[quote=“webdoctors”]i’;ve never heard of this, is this something new or only done with young children’s class in the primary grades?
Nothing new. I know the TAs at my old buxi used to do it for 20NT per call.
[quote=“webdoctors”]i’;ve never heard of this, is this something new or only done with young children’s class in the primary grades?
No, it’s not something new. You’re right; it’s usually done in kids buxibans so, if you teach adults, you may never have encountered it. Also, telephone teaching is more frequently done by local teachers, so some foreign teachers in kids buxibans may not be aware that it is being done.
Max, I have to disagree with many parts your post.
I believe an individual’s salary should correlate to what s/he can bring to the table.
Therefore, yes, Westerners should be paid more because we bring in more clients (parents want to see “white” faces), are familiar with Western culture, can teach proper accents, etc. However, some of your reason’s justifying higher salaries for Westerners such as wanting to save money, wanting to pay off debts back home, adjusting to a comparable salary back home, etc. are just bogus. These are all personal issues, why the heck should any company/buxiban pay us more for this? I think a huge part of the local resentment toward English teachers stems from this kind of attitude. Sadly, I also have known many English teachers who also have this “well, they have to compensate me extra for just coming here” attitude. You guys make it should if this was some hardship post in Siberia. English teachers chose to come here under their own volition, it’s not as if we are on some “expat package”, nor should we expect to be treated as such.
And this 40 hour stuff is also bogus. Max I have no idea what you are talking about but most buxiban’s do not expect their teachers to handle a 40 hour workload, simply because there usually isn’t enough business. It’s a complete non-issue to start with. But what I find disturbing is the attitude towards your justification for NOT working 40 hours. Max, I don’t work 40 hours a week, but that’s because there isn’t enough work, not because I think “I am special” and can get a 40 hour/week job back home with better pay. Think about it, if instead of teaching English, you chose to work for some Taiwanse firm do you still think you can get away with NOT working 40 hours? Chances are you’re be working AT LEAST 40 hours, WITH lower pay (kind of like the locals, wouldn’t you say). That must suck right? Of course, you needn’t be bother by this hypothetical situation, since you are a Westerner who speaks English so the teaching gig will always be avaliable. To be more blunt, that’s probably all you’re qualified to do in Taiwan, since I dare to presume you don’t speak Chinese, so your options here are limited.
Which brings me to ask you Max just what brought you here? From your post it doesn’t sound like you’re here for the local culture, nor does it seem that you are here for the love of teaching English. And surely it CAN’T be for the money, since as you so eloqunetly stated: “Any foreigner worth his salt can always work 40 or more hours weekly back home, making a lot more money than here, and enjoying all the comforts of home with old friends.” So just why are you here??? Is it for the xiaojies???
And since this is a call for solidarity here’s my suggestion for all English teachers and wanna-be English teachers: please learn as much local language/culture before arriving and/or during your stay. Try to meet as many locals, and practice your Chinese as often as possible, regardless of the amused stares. The Taiwanese respect that and life here will be much more enjoyable.
I agree with some of the points that have been raised regarding foreign teachers’ higher salary. What really bothers me is that you leave your lower paying job (with it’s pension, medical aid, not to mention a degree of dignity)in the country you come from. After the first few weeks you start realizing something is amiss. You try your best to ingratiate yourself to no avail. Later you find out not everybody is being paid what you earn. Unfortunately, everybody, from the cook to the last teacher knows the details of your contract. For the rest of your contract you have to contend with co-workers who have something against you. They never seem to consider that you would rather have remained home if you knew that your salary came with a guilt trip. I gues keiththehessite is my dark side because I would never make them feel uncomfortable about the hundreds of grammatical errors they commit on an hourly basis. I’ll say nothing about spelling errors because I make many.
So-called ABC and CBC teachers are a totally different kettle of fish (especially if they were were born and bred there). They get paid a lower salary just because they happen to be of Chinese (or other Asian, African, etc.)descent.
They take that away, only if you let them.
Read the Jerry Macguire teaching thread. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Maybe you are in the wrong place. Or, maybe doing things to help your case that, in actual fact, are not helping your situation at all.
Then again, they could be cold.
Dunno 
Most certainly in the wrong place if this is the case. NO ONE knows any of our foreign teachers contracts. NO ONE.
I would consider exactly what it is that you bring to the table. I have never had any teachers feel ripped off compared to a foreigner. Only if that foreign appears to be doing nothing of real value. Not saying that this is the case. So don’t bite my head off. Just, from my personal experience, I have only seen it once, with one teacher, a while ago.
There is something to be said for making a good package for a teacher being a long way from home. But, neither boss, nor teacher, likes to be taken for a ride.
The standard wage for part-time Taiwanese English teachers (kindergarden) in Taichung is $500 an hour, I know this because my wife is one and she has worked for a few agencies here.
The standard wage for a part-time native speaker is around $600, which is really not that much higher than the local teachers.
This only applies to kindergarden, I know that buxibans pay their Taiwanese teachers less.
I also would have to wonder why the Taiwanese English teachers at a buxiban would be angry because the native speakers of English are getting more money. At the buxiban I taught at, the wages per hour for the two were almost the same. (Like the post above, where the Taiwanese got NT$100 an hour less; my buxiban was even closer.) After all, the native speaker can actually speak English; many of the Taiwanese teachers can’t; even the ones who can carry on a conversation make a huge number of mistakes. As for teaching ability, it varies a great deal, but it varies in both groups. Some of the Taiwanese at my buxiban were good teachers, some weren’t. Same with the foreigners. It didn’t make any difference in the pay (as long as you weren’t so bad you got fired.)
I agree with the above two posts. Taiwanese teachers don’t make much less than foreign teachers - about 400 NT vs. 600 NT, at one place where I work (that I asked at; maybe at some branches, Taiwanese teachers get paid even more) - which by Taiwanese standards, where the minimum wage is 80 NT an hour, is GREAT money. So why should they be envious of me making 100-200 NT more per hour? Especially since, when foreign teachers are made to work less hours, so the overall salaries of Taiwanese and foreign teachers even out to be the same (I bet the Taiwanese teachers, since they work 9 to 5, might even make more than I do at the end of the month).
In response to the poster who questioned our value as foreigners and why we should be paid nearly twice as much as locals.
First, we are native speakers of the language they want to learn, living in their country. It is quite obvious that 99% of the Taiwanese nationals cannot effectively teach English in a fluent manner, just as most of us foreigners could not teach Chinese.
Furthermore, any time a professional works abroad in any field, he or she is paid more than he or she would be at home. Obviously, our wages as professional teachers in our own countries are more than 600NT per hour, or even 60,000 per month. Now, if you are not a professional teacher, then that is a different story.
Either way, you / we are living in a foreign country in one of the only labor situations that could possibly mean taking a lesser wage than we could make in or own countries. We should not allow employers to take advantage of us in any way, in relation to low pay or to working for free.
I think we have digressed a little. I would like to get some ideas from other posters as to how we could stand together against exploitation. We live in a world of virtual reality. There is a lot we could do without exposing our identities.
University professors here make 60,000-70,000/mo. That’s about what English teachers in bushibans here make. Should locals be paid the same for teaching English to kids? In most schools with foreign teachers, it wouldn’t be possible. And generally, local teachers don’t make 500/hr for teaching English.