Have any Waygookins taught in Taiwan?

[woman-king]

Hey guys,

I've become interested in possibly teaching in Taiwan in a year or two.  I know about the Taiwan-expat online forum Forumosa.com, and I've gotten good information there, but I'd really love to hear from someone who has taught in both Korea and Taiwan, or is close to people who have, and could give a bit of a comparison in terms of cost of living, pay, overall quality of life, cultural customs, etc. 

I know the climate is warmer, and I've heard nature is more accessible from Taipei compared to Seoul.  I've also been told employers usually do not pay your rent, but do pay a bit more per hour.  I've heard it is a bit less developed, overall, than SK.

Anyone with personal experience who can elaborate on this will be very appreciated!

Thanks,
Woman-King.   :)

[tfuller]

I visited there in January, and absolutely loved it! The culture, the people, everything.
Sorry i can't help you with more info, but i will be watching this thread closely as i feel like a change next year and Taiwan is the top of my list.

[vw08]

I lived and taught in eastern Taiwan for a year.  I'm heading to Korea at the end of the summer, so I can't compare the two, but I can tell you about my experience. 

I lived in Yilan County, which is about an hour southeast of Taipei by bus.  The cost of living is fairly low, for me especially because I lived in a rural area.  Taiwan is closer to SE Asia than Korea, so it is quicker and easier to get to all the usual vacation spots, if that interests you.  There is tons of nature, history and culture in Taiwan and most of it is fairly accessible due to the extensive bus/train system.    Taiwan doesn't have a ton of foreigners compared to Seoul/Busan, but you will find plenty signs available in English, especially in the major cities.  It's fairly easy to study Chinese if you are interested in studying it.  Taiwan is not usually on the radar of international visitors, so Taipei especially has made things very easy for foreigners. 

One big difference between teaching in Korea and Taiwan is that you are permitted to privately tutor in Taiwan without putting your visa in jeopardy.  I taught public school so I can't speak about the buxiban (hagwon) system, but from what I have heard the hours tend to be long but the pay is pretty good.  I know that Hess is the major company but there are tons of smaller chains and independent schools.  Are you looking to teach public or private?

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

[woman-king]

I lived and taught in eastern Taiwan for a year.  I'm heading to Korea at the end of the summer, so I can't compare the two, but I can tell you about my experience. 

I lived in Yilan County, which is about an hour southeast of Taipei by bus.  The cost of living is fairly low, for me especially because I lived in a rural area.  Taiwan is closer to SE Asia than Korea, so it is quicker and easier to get to all the usual vacation spots, if that interests you.  There is tons of nature, history and culture in Taiwan and most of it is fairly accessible due to the extensive bus/train system.    Taiwan doesn't have a ton of foreigners compared to Seoul/Busan, but you will find plenty signs available in English, especially in the major cities.  It's fairly easy to study Chinese if you are interested in studying it.  Taiwan is not usually on the radar of international visitors, so Taipei especially has made things very easy for foreigners. 

One big difference between teaching in Korea and Taiwan is that you are permitted to privately tutor in Taiwan without putting your visa in jeopardy.  I taught public school so I can't speak about the buxiban (hagwon) system, but from what I have heard the hours tend to be long but the pay is pretty good.  I know that Hess is the major company but there are tons of smaller chains and independent schools.  Are you looking to teach public or private?

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

Thanks so much!
I'm just going to answer publicly in case others are interested--

I heard you need a teaching certificate/Master's to teach in public school in Taiwan?  Is this true?

I only have a TEFL + B.A., and would have 1-2 years at a public school in Korea if I moved there, so yeah, leaning towards Hess or other bigger buxiban chains.  Being closer to SE Asia, closer to mountains/nature and having a greater sense of history where I live are all important to me.

[kyndo]

I've  taught in a private school in Taiwan for a short period, and my sister has lived there for quite some time. I work in a Public school here in Korea, so I can't really give you a direct comparison, but here are some of the things I've noticed or heard:
The contracts there aren't what u would call binding. There is a lot of haggling over stuff such as hours and pay despite that your written contract already covers those topics. Basically, make very sure that you can say no to stuff like surprise lessons, additional work hours etc. Also, when looking at private schools, it is extremely important to get a sense of who you are dealing with-- look em up online first!!!
The pay is less than in korea and Japan, but the cost of living is also a lot less: you can eat very well on the equivalent of 4000 won, especially once u get to know where the good spots are.

