Teaching in Taiwan

[bnli10]

I'm thinking of teaching English in Taiwan, but is confused with some of the wordings of the want ads:

1. "Office hours and teaching hours" - what are you getting paid for and what do you do during the "office hours" besides the usual prepping and grading. The way the hours are broken up in these equations are really confusing.

2. "ABC, CBC, and BBC" - I'm not sure, but I believe I've heard someone referring to "ABC" as "American-born-Chinese". So, I'm guessing that "CBC" means "Chinese-born-Chinese"? What does "BBC" mean, then?

3. "Kindergarten and Language School classes" - are teachers expected to run around town, going to their various classes each day? Is that why the time is listed as a couple of hours in the morning, afternoon, evening, and nights?

Basically, I'm just trying to figure out if it's even possible to to make a decent living in exchange for uprooting myself, spouse, and our 9 year-old. Are any of you in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance. I would appreciate any feedback.

[gfell]

Hello bnli10,

Great questions. Allow me to bring some light onto them.

1. "Office hours and teaching hours" - what are you getting paid for and what do you do during the "office hours" besides the usual prepping and grading. The way the hours are broken up in these equations are really confusing.

Teaching hours are contact hours in front of the students. Depending on the school, office hours would mean your own time for class prep. Some schools allow you to do the class prep at home, others will require you to be physically present at the school. The school may also get you to assist with photocopying, decorating rooms for upcoming events such as halloween and so forth. You may also find that the office hours are just a safety net for the school in case they need to ask you for help in some areas. Generally, you can just teach your classes and then go home. Best to get clarification from an existing teacher. Ask the school if you can speak with an existing teaching before committing.

2. "ABC, CBC, and BBC" - I'm not sure, but I believe I've heard someone referring to "ABC" as "American-born-Chinese". So, I'm guessing that "CBC" means "Chinese-born-Chinese"? What does "BBC" mean, then?

Hmm... I would have thought the same as you. Never seen these before in an ESL Job Ad. Where did you see them? Do you have the link to the job ad so that I can take a look.

3. "Kindergarten and Language School classes" - are teachers expected to run around town, going to their various classes each day? Is that why the time is listed as a couple of hours in the morning, afternoon, evening, and nights?

Yeh, it's always tough having split shifts and to make things worse to be expected to go to a few different locations throughout the day. Unless the money was really good, then I wouldn't take up such an ESL Job. Have known of teachers to become burnt out working like this and finally quitting after a few months. Find a teaching job that doesn't have split shifts and just the 1 teaching location per day. There are still plenty of these type of English teaching jobs around.

As a small family, you can still enjoy the world of teaching English, so don't be scared away. Just make sure you get the right school and benefits before committing. Do try and ask to speak with a current teacher.

Good luck... let me know if you need more advice.

[arnold f]

bnli10,

You only need to worry now. Worry to make sure you get the right ESL Job. If you do get the right ESL Job, then you will be fine after.

I have a wife and 2 small kids and I support them all on my teaching jobs. I have a semi part-time teaching job, and then have filled my available classes with other classes I have sourced. I would recommend this to anyone. If you go full-time with one school, then it's tough to find other work.

I only have teaching hours in my contract. All prep I do is at home.

By the way, where do you want to teach? Which country?

[gfell]

He wants to teach in Taiwan.

[arnold f]

Well in that case, I know Taiwanese schools are always busy from June til September hiring for the summer months. You should be able to find something nice in Taiwan!

[bnli10]

I really appreciate all your quick responses.

Upon reading the way I'd worded my family concerns, I can understand why you would refer to me as a "he". I'm actually a woman who is TRYING to get her husband to give up his job/clients/connections in the States, in exchange for my wanderlust. That's why I've also been trying to see if there are any graphic design job possiblities for him in Taiwan since he's not willing to be an ESL teacher.


Thanks, again.

[gfell]

Sorry about that...

If your husband wants to work in graphic design, then it will be very hard for him to get such a job in Taiwan.

Gone are the days when just being a native English speaker was enough to get you such lucrative jobs. He will either need a very sought after skill or conversational Mandarin skills in order to get such a job.

Why doesn't he do freelance work as a Graphic Designer? I'm sure he could sell his services via a homepage and market it to the world. That way, no matter where he lives, he can still do his Graphic Design work... Just a thought that is.

[bnli10]

I've been trying to sow that "freelance via email" seed for a couple of years. I just wish his current freelance clients would go for it, but they want to meet with him in person to show him what they wanted done (understandable since some of the projects are pretty big).

I'm not giving up, though...

[Brian]

Originally Posted by bnli10

1. "Office hours and teaching hours" - what are you getting paid for and what do you do during the "office hours" besides the usual prepping and grading. The way the hours are broken up in these equations are really confusing.

The above only refers to what are called salaried or full time positions here in Taiwan. If you work hourly then you only need to turn up to teach. You get paid a higher rate than if you were salaried, and can still get the resident visa, work permit and health insurance. The downside is that other than the hours of work stated in your contract, you never really know how many hours a week you will get. Fourteen hours a week is the legal minimum, but good teachers should find that they are working 18 to 25 hours a week.

Salaried positions require you to be at the school all day, often between 9am and 6pm. You do some teaching during this time and spend the rest of the time lesson planning, correcting homework, making school decorations and in some cases just looking like a token foreigner in the office. Some people like this as they have a guaranteed income per month, but the downside is that on a per hour basis you would be earning almost half of what an hourly rate teacher would be paid. Most hourly rate teachers make more money as they pick up a second job or teach privates. On a salary you have no time for this often.

Originally Posted by bnli10

2. "ABC, CBC, and BBC" - I'm not sure, but I believe I've heard someone referring to "ABC" as "American-born-Chinese". So, I'm guessing that "CBC" means "Chinese-born-Chinese"? What does "BBC" mean, then?

ABC = American Born Chinese or Australian Born Chinese
CBC =Canadian Born Chinese
BBC = British Born Chinese

These are really broad terms for returnee Chinese who have spent all or some of their lives living in an English speaking country.

Originally Posted by bnli10

3. "Kindergarten and Language School classes" - are teachers expected to run around town, going to their various classes each day? Is that why the time is listed as a couple of hours in the morning, afternoon, evening, and nights?

Depends on which school you work for.

Most of the bigger schools will have you work in one location. There is often a two hour lunch break as it is for lunch and a nap, and this is why the day is often broken into am and pm hours. If you go for a smaller school you may get higher pay, but they generally have less hours to offer and you may need to run around to get enough hours. Take care of legal concerns in doing this as you are only legally allowed to work for the employers stated on your ARC.

There is money to be made in Taiwan, but it would be tough going if you had to support your spouse and a child. I would discourage you from coming unless your spouse was able to work also.

[bnli10]

Thanks, Brian, I'm hoping for a small miracle...

Another question from an ad:
"Government recognized Teacher's Certificate (Other than TESOL, CELTA, or TOEFL)" -
what do they want, then?