here considers ānative English-speakingā Right now, thatās UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, as far as I know.
[quote=āfranko76ā]Iām wondering because although English is not technically my first language, it is the language I feel most comfortable using. In fact, I consider English to be my native tongue. I was born in Taiwan but moved to the US when I was six and since then have been speaking, reading, and writing in English. Actually, to prepare for the move, my parents placed me in an American school in Taiwan for kindergarten so I never even received a formal education in the Chinese language.
So when these schools are looking for ānativeā speakers, do they mean only people whose English is their first language?[/quote]
English is your first language. Donāt worry about it. If you moved when you were six and are now an adult you are a native speaker unless you grew up in an ethnic community where most of the people around you werenāt fluent.
They have either a bone through their nose or a plum in their mouth.
Thanks guys for the input. Thatās very reassuring.
And LOL @ the white commentā¦even though itās true in many cases!
I take it you have an American passport - thatās the most important thing.
I know of schools that donāt mind that fact that you come from Canada and your first language is French, or that you come from SA and you speak Africaans at home.
I donāt see why you canāt be a native speaker of more than one language.
Yup, I have an American passport and only an American passport (not a dual-citizen) so hopefully, in some strange way, that will work out to my advantage. I have family in Taiwan and visit there as often as I can (was just there in May) so I know that the Taiwanese can sometimes apply their own definitions to words. Iāve always felt I was a native English speaker and just wanted to make sure that this wasnāt one of those cases.
Would you happen to have a link to the applicable law? Iād like to take a look to see whether there are other things written in it in addition to the above - for example, a reference to something like ānative languageā or āfirst languageā, or a reference to applicantsā previous citizenships or their education and qualifications.
(I canāt quite imagine that a Taiwanese university would have to forego hiring a qualified applicant just because she changed her nationality from British to Dutch after marrying a Dutch citizen.)
Would you happen to have a link to the applicable law? [/quote]
Nope. But Iāve seen it linked on this site several times before. I donāt think its a law but rather an MOE requirement for issuing English-teaching work permits.
Oh, Yuli. Yuli, Yuli, Yuli. Your naivety is endearing, but you risk the wrath of the UKainian people with comments like that.
Any EU passport entitles you to live in any other EU country, without having to marry anyone. And even if you did become assimilated into cloggie culture, you wouldnāt have to renounce Her Majestyās protection in order to get a cloggy passport. In fact, so benificent is our gracious Queen, even if you are forced to relinquish the emblem of the lion and the unicorn in order to obtain travel documents from a lesser nation, you remain on the list of those chosen (by divine providence, no less) to enjoy the privileges and unspeakable joy of being British. You can, in fact, get your passport back even after giving it up.
(Of course, Her Majestyās representatives overseas would be a trifle uncomfortable rendering consular assistance to anyone wearing clogs, so itās best not to become too assimilated.)
So, if someone rocks up at a Taiwanese university claiming to be British but brandishing a Dutch passport, they are probably lying and cannot possibly be employed by any competent employer. All the same, the Dutchies generally speak better English than real native -speakers.
The question on everyoneās lips is what would happen if Scotland did decide to become an independent nation. Would Sandman lose his native-speaker status, or would the Taiwanese authorities make an adjustment to the rules?
Nope. But Iāve seen it linked on this site several times before. I donāt think its a law but rather an MOE requirement for issuing English-teaching work permits.[/quote]
OKā¦ so i did a search and found this:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=81753&start=11
and this from a few years back (which sounds, um, familiar 
)
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=80489&start=15
ā¦ and then something from the other part of the web:
fredshannon.blogspot.com/2005/10 ā¦ 7728377502
So, as i thought, the matter is not quite as simple as it appeared, but everything here depends on the contextā¦
Hereās an English translation of a law or regulation (I donāt know which) that talks about passports:
law.moj.gov.tw/eng/LawClass/LawA ā¦ e=N0090031
To get the Chinese version, you can click the red square at the top of the page, the one that says āChā in white letters, and then on the new page you can click the far left button, the one that says āęęę¢ę.ā
Iām not going to begin to pretend that I understand either the laws or the MOE regulations regarding teaching English in Taiwan (or, for that matter, pretty much anything to do with working as a foreigner in Taiwan). However, I do know that I have never met anyone who is teaching English language legally who doesnāt have a passport from the countries sandman listed. Not once. Iāve heard of two posters on forumosa who were, but their employers had somehow bypassed the MOE. If the Taiwanese are happy for a non-native speaker to teach English, why not recruit a Taiwanese citizen? Thatās the whole basis of Taiwanese labour laws, isnāt it? Protect jobs for themselves. Very logical, if you ask me, and something European nations may need to start thinking about before long.
Until significant numbers of posters start saying that they are teaching legally and donāt possess one of the MOE approved list of passports, Iāll continue to assume that the standard interpretation of the regulations is correct.
Perhaps the MOE regulations are different for unis. I would assume that teaching content wouldnāt require being a native speaker of English (although you would have to be teaching content that a Taiwanese citizen couldnāt).
Thanks for filling me in on the EU stuff - my stint there dates back to a time when life was not as easy there - i am clearly not up to date on the situationā¦
I have to confess ignorance concerning British subtleties of this sort.
So, would my hypothetical story work if said candidate was born, raised, and educated in NZ and now had an Israeli passport?
Wouldnāt the Scots easily outcompete people from the Philippines and India in terms of their perceived whiteness factor?
And, by the way, is there any evidence that people with a passport from, say, the USA or South Africa and a non-light skin colour are as accepted in Taiwan as native speakers of English as their compatriots with a light skin colour?