Culturally, they are somewhat more "Eastern" than over here, but they like foreigners, and I've never encountered any type of discrimination. They're friendly people!

I lived in Hsin Xu, which is one of the larger cities outside Taipei, and it was very nice. Loads of things to do, with lots of beautiful beaches and tropical forests all a day trip away.

I would recommend it, but make sure u do your research before signing a contract!!!
g'luck! :D

[NMonk]

I lived and taught in eastern Taiwan for a year.  I'm heading to Korea at the end of the summer, so I can't compare the two, but I can tell you about my experience. 

I lived in Yilan County, which is about an hour southeast of Taipei by bus.  The cost of living is fairly low, for me especially because I lived in a rural area.  Taiwan is closer to SE Asia than Korea, so it is quicker and easier to get to all the usual vacation spots, if that interests you.  There is tons of nature, history and culture in Taiwan and most of it is fairly accessible due to the extensive bus/train system.    Taiwan doesn't have a ton of foreigners compared to Seoul/Busan, but you will find plenty signs available in English, especially in the major cities.  It's fairly easy to study Chinese if you are interested in studying it.  Taiwan is not usually on the radar of international visitors, so Taipei especially has made things very easy for foreigners. 

One big difference between teaching in Korea and Taiwan is that you are permitted to privately tutor in Taiwan without putting your visa in jeopardy.  I taught public school so I can't speak about the buxiban (hagwon) system, but from what I have heard the hours tend to be long but the pay is pretty good.  I know that Hess is the major company but there are tons of smaller chains and independent schools.  Are you looking to teach public or private?

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

Thanks so much!
I'm just going to answer publicly in case others are interested--

I heard you need a teaching certificate/Master's to teach in public school in Taiwan?  Is this true?

I only have a TEFL + B.A., and would have 1-2 years at a public school in Korea if I moved there, so yeah, leaning towards Hess or other bigger buxiban chains.  Being closer to SE Asia, closer to mountains/nature and having a greater sense of history where I live are all important to me.

I'm in exactly the same position and also thinking of going to Taiwan next year. I heard that to work for the government officially you have to have a teaching certificate from your home country, but because the the government can't cant get enough certified teachers they give cash to the schools and allow the school to hire privately, meaning you only need a B.A and some experience.

Does anyone know anymore about this?

[TeePee]

My boyfriend worked in Taiwan before returning to Korea.  He had a really bad experience.  His school was terrible.  He had to work long hours and his school wasn't following the laws of the country.  For example, he worked at more than one branch which is illegal and he had to teach kindy which was also illegal for his school (they had a special hidden room that teachers and students would have to hide in if the government did a surprise check.)  I went to visit him during winter vacation and most of his foreign coteachers hated it just as much.  He also hated the weather and the food for the most part but the biggest problems he faced was with the school.
That being said, make sure you talk to other teachers at the school you are looking to work at before you sign a contract.  I'm sure there are good places to teach, his school just wasn't one.  PM me if you want the name of the school to avoid.

[TeePee]

I lived and taught in eastern Taiwan for a year.  I'm heading to Korea at the end of the summer, so I can't compare the two, but I can tell you about my experience. 

I lived in Yilan County, which is about an hour southeast of Taipei by bus.  The cost of living is fairly low, for me especially because I lived in a rural area.  Taiwan is closer to SE Asia than Korea, so it is quicker and easier to get to all the usual vacation spots, if that interests you.  There is tons of nature, history and culture in Taiwan and most of it is fairly accessible due to the extensive bus/train system.    Taiwan doesn't have a ton of foreigners compared to Seoul/Busan, but you will find plenty signs available in English, especially in the major cities.  It's fairly easy to study Chinese if you are interested in studying it.  Taiwan is not usually on the radar of international visitors, so Taipei especially has made things very easy for foreigners. 

One big difference between teaching in Korea and Taiwan is that you are permitted to privately tutor in Taiwan without putting your visa in jeopardy.  I taught public school so I can't speak about the buxiban (hagwon) system, but from what I have heard the hours tend to be long but the pay is pretty good.  I know that Hess is the major company but there are tons of smaller chains and independent schools.  Are you looking to teach public or private?

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

Thanks so much!
I'm just going to answer publicly in case others are interested--

I heard you need a teaching certificate/Master's to teach in public school in Taiwan?  Is this true?

