Expatriate English teachers come to Taiwan to teach for a whole host of reasons and are of varying ages. There are many South Africans, Brits, Americans and Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians. Many South Africans currently view teaching in Taiwan as a means to making money as their position back home is not stable. Many Brits and others view Taiwan as a stop gap between university and starting a career back home. Of course there are exceptions to the rule amongst all nationalities; those who fall in love and want to settle in Taiwan see teaching as the means to do this, others just teach for the experience, the novelty or because they just happened to be passing through and well, just happened to stop.

The New Teachers On The Block

Generally the established schools cause no problems for the English teacher; they are well looked after, are given the correct documents for staying in Taiwan and generally have job security with a set curriculum and a set wage each month. Many though rely on the private schools and the bushibans for income and work and herein rest many a problem in the making.

They may also find themselves teaching a varied mix of children without the backup of a local teacher thus finding control in the classroom a taxing task.

Many an agency has sprung up catering to the foreign teacher. They for a small percentage or to pay the full salary will find a school and a job for most arrivals. They have though often been accused of cheating by taking large sums of money to find positions, not paying teachers on time and generally making sure that jobs fail so that they can obtain another search fee.

So much depends on the school involved as to how a new teacher will survive and enjoy his time in Taiwan. For a newcomer it would be advisable to setup with an established chain school first to get the experience and an idea as to what is involved. After maybe two years and if the interest to remain is still with them then ...Taiwan is their oyster.

Lifestyle

Life in Taiwan is generally good for all concerned. It is a first world country: slightly expensive, but all that is back-home can be found here. Attitudes towards foreigners by the Taiwanese are very good with English teachers generally being accepted into the community with a smile and friendly curiosity. It can sometimes be difficult to make oneself understood or to cut the red tape that surrounds government bureaucracy when one does not speak the language but a pleasant smile and patience often produces the desired results.

English Teachers will always be in demand in Taiwan and this will probably increase as more emphasis is placed on increased language proficiency of the Taiwanese people. Attitudes at schools are slowly changing to a more practical and fun approach and this will help foreigners to settle in easier – the idea of lecturing five year olds would be hard to accept by anyone outside of Taiwan and the Kremlin. A smattering of Mandarin of course for any potential teacher would not go amiss and would certainly help to smooth over the buying of noodles or fresh milk. So buy that “phrase book” now, sign up with a chain school and get your bags packed – for experience this is a good one to have under the belt.

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