Hello everyone! I am new here and wanted to seek out some advice from others. I know this topic has been discussed exhaustively, but many of the forums I looked through are around or over 10 years old. I will continue going through discussions already posted, but I also want to include more recent perspectives.
Background: I am Asian-American in my mid-20s. I was born and raised in the Midwest and have lived here my entire life, so naturally English is my native language. I’ve always wanted to move to Taiwan to teach English and have been going back and forth with this decision over the past few years.
However, being Asian, I am aware of the discrimination and difficulties Asian English teachers receive in Asia. Honestly, after doing a bit of research, I am a bit doubtful of my chances but I figured I’d give it a try as I don’t want to have regrets later in life.
I wanted to see if there were any other Asian English teachers currently in Taiwan who can provide some insights on their overall experience (good and bad) and what to expect. I know everyone’s experience is different, but is it really THAT bad as an Asian teaching English? What is Taiwan’s work culture like? and would you recommend that I give this a go?
If I do go, the cities I would like to teach in are Tainan or Taichung. I would like to avoid the giant metros like Taipei.
I apologize if this topic is redundant but as a pretty big life decision, I want to make sure I fully think this through. Thank you in advance!
I ve met a Viet-ethnic, Quebec-born teacher here in TW.
Mother tongue Viet, second language French, learnt English as third language.
Not actually stands out (not pink nor astoundingly easy in the eye), but manage to get and sustain a steady teaching jobs for years.
So, as long as your passport say you are elligible, nothing is impossible.
Depends what you are willing to work for (salary-wise) and how lucky and/or talented you are in finding a reasonable employer.
Knew a legally deaf English teacher (white). Same employer hired a non-hearing-impaired and non-native-speaking Indian (from India) at a similar salary. The salary wasn’t great, but was more than anyone else would offer and more than enough to live off of.
As a fluent and (hopefully) dedicated teacher, you deserve a decent salary.
Then again, don’t forget to check your native-speaking privilege at the immigration counter.
See this malarkey:
Yeah, this bullshit is starting to rear its head here too. Self-hating white, native-speaking teacher. Yet, fails to admit how her gender is an advantage and can even lead to higher private tutoring hourly wages. God help us all!!
I disagree. I know of successful ABC teachers in schools (of all types) in Pingdong, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi, Changhua, Taichung, Hualien, Taidong, among other locations.
that’s news to me. Every time I try to place a teacher in a school in Central/South Taiwan I get awkward smiles from the deans who would prefer someone who “looks like a foreigner”
What they prefer may not reflect what is available. Honestly, the public or private “certified teacher” market is the least racist. At the same time, cram schools with rational/intelligent owners will have a well-established business and hire the most qualified or stable teachers. Creative owners will find a way to turn diversity into an asset.
I agree that horribly racist employers are around, but they are just as prominent in Taibei.
From my experience it used to be the rule of thumb that ABCs weren’t hired anywhere in Taiwan to teach English, but over the last 10 years Taipei has changed and ABCs working as English teachers is the norm now. I haven’t seen that change down South yet.
I trust your experiences. However, I can attest to a changing mindset in the South as well. I, too, have heard the most terribly racist thoughts from cram school managers in Tainan (mid-level managers). Owners have tended to be FAR more level-headed.
I know of several examples in Tainan alone, including a non-white and non-native teacher in a very prestigious private high school (without teaching credentials).
If you apply to the big chain schools you’ll face less discrimination in the hiring process, because the people hiring you will be some Western HR people. They’ll give you a job and put you in a school in Taichung no problem. I can only imagine that you would face difficulty getting hired if you’re going door-to-door to a bunch of dinky little cram schools. Even then, it wouldn’t be impossible.
Where you might feel the discrimination is when you actually start working. Some students will treat you a bit differently to the other foreign teachers because you’re Asian, especially if you’re the first Asian American teacher they’ve had, but if you can swallow your pride and still build rapport with them then it shouldn’t be a big deal. Taiwanese staff will still treat you like any other foreigner, again, unless it’s some tiny random school and you’re the only Asian American that’s ever worked there.
Thank you to you and @Lao_Wang for your honest conversation! It really helps put things into perspective. The info and stories you two provided help level my expectations as well. I’ll definitely aim to be optimistic because even if the experience isn’t the greatest, I know I’ll learn from it.
True true, I’ve visited cities like Beijing so I guess there’s no comparison, but coming from a city in the Midwest, USA, where the population is around or less than 500k, Taipei is a Goliath.
Upside: people can learn, use, even teach English no matter what they look like! The more chances our students have to experience Asians/locals using English, the more they can put themselves in that context. It’s NOT a “white” language. It’s a universal language. Chinese is also a lingua franca, a fact I emphasize with students of all ages. Studies demonstrate the benefits of multilingualism.