EDIT: just noticed the brand-new thread (with a pointer to threads that cover this question) at viewtopic.php?t=100935
[quote=āCharlie Jackā]Hereās an English translation of a law or regulation (I donāt know which) that talks about passports:
law.moj.gov.tw/eng/LawClass/LawA ā¦ e=N0090031[/quote]
Thanks! 
Even though i donāt find anything in there about private language schools (which seems to be where the majority of foreign language instructors work), the following paragraph is quite clear in regards to other schools:
[quote]Chapter 4
Teaching Work
Article 40
A foreigner to be hired to engage in teaching as set forth in Article 46.1.3(1) shall obtain a teacher certificate pursuant to the Regulations Governing the Screening of Qualification on Teachers of Junior Colleges and Higher Levels. Alternatively, he or she shall be reviewed by the eligible faculty of the school or college to determine his or her qualifications. An exception is the foreigner who is to work as a teacher at a school meant for foreign residents, or as a foreign language teacher at a foreign language center affiliated to a college or above.
The foreigner who is to work as a foreign language teacher at a foreign language center affiliated to a college or above, as set forth in the preceding Paragraph, shall obtain a degree from a domestic or foreign university, or an independent college recognized by the central governing authorities. In addition, the language courses taught by the foreigner shall also be in the official language of the nationality specified in the passport of the foreigner, and approved by the central governing authorities.[/quote] (underline added)
That means, people with Philippine passports cannot work as English instructors in Taiwan because English is not the official language of the Philippines - but what about people with passports from India or Singapore: isnāt English the (or one) official language there? OTOH, Canada and South Africa have two official languages, but from what i have seen in various related threads that does not seem to come into play at all.
Youāre welcome, yuli.
I think that the regulation I linked to earlier is a regulation of the Council of Labor Affairs, but Iām not a hundred percent certain.
Earlier this year, a poster who was interested in a non-teaching job quoted from an e-mail he had received from the CLA. The e-mail refers to [quote]. . . Administrative Decree No. 0940503752 of 21 June 2005, issued by Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, āQualifications and Criteria Standards for foreigners undertaking the jobs specified under Article 46.1.1 to 46.1.6 of the Employment Service Act" . . . .[/quote] Requirement to apply Work Permit (non english teacher)
This rule is also mentioned in the thread entitled āWork Rules for English Teachers,ā here: Work Rules For English Teachers
I dunno. Iām going to make a guess that if your passport isnāt from a country on the list, and there are other candidates, nobody will make the effort to find out.
Wouldnāt the Scots easily outcompete people from the Philippines and India in terms of their perceived whiteness factor?[/quote]
Who cares? Theyāre in competition with people from the approved countries. The question is whether they would become an approved country. All it takes is one person in the MoE to have prior experience with a haggis-botherer, and our northern brethren will all be back over the sea to Skye.
Good thing too, if you ask me. Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing!
FAIL! South Africa has 11 official languages.
Article 42 of that regulation refers to people who teach foreign languages in cram schools:
[quote]Foreigners to be employed as foreign language teachers as specified in [color=#000080]Article 46.1.4 in the Act[/color] shall have the following qualifications, and their weekly working hours in teaching-related work shall be no less than 14 (fourteen) hours:
- Be 20 (twenty) years old or above.
- Be graduated from colleges or above.
- The language to be taught by the foreign teacher is the official language used in the country specified in the passport of the teacher.
The foreigners mentioned in the preceding Paragraph shall have qualification certificates for language teaching if they have not obtained bachelorās degrees.
When the foreigners mentioned in Paragraph 1 are hired by 2 (two) and more employers within the valid periods of their Employment Permits according to Article 53.1 of the Act, their weekly working hours in teaching-related work for each of the employers shall not be less than 6 (six) hours.
For the foreigners mentioned in Paragraph 1 and the preceding Paragraph, their total weekly working hours in teaching-related work shall not exceed 32 (thirty-two) hours.[/quote] law.moj.gov.tw/eng/LawClass/LawA ā¦ e=N0090031
āThe Actā means the Employment Services Act. Hereās Article 46.1.4 of the Employment Services Act:
[quote]Unless otherwise provided for in the present Act, the work a Foreign Worker may be employed to engage in within the territory of the Republic of China is limited to the following:
- Full-time teacher teaching course(s) on [color=#000080]foreign language(s)[/color] at a [color=#000080]short-term class registered for supplementary schooling[/color] in accordance with the Supplementary Education Act. . . .[/quote] evta.gov.tw/eng/content/cont ā¦ 0&id=15577
The phrase āshort-term class registered for supplementary schoolingā means ācram school.ā
Itās my understanding that the Supplementary Education Act is now called the Supplementary and Continuing Education Law (or Act, I guess). Hereās an English translation of it: english.moe.gov.tw/content.asp?CuItem=8207&mp=1
As far as I know, the Supplementary and Continuing Education Law doesnāt specifically mention teachers of foreign languages, and I donāt think its predecessor did. I mention that only in passing.
FAIL! South Africa has 11 official languages.[/quote]
Thatās what happens when you remember exam questions from school. 
And since that was over 15 years ago, maybe i need to remember less and instead google moreā¦
Article 42 of that regulation refers to people who teach foreign languages in cram schools
[ā¦]
The phrase āshort-term class registered for supplementary schoolingā means ācram school.ā[/quote]
Good stuff! Thanks for filling that gapā¦ iām obviously not yet conversant in Taiwanese bureaucratese.
Are they including cram schols in there too: āSupplementary and Continuing Education Lawā?
Normally iād relate that to ācontinuing educationā or āuniversity extensionā and the like (in other languages: Volkshochschule / shimin daigaku / she4hui4 da4xue2) but not to cram schools.
In any case, it seems that Taiwan fully deserves its definition-in-practice of ānative speakerā (as regards to English): it helps keep it on par with Japan.