I only have a TEFL + B.A., and would have 1-2 years at a public school in Korea if I moved there, so yeah, leaning towards Hess or other bigger buxiban chains.  Being closer to SE Asia, closer to mountains/nature and having a greater sense of history where I live are all important to me.

I'm in exactly the same position and also thinking of going to Taiwan next year. I heard that to work for the government officially you have to have a teaching certificate from your home country, but because the the government can't cant get enough certified teachers they give cash to the schools and allow the school to hire privately, meaning you only need a B.A and some experience.

Does anyone know anymore about this?

You can get jobs at private school without a teaching certificate.  I know some people didn't even have previous teaching experience.  However, I'm not sure if it is the same for public schools.

[mellow-d]

I taught in Korea in 2006-2007 and then in Taiwan for 6 months until Feb 2010 when I came back to Korea. In Taiwan, you must have a teaching certificate (from home) to work in the public school system. You can still get jobs at cram schools but the competition is pretty fierce. I noticed most of the ex-pat teachers I met in Taiwan are long-timers and keep their jobs near and dear. My situation was unfortunate. I am a licensed teacher so I was able to get a job in Taiwan through Footprints but my fiance who already had a year teaching in Korea but no certificates couldn't find a good job. He was able to piece together some part-time positions but he was just making enough to scrape by. My school started forcing the teachers to work Saturdays and Sundays (as well as Mon-Fri) and if you refused as I did, they would threaten to fire you by telling you that they could say you have a personality problem (aka: crazy). I was shocked to say the least. Then the principal was talking about keeping our passports...
It depends a lot on your school as is the case in Korea.
 My one piece of advice: Find a job before you go.

[woman-king]

Just wanted to say thanks to all who replied and shared their experiences!

[kkcreamsoda]

LOL I haven't taught in Taiwan yet but will want to teach there for sure...because I'm Taiwanese :D so unfortunately I can't tell you anything about teaching in Taiwan.
I hope my opinions are not biased, but I think Taiwan has better food, friendlier people, cheaper stuff, and more westernized. Transportation from places to places is easy and cheap. People are often very open and chill, so you can joke around with us even if we are older than you, unlike Koreans you have to be very careful not to destroy the hierarchy. And no I don't think we are less developed than Korea, we are also pretty advance on technology.
On the other hand, I think Korea is a pretty awesome place as well. Korea has rich traditions and many amazing cultural sites. Korea has cleaner streets, more foreigners, better quality of clothes, better weather.. and Koreans speak better English.
I really really think both countries are great so I can't tell which place is better than the other...I wish you will enjoy your time teaching in Korea and in Taiwan!

[mmarion]

Hello!! Right before I moved to Korea I taught in Taiwan for 1 month and was able to travel to the major cities with the company I was working for. What was great, is that the contract was only for 1 month, and the food and housing expenses and travel expenses were covered with the company. I worked for American Language Village's winter program. So I have some experience with Taiwan as I was able to travel through most of the country...so compared to korea this is what myopinions are...

Taiwan is deff much more laid back. The people seem to be friendlier and want to talk with you more and help you if you are lost. Dress there is much more laid back too...I live in Gangnam and I feel like appereance is super important, I think they are less judgemental on looks.

It is much less developed the Korea. The buildings in most of the areas, sidewalks, an roads didnt seem as up to date.


I am really athleteic and it was hard to run and ride my bike there...just because of the sidewalks, and scooters everywhere...

I ahppen to like the food in korea better, just seems more healthy but that is just my opinion.

To me where I live is more westernized then I ever saw in Taiwan, but I live in Gangam  so comparing that to the rest of korea might not be too accurate...let me know if you have any oter questions!

[sweet_potato]

I too looked into this for a while, and it seems like the whole public school system is set up in a way that's more favorable to foreign teachers in Korea. They're pretty good about abiding our contracts here, although sometimes we have to fight a bit.

After visiting Taiwan, I was extremely impressed with the people! Everyone I encountered was really friendly and nice, even if they didn't speak English, they attempted to communicate. I also didn't get stared at, even in smaller cities. People treated me like I was one of them. When I tried using Mandarin (which I'm awful at), it was received very well and people didn't laugh in my face like they do here. If I lived in Taiwan, I would definitely try to learn Mandarin. I thought shopping was better in Taiwan - way more options for the same prices as here. I wasn't a fan of food because it was too greasy for me - I do like Korean food quite a bit. I'm sure that if I lived there, I'd find something more suitable to my preferences.

Good luck if you go! I think it would be great!