Job Discussion Forums

[teacherwilltravel]

could anyone make any comments about ESL schools that you worked in and thought were good workplaces and those that werent good experiences?

Thanks

[markholmes]

I think you are not getting any replies because your question is too vague. It looks like you haven't been bothered to do any research of your own, so nobody can be bothered to reply.

My suggestion is, read the last 50 posts on this board. Use the search function to search for specific towns / cities and then come back ask a more specific question. You will find people will be more than willing to help you if you have helped yourself.

[Serious_Fun]

[capetownanna]

I can tell you for a fact that working at Principal School in Taoyuan City is the worst experience that any foreign teacher teaching English will encounter.

For starters, the school will tax you on the total number of hours worked however only reports a fraction of those hours to the tax office and labour insurance office thus pocketing the difference.

Do not work or sign a contract with Diane at this school since there will be second contract you don't see which goes to the government. Your contract at Principal is meaningless and useless and not worth the paper its written on.

[markholmes]

capetownanna, you may want to do a quick search for Principal (and Principle, as one poster spelt it) as this school has been mentioned twice in the last month (newbies asking for advice). I used to work in the sister school (although I'm not entirely how thay are connected now), Taipei Oxford Amercian School in Neihu. Many of the teachers (who had also worked in Principal) in Neihu talked about Principal very negatively.

I think both schools are very South African heavy when it comes to teachers, possibly because South Africans are less likely to run away (having less options back home).

I have to say though, wages were high for your pain, and some of those teachers were excellent educators.

Your thoughts?

[teacherwilltravel]

As a person whos never worked in taiwan myinitial impression from the websites like this is that Hess is the safest way to come to taiwan for a newbie ie for me. Then i read on their website in each class there's a western teacher and a chinese teacher assigned to each class. Then i statrted to think is it a great support structure or just an avenue of monitoring THE FOREIGN TEACHER. I guess some teachers would love it others prefer to have their own class. I guess this kind of system has the potential to be an exciting cultural experience or alternatively an unsatisfying experience but probably somewhere in the middle. the other issue is do both teachers have equal status from the managers point of view. that aside, the security of a Hess job seems ideal unless im misinformed. Then ther's the age issue . Most of the teachers pictured in the website look like they are in their 20's. I'm 35.

[markholmes]

At the moment there is a lot of info on Hess here, quite a lot of it positive. Go back three or four years and most of the info was very negative. This is probably not so much to do with Hess changing, but rather, there were a different set of posters who had a different set of experiences. Also at that time chains (particularly Hess and Kojen) were often seen to be inherently evil and to be avoided at all cost (not sure why).

For a newbie, having a co-teacher in class is a godsend. It is 90% support structure, 10% monitor. Believe me you'll need the structure when you start. There is also the possibility that your co-teacher might be new as well, so you'll be thrown in at the deep end together.

Yes, like the website, most teachers in Taiwan are between 20 to 35 and that is the age range most schools would want, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for the olds. The actual range is probably 20 to 55 with the bulk being under 30.

Hess always seemed a lot of work to me; 6 days a week, often with split shifts. I would take a look at www.kojenenglish.com. I managed to avoid the six day week and split shifts with them. They also don't have schools in small towns, so you are likely to be based in a largish town or city.

I'm pretty sure Hess and Kojen take teachers older than 35. With that volume of teachers going through your system there just aren't enough blue eyed, blond haired 24 year Californian females to go around.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

[dangerousapple]

The myth of needing a Chinese co-teacher continues to amaze me. They are not needed in any way, and cause more trouble than they are worth. How can students respect you as a teacher if someone else is controlling their behavior? How can they ever develop listening skills if they get the co-teacher to translate everything you say? Would you want someone translating all your Chinese lessons into English??


I'm not talking about kindergartens, by the way. That's a totally different ball game.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

[dangerousapple]

Quite true, Dr. Z, but the ones who can't really speak English are usually the ones who say we aren't needed.

[KaiFeng]

[ghost]

Be careful if you are offered a contract at Chia Yang High School, Ching Shueh, Taichung County, near Shalu. The school is mostly a refuge for kids who could not make it or were kicked out of the regular Taiwan school system.

Most of the students are very lazy, and sleep in class, or simply refuse to even answer the most simple questions. If you (as the teacher) tell the student off, the students go to the parents who then complain to the Principal, and when push comes to shove, you, as the foreign teacher, get pushed out.

This was the case for ghost who witnessed appalling behaviour in French and English classes at the college, and tried to do something about it, but was eventually ``forced to resign`` by the school.

And lastly, do not think that the Canadian staff will come to your `rescue`` when you are having trouble with the students. They (the Canadian coordinators) only worry about their position, and only exacerbate your predicament by supporting the administration and turning a blind eye to the injustice of the situation where you are forced to leave a position, through no fault of your own, but simply to maintain the status quo for the money paying Taiwanese parents.

The Canadian coordinator was a spineless individual who ``sweet talked``several Canadian staff members into resigning, not because the Canadian teachers had done something wrong, but simply because the teachers were trying to do their job, and enforce some basic classroom rules, as ghost tried to do. In Taiwan, money talks, and if the students complain to the parents, you can say goodbye to your position, because only the fee paying parents are important in the big picture equation. The teachers, even though morally right, have their basic rights and reputation sullied because of those unethical monetary considerations. A shocking situation, which will one day be documented in more detail.

Ghost

[Serious_Fun]

[Dr_Zoidberg]