Could you imagine Kay Kay teaching English haha
Student: What are we learning today?
KK: It’s up to you!
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Summer didn’t kill SARS. Containment efforts that happened to come to an end in June did. .
SARS died because it either killed its host or its host was contained/away from other humans and unable to pass on to other humans, thus allowing SARS itself to die.
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I work at a private international School and my boss said he’s getting a lot more applications than normal. They’re mostly from foreigners who taught in China last year looking to relocate.
All this news of Taiwan’s positive response to the virus might draw more teachers here
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Maybe MOE can recruit more FETs who have actually been trained in EFL. Then dump Fulbright since the US gov can’t afford it anyway.
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Nah, I don’t feel like arguing about it but the number of cases worldwide dropped to nothing in summer. There were many factors involved, but heat had a lot to do with it, maybe UV light as well. There’s no evidence yet if it will have an affect on the present situation, but it will likely have some. Colder air has an effect on the body and its susceptibility to disease as well.
I expect there will be a lot of that, and not just from China. The economic downturn is going to change a lot.
At the very least, maybe people will stop mixing us up with Thailand.
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How much money do cramschools actually make?
How much more could they afford to pay teachers?
That depends on a lot of factors. Iirc the Giraffe cram school near me charges 170NT/2 hr English class, but there could be anywhere from three to thirty kids in one classroom. They also pay their foreign teacher 400NT/hr (bastards. They wonder why no one wants to work there)
My coworker was pitching a fit about how the KidCastle she’s been sending her kids to wants “6,000NT/month!” for English class. I don’t know much classroom time they get, but it’s 2x/week. Apparently she thinks that price is ridiculous, even though it includes 20 minute weekly 1:1 phonics with the foreign teacher (not that her kids have the faintest idea what they’re reading when they read out loud.
I’m sure there are cram schools that charge NT1,000/hr/student with at least five students in a class.
TLDR: depends heavily on the school, but most schools could probably easily double their foreign teacher pay if they actually wanted people to stick around/develop into quality teachers.
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There are places like that, not many, but they exist. They usually want highly experienced and qualified teachers who are really on it and don’t need lesson plans handed to them. There are few of those schools and few teachers to work there, but they stay long. The schools are often but not always run by foreigners who have worked in Taiwan for awhile.
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Giraffe don’t pay 400 an hour. The lowest I’ve come across is GVO at 490.
Are you sure about the 400 figure? Perhaps the teacher who told you was factoring in preparation time?
Positive it was NT400/hr. I was handed a contract from the owner. Was told I’d get a 50NT/hr increase after six months and that would continue to increase until I maxed at 600. 
A uni student I know who studied at Oxford and spoke perfect Queen’s English was offered 200/hr. She was furious to find out I was offered 400. I told her to find her own kiddos to tutor and that’s what she did. A Filipino who worked there for years was allegedly making 750. Chain cram schools be crazy.
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Ha! I remember in my early days I was looking for a summer job and came across Jump Start and they paid crap but better than that, and the head teacher of that school was surprised I wouldn’t take it because it was a few dollars less than what she made, and I said “Why?” and she looked embarrassed and I explained what normal buxibans paid and suggested she look elsewhere. I even called the head office which put me through the whole rigmarole of a formal interview for a temp summer job and asked wtf but they asked to refer any questions at that stage to the hiring branch. I didn’t bother and found a job at another branch of my then current school which later called my then boss and said I did a good job and everybody was happy especially me. Years later, in a desperate situation I worked at a different branch pf that school thinking, everything was always ok before, where they paid me an insane amount per hour but required a ton of unpaid work that equaled crap pay and on top of that the boss was probably sanctionable (I don’t know the regulations for locking someone up in Taiwan, and he/she wasn’t an actual danger to herself or others, but you know a nut when you meet them, I could tell stories, something would happen at some point) so yeah, chain schools are crazy. Filipinos, hard workers, so that last bit doesn’t surprise me.
I know of yet another branch of the unnamed school that prefers to hire a Romanian who speaks English well and who thrust under the table to native speakers. Theoretically, if there are no ARC holders working at a school, the police won’t check if everyone there has an ARC. Not something I’d risk, but it can work.
this was the kind of info I was looking for. interesting to think about, a friend of mine who works at a private school here and that school has affiliated schools in China. he said that they’ve been teaching those students online since most foreign teachers there left. they’re gonna go SOMEWHERE, right… why not Taiwan? trouble is though, can they get in? they’ll definitely need to quarantine and some who are from the US might not be able to get background checks.
I think if they get offered a contract, they’ll be allowed in under the new regulations, but people can’t just show up here and look for work for a little while.
Is that correct? If a foreigner secures employment from overseas they’ll be allowed in?
There are two public junior highs near me that have local English teachers trying to get FETs for this coming fall. Their school administrators don’t see anything wrong with ETAs, but the people who have had to work with the ETAs haven’t enjoyed the experience and have decided to take action. As of yesterday, they’re finishing up the process of formalizing the FET application for the school.
So, unless the government says “nope”, they plan on hiring two junior high FETs for this fall.
yeah, here’s an excerpt from an email from AIT:
“Taiwan has barred admission to all foreign travelers except for those who hold an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) or documents proving they are in Taiwan for diplomatic or other official purpose or to fulfill business contacts, and those who have received special permits. Any travelers arriving from outside Taiwan and granted entry are subject to a 14-day home quarantine.”
I’m guessing if you have signed a contract with a school, it should qualify as a “business contract.”
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so, anyone see any noticeable shifts in hiring practices lately? any pay increases for teachers? anything that could be attributed to the ongoing pandemic in terms of the teaching market?
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I just did my tax and I’m 300k down on the year. Ouch!
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Ouch is right. Just less hours?
Things seem pretty quiet right now. I’ve heard from people gearing up to hire for the next school year that it’s nearly impossible to recruit from overseas. If true, then those of us here have the upper hand for a while.
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