Want to learn Mandarin / have no teaching experience

I’m 28 years old, English (UK) first language, with a degree in mechanical engineering.

My long-term plan is to learn Mandarin in order to broaden my set of skills and improve my employability. My current field of work (arts, specifically theatre) has recently had massive funding cuts, which is why I figured now is as good a time as any to put work on hold, leave the country and study Mandarin.

I can’t afford to go to university so have decided to study by immersing myself in a culture where it is the native language, take lessons and practice on a daily basis. I’ll fund to myself by teaching English - I have no teaching experience or qualifications but have successfully taught (well, mentored) in my current position.

My questions are:

Is this enough to get a job in Taiwan? I’ve seen “you only need to be white and have a degree” as one school of though, I’ve also seen “you need a TEFL/TESOL to get hired”.

Am I daft to be thinking of coming to Taiwan? I visited Taipei in January and loved the place! One’s instinctive though (what with my goal being to learn Mandarin) may be to go to China. However, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to cope so much with the lack of an ability to queue in shops, hoards of people and overall culture shock of going to China first-off (maybe spending my first year abroad in Taiwan would be a better starting point?). Am I better off going to China (where I’ve heard it’s easier to get a job)?

Will I have an undesirable accent by learning in Taiwan? I see myself working in Europe once I’m bilingual. A Taipei local told me the Taiwan accent is close to the American one when compared to the English one; the syllables are rolled over - does anyone agree/disagree? I don’t mean to say that the American accent is undesirable - I meant that by having a Taiwanese accent rather than a Chinese one, would my employment prospects be hampered?
[tangent=] Incidentally, this particular gentleman was sat next to me on the plane, saw me reading a guide book and proceeded to write out an itinerary for my trip, recommend places to eat/drink at during my stay and then drive me to my hotel in town. Such a beautiful and hospitable welcome-to-our-country gesture which I’m told is not uncommon. [/tangent]

Thanks in advance.

Yes, but you’d be at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak. Only the most exploitative jobs will be available to you until you have been here for a while.

Not at all. But you should probably consider living in the so-called country areas, where you stand a better chance of finding work.

I’d only go to China if it were important to learn simplified characters.

Most likely, you will speak Mandarin with an English accent. On the other hand (and this is purely a personal opinion), you may find the Taiwanese accent more mellifluous than the rather harsh northern China accent. Not to mention easier to understand.

Yes, the people are generally very hospitable to foreigners. Many foreign males find that the women are particularly friendly.

Not at all. But you should probably consider living in the so-called country areas, where you stand a better chance of finding work.[/quote]
I’ve lived in Taipei for years, and without the benefit of formal classes I’ve found it very easy to avoid learning Chinese. It’s all too easy. If you’re out in the country then there will be less English-language support and you will be pushed to use the local lingo more. Just make sure they teach you Mandarin rather than Taiwanese.

[quote=“pppmmunuay”]I’m 28 years old, English (UK) first language, with a degree in mechanical engineering.

My long-term plan is to learn Mandarin in order to broaden my set of skills and improve my employability. My current field of work (arts, specifically theatre) has recently had massive funding cuts, which is why I figured now is as good a time as any to put work on hold, leave the country and study Mandarin.[/quote]
If your goal is to improve your employability as a mechanical engineer, I’d think you’d be well-advised to stay within that field, in some degree. Once you step out of it for a couple of years, getting back in may be difficult. I’m not sure how you’d do that, teach to support yourself, and learn Mandarin at the same time. :2cents:

If you are worried about picking up too much of a “Taiwanese accent”, then train your ear to listen for the difference between a Taiwanese accent without retroflexes (lacking sh, ch zh and saying instead s, c, z) then you will be able to carefully select LE partners with the retroflex. They will still be speaking a Taiwanese version of Mandarin, in terms of grammar and usage and the pronunciation of some characters, but at least they won’t have dropped these important (IMO) distinctions.

Bear in mind, too, that there are probably millions of mechanical engineers who are native Mandarin speakers and who also speak English. To my mind, you’d be throwing yourself into a pool in which you would be a VERY small fish indeed! Why exactly do you think having a smattering of basic Chinese would help your job prospects?

I’m not sure about the definition you were given for a Taiwanese accent, but from a mainland perspective, broadly speaking, southern Chinese accents, such as you encounter in Shanghai and Taiwan when uttered by a male speaker tend to be considered somewhat “Nancy boy” niang niang qiang.

It actually makes considerable difference to give your Chinese a solid bark of Beijing authority when dealing with mainlanders. I can turn it on and off now, and I just love watching them jump when I stick 'em with a full gnarly Beijing drawl. It really does get things done.

Obviously that’s not the case in Taiwan. Do a Beijing accent there at your own peril!

Oh, and what Sandman says. I think the link between Chinese and employment is extremely overated. You are far better off being highly qualified in your field. Chinese isn’t really an edge, in most cases, for the reasons Sandman mentions. Indeed it could get you stuck as a “local hire.”

HG

I think the OP is currently working in the theatre. OP can correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the reference to the mechanical engineering degree is just to show that his degree is unrelated to education. This is right, yeah?

Really, from what I’ve seen, if you want your Chinese skills to further your career prospects, then you have to be absolutely at the very top of your game, otherwise its a waste of time. And that takes years of intensive study. Pretty much everybody I know, with one or two (really, the number is THAT small) exceptions who are extremely fluent, use their Chinese simply to make life easier for them here in Taiwan. And we’re talking here about people who I consider to be fucking maestros in the ol’ Chinee. With very, very few exceptions, their language skill back home would elicit nothing much more than a raised eyebrow of passing interest from a prospective employer. Just doesn’t compute, usually.
Of course there are exceptions. But they are few and far between.

[quote=“sandman”]Really, from what I’ve seen, if you want your Chinese skills to further your career prospects, then you have to be absolutely at the very top of your game, otherwise its a waste of time. And that takes years of intensive study. Pretty much everybody I know, with one or two (really, the number is THAT small) exceptions who are extremely fluent, use their Chinese simply to make life easier for them here in Taiwan. And we’re talking here about people who I consider to be fucking maestros in the ol’ Chinee. With very, very few exceptions, their language skill back home would elicit nothing much more than a raised eyebrow of passing interest from a prospective employer. Just doesn’t compute, usually.
Of course there are exceptions. But they are few and far between.[/quote]

There surely must be western companies who are looking for salespeople, mustn’t there? I would have thought that engineering firms would be looking for salespeople to deal with China. If I were the OP that would be the avenue I’d be looking at and I’d definitely move to China, not Taiwan, as it’s not just the language skills that will be important but the knowledge of the country and culture.

I share your point that being able to speak Chinese in Taiwan doesn’t seem to make one iota of difference to earning potential.

My point is that there are many possible reasons for upping sticks and relocating across the planet to start a new life. And doing so could just be the impetus your life needs. I know that was the case for me. Improved job prospects because of some knowledge of Chinese isn’t one of them, though, in my book. Its extremely unrealistic.

If you are going to work here in any field other than something language related, you are going to get paid local salary. That isn’t much. If you are expecting a massive increase in income because you can speak Mandarin in the western world, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
If you want to learn MAndarin cause it’s cool, could avoid dementia and the likes when you get older (recent research) and you like Chinese food and people, then do it.
If I had to choose between Taiwan and China, choose Taiwan because they are more open to foreigners here (IMO). If you have to go to China and your choices are limited between the big cities, stay away from ShangHai. It is the Paris of the East full of pretentious holier than thou people - again (IMO)

As a beginner, you have many more things to worry about than whether you learn the Taiwanese or Mainland accent (and anyway, as an obviously non-Chinese appearing foreigner, it makes far less different what your accent is – you will always be classified first and foremost as a non-Chinese).

How well do you believe you need to speak Chinese to have it make an impact on your getting better work opportunities? If you mean “simple conversation”, then a year or two in Taiwan might let you achieve that goal. If you mean “being able to talk about work topics, do simple negotiations on behalf of the employer, and be able to understand most of what is said by Chinese speakers at a business function or meeting” you should probably triple that or more. And all those years are “dead time” on your professional resume.

Just sayin’.