The purpose of this page is to be a database of the "Taiwan Experience". It is meant to be a collection of the experiences and opinions of teachers who have taught in Taiwan. That way, teachers who are thinking of coming over here will be able to get a feel for the country. This will help them to make the adjustment between "Western" and "Asian" thinking much quicker.

You can email me at taiteach.geo@yahoo.com or use the form below. Don't forget to see the Teaching EFL, ESL in Taiwan FAQ or the articles on Teaching English in Taiwan on my links page.

Dean Pan

Graham

Morice

Bobby Pelo

Suzie

Rich

David Orr

Eric

Franklin

Kyle Hannan - Miaoli City

RJ

Andy

The Wolf

J. Shen

Jim Walsh

Gail Lee

Joe Smith

Joh Suh - Taiwan Cyberpedia

I have been in Taiwan for 3 years now. Maybe my situation is different from others. I am a missionary from America, who is married to a Chinese pastor. Actually he is from a mountain village. We do not smoke or drink and he doesn't chew beetle nut, never has and never will. We have an English Center that has 80 students, and more on a waiting list, we don't have enough teachers. Yes, I have run into a few bad bushibans, and have been talked about by a few (supposedly my American English wasn't correct, but then again, it was a Chinese telling me that!!) But I have also seen alot of foreigners here who make me embarrassed to be American. Drunk, partying all the time, very bad language and talking about what they did with who and how--that is just trash. I heard one girl say she was teaching her students the name brands of beer and about pubs. That is just what elementary kids need to learn. I am not trying to put down those who drink or party, hey that's your business. But don't go around making the Chinese think that all foreigners are like that. As for the Chinese, yes they can be blunt about things, and it seems to be that they are taught a "Me first" rationalization (very obivious by their driving), but don't go to a foreign country expecting it to be just like home, and don't try to change it. Yes, I agree that many people will run into bad bushiban owners who will gain alot of money off a teacher (kids usually pay about 2,000NT to4,000NT a month while the teacher only gets 500NT an hour--an not per kid). But if you want to come to play, then play, if you don't, then don't.

This "Impressions" entry is regarding the entry that Franklin has posted. People reading these impressions pages who have never been to this wonderful country should not be discouraged by nutbags like Franklin. Taiwan is a wonderful, exciting place where there are great job opportunities for motivated individuals who don't complicate things too much for themselves. Some people in this world know how to take care of themselves and some people are too worried about when and how they're going to screw up. This is Franklin, and he would have you believe that you too will leave ROC feeling like a rejected heap of incompetence. Too bad for Franklin. I spent a good portion of '99 in Taichung City. From my limited experience, I made much more than the supposed McJob wages that only a fool would work for. If I didn’t think that there are great opportunities are there, I would not be returning to the island in May 2000.

Franklin also managed to call accuse all Taiwanese people of being unreliable. From my experience, just like with any reasonable person, if you are reliable, they are reliable. To those people reading this that have never been to the island, DON’T LISTEN TO FRANKLIN. Or if you can relate to him, just don’t try to teach English in Asia, its probably not your forte. Teaching English is definetly NOT a slack job your employers expect a lot for their money because they pay you quite well. There are some people who can’t do it, but there are more who are successful at it because they enjoy the work. It would be tragic if I a year ago I had read something like what Franklin wrote and became completely discouraged. Most Taiwanese are good folk, and so are other foreigners. Unfortunately Franklin had a crappy time.

Taiwanese are very nice people and teaching is not bad if you can put up with a certain amount of disorganization and schedule changes etc........ But if you intend on teaching in Kaohsiung city or county BEWARE there is now a Bu Shi Ban Association which have blacklists of teachers- they will prevent you from getting rehired anywhere if you do not or have not played exactly by THEIR rules which are basically "keep your mouth shut and don`t complain about anything". They will even go to the extent of cancelling your ARC without telling you thus making you overstayed and illegal so once you leave you cannot come back. At the moment there is no recourse for this mistreatment so you are advised to take caution in choosing a place to work---make sure you find out as much as possible before signing a contract. Otherwise Kaohsiung is a very nice place.

I was lured to Taiwan from a flier put up at my University. The owners of the school told us that if WE paid our OWN way over to the country and taught English for them- we would have a great internship experience. When I arrived I found no training, no curriculum, misunderstandings between us, the owners, and the host families we lived with. It was a mess!

