I decided a couple of months ago to teach English in Taiwan, starting in late August of this year. A bit of background, I have my four year diploma, and I will be traveling with a good friend and his girlfriend. I don’t know any Chinese, and have never traveled abroad. For this reason, I decided that I would prefer finding a job in Taiwan before arriving.
I was offered a contract by Gloria English School, and have already accepted, against the (common) advice given on these forums. While this may turn out to be a poor decision, I am not extremely picky, nor extremely worried about the circumstances that I will be working. My only requirements are that I make enough money to live, and my health and legal status are not threatened. And frankly, not being a seasoned traveler, I feel tremendously better knowing I will have someone picking me up at the airport, who will theoretically be taking me to a place where I can earn a paycheck.
I was wondering if there are any people that have any experiences working with Gloria, as I am going over there sight unseen. I did a quick search on these forums (and google, and other forums) and this is all I could find: [forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … ght=gloria](Deportation of Illegal Teachers So the only thing I have read about them is that it is illegal to be teaching in multiple locations with an ARC, but the posts are dated from last year. Can anyone help me here? It seems like the buxibans are too common (from what I’m reading, anyway) to have teachers working at multiple branches risking deportation.
Additionally, my friends have accepted a contract at Australia Academic Circle, and have yet to be placed. We’re hoping that we can live in the same area (Taoyuan area). Does anyone know what the chances of this happening are? My friend said that they are likely to also be placed in Taoyuan, so I’m hoping he is correct.
Thanks for any help, I think I’m pretty much set on doing this anyway, but any specific information would be greatly appreciated.
What is the Australia Academic Circle? When I first heard that I thought it was some kind of government accredited scheme, but looking at the website it looks like a recruiter.
So one of you is coming with a recruiter, the other is coming blind with no knowledge of the school, all because you’d like a lift from the airport. That lift could cost you dearly.
If you really want to be picked and have initial accomodation provided apply for a job with Kojen ( www.kojenenglish.com ) . They may not be the best payers but they pay on time every time and most people seem to have reasonable experiences with them (I did).
You should be picky, this is a year in your life. A crap school can be an awful experience.
I have noticed that you have been very active in your promotion of Kojen whenever the opportunity arises. I was just wondering if you could clarify your relationship with them. Of course there is no problem if you work in their head office or whatever, I just think that it would be good to know where this support is coming from.
I worked for Kojen for 1 1/2 years in their preschool (in Kaohsiung and Taipei). I did have my ups and downs with them, well, with one particular person actually which actually caused me to move on to another school.
However after reading some of the horror stories on here I realise that Kojen was not a bad choice. Lots of people want to sign while still at home to avoid turning up blind, which is what I did. If I were to move back to Taiwan now I would come independently, but thats because I know what I’m doing now.
Basically recruiters are unknown quantities. There is little info here about individual recruiters. At least there is a fair amount of comment about Kojen and considering the size of the company there really isn’t that much criticism about them. They also pay on time and do not withhold money, they give you free accomodation when you there and pick you up from the airport.
Given the change in ARC where you can change or add schools, coming with Kojen and then bailing if you don’t like it seems like a good way to get started.
I have never worked in Kojen head office, in fact I remained a lowly teacher with no status. I’m just passing on the benefit of my experience. I am actually living in Canada now and have nothing to gain from being positive about Kojen.
The fact that you take the time to recommend Kojen even though you are no longer working there is commendable. I hope that more people such as yourself can make positive posts about their experiences, as there isn’t really much info out there about who to work for!!
Do you work there? The pay is actually not low at all. You only work six days if you accept classes all six days. You can accept or refuse classes at your leisure. Your schedule is always full. There are bonuses. You really can make as much money as you want working for them. They are extremely well connected in Taoyuan county. They have connections with schools and companies and can fill out your schedule. You decide how much you want to work and when. As for the story about five foreigners a while ago, they were never deported. A major litmus test as to whether or not a school is worth working for is how many long term teachers they have in their employ. In the case of Gloria, it is nothing special for a teacher working there to have been there more than five years. Really it’s an easy ride. I’ve been there two years.
I taught at Gloria 7 years ago and have no serious complaints. Their training program was better than most and they are quite considerate of new teachers’ needs. When I had to travel from Chungli to Taoyuan by train they had a secretary go down to the station and show me how to buy a ticket and get on the right platform.
They have a completely developed curriculum which while a bit old-fashioned it does tend to work. Also the Chinese co-teachers are a big help for inexperienced teachers and often a font of teaching advise.
Plus when you leave they always tell you you are welcome to come back and teach for them at anytime. And they mean it. I remember they let me teach one business class for three years after I had quit because the students really liked me. How many schools would do that?
What are they paying? You’ve been there 2 years. Please share! Are they paying for your vacations? Typhoon days? Overtime on weekends?
Anyone can, “make as much as (they) want”, why work hard when you can work smart?
Happy to hear those teachers weren’t deported. I heard they were.I’ll take your word for it.
No doubt they do have connections in Taoyuan. Indeed that is a good thing if…you are working at one of those schools that aren’t on your ARC and the cops come, you only sweat for a bit…until you find out that you aren’t deported! I’d be crapping in my pants if that happened to me.
gloria will put you up in a dorm (new one) in taoyuan for a year, or until you wanna move out within that year. according to people there now, it’s not too bad, other than having to live with a pile of people, and there is a water shortage now that should get cleared up, but taoyuan is on rationing for a few more days (from the typhoon).
they will teach you a fair amount in terms of what you need to know about teaching. i’ve worked in a number of different places, and the training there was better than i experienced elsewhere. basically, it’s a pretty good place to get your feet wet. most of the chinese teachers are helpful and will want to help you to keep students (ie bonuses), so ask them if you don’t know how to do something. there are quite a few foreign teachers who have been there more than 5 years, myself included, although i am slowly phasing them out of my schedule. the pay is average, (around $600) but the job is not all that stressful - also, you know what will happen week-to-week, so there is no worrying about having hours next week. if you want 30 hours a week, they will offer you jobs to get you there within about 2 months. when the bell rings, you go home, so overtime is not really an issue. you are only paid when you work - there are some holidays but they are unpaid. however, you can take holidays more freely than other places as well, b/c there are more teachers to cover you - a nicer option than being stuck traveling in high season with the prices and the crowds.
like i said, a good place to get your feet wet for a while, and let you still have time to check out taiwan. good luck.
in any job, you are going to trade things off … some people think that an easy to follow curriculum and the option of taking holidays when you want to is worth it compared to making an extra $100 or so per hour, and then dealing with the hassle of making up lesson plans in the 5 minutes before class when your school tells you that there aren’t any books, or you are suddenly supposed to teach a class of five 3 year old kids with no chinese teacher …
the pay is in your hand every night, and you don’t have to deal with “your months pay will be a little late this month” bs that is not uncommon elsewhere. no homework to mark unless you decide to give it. no telephone teaching - someone else does it. don’t forget to factor all that time spent into the “higher” pay available elsewhere.
there is training available from teachers who have been here for a while, one more than 10 years. they can help you if you are interested in learning to be a better teacher - hardly every teacher in ges (or taiwan, for that matter) is interested.
ges is no utopia, but for a new teacher, making $600 ain’t a bad way to learn the ropes. after a year or so, look around; there are better jobs out there if you have a little experience. may not be smart for u though …
btw - i don’t give a hoot whether anyone works at ges or not. as i said in a prev post, i’m slowly easing out the door myself …