Two months passed. It came time to renew our visas. The owners paid a man to give us certificates saying we had taken the government sponsored English classes. This, they rationalized, would save them the money of sending us over to Hong Kong. Hmmm... Four of us ended up leaving the city in the middle of the night and flying back to the states. I felt like a fugitive. By the way, their plan did not work and they ended up flying the other teachers to Hong Kong anyways.

I loved the country of Taiwan and would actually like to return. I'd like to offer a bit of advice- please find out lots about the school before you agree to do anything. Teachers are needed badly in Taiwan and most schools will pay your way over to the country. Don't be fooled. Without YOU the schools can't function and owners can't make the thousands of dollars they make. YOU set the terms YOU feel comfortable with. Then, I promise, you will have a good experience.

I've recently returned to to Taiwan after having previously lived and worked here for one year. I found that I missed all the kind people that made my first stay here so great. If a foreigner has a totally negative experience in Taiwan, the problem most likely lies within them. Yeah, the pollution sucks. And I really find Taiwanese food totally inedible. I mean, it ain't the kind of Chinese food you get from your local carry-out back home. It's greasy, smells bad, looks bad, feels bad in your mouth and tastes yucky. These are the only significant complaints I can make about Taiwan.

I like the hot sticky summers and mild winters. The women, are pretty, friendly and relatively easy to meet. And I'm no Brad Pitt. I speak only a little Chinese, but it seems to go a long way in breaking the ice in just about any social situation.

Often I hear foreigners complain about the horrible air quality here as though Taiwanese society can be defined by this alone. I'm rather sure that they don't enjoy inhaling the thick smog either. What's it like living on an island in which a staggering 50% of the federal budget is spent on defense? Well,.... the air is polluted. My point is this... If their was not a serious millitary threat, resources could be spent on improving the quality of life here. Rapid economic development for the purpose of self preservation would not be a consideration and those smog polluting factories maybe wouldn't have to exist at all. Unlike many broken countries after the war, Taiwan received scant foreign aid. I for one respect what they have accomplished on this crowded little island.

Taiwan is able to provide high quality universal health coverage. The standard of living is quite high, the infrastructure is solid and the bureacracy is relatively efficient (that's an oxymoron, I know). Recently, I became ill and had to go to the hospital. I don't have any health insurance here, but no worry. I had several major tests and procedures(invasive) and the cost was less than $120.00US. Sounds like alot? The same procedures would have easily exceeded $2000US back in America. All this is accomplished with a six percent income tax and a modest sales tax.

Things aren't perfect here but what the heck. I like it.

My wife and I are starting our third year in Taiwan. I don't know if I'll be able to teach in North America after this. Teachers truly are revered here. Parents are supportive and the students make an enjoyable job that much more so. The only down side to teaching here are the Bushiba(Buxiban)owners. You really have to be careful when signing contracts. You will hear, "I would hate to think that you were only interested in the money", whenever you raise an issue over pay or contractual disagreements. I often was told, by a former employer, "it's not what is in the contract that is important but what is in your heart" after I questioned an unannounced contractual deviation.

Taiwan for most, is a very wonderful and profitable experience. The people are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, except in traffic.

I worked at Wego Private school for nine months until I found out they lied to me and never submitted my work visa application. When I asked for my tax withholdings they said they were gone and didn't know where they were. Be warned Taipei Wego Private school cannot legally hire English teachers and they have even gotten illigitimate work visas for people. When I reported them to the ministry of education via registered mail. I never heard from them. They simply ignored it. The tax office has no record.

I taught in Tainan, Taiwan in 1997. I had planned to stay longer than 1 year, but the "overall" money situation is NOT as good as it sounded. Taipei pays the highest (500-700 NT/hr). Elsewhere starting wages are 400 NT/hr. That's about US $10-$12/hr - BUT! before you get excited let me tell you that ABSOLUTELY NO SCHOOL offered me more than 14 hours per week! Many schools said that the number of hours "could" grow to 20, 25, or even 30 hours per week, but mostly the slack should be taken up with "privates" who pay 400-500 NT/hr. VERY FEW English teachers there had "regular" private lessons. The Taiwanese are simply not reliable enough as regular students to count on the extra money.

Also, you can not stay in Taiwan without a visa from a school, and it is VERY AGAINST THE LAW to work for more than one school! Yes, people do it. Personally, breaking the law in a foreign country is not what my life direction is all about. Also, not only must you sign a one-year contract with a school to stay, USUALLY (there are exceptions) the major language schools further require that you (1) sign promising not to work for other schools (even though already against the law) and (2) sign promising NOT to have private students (even though some people operate this way)! Obviously the schools want to recruit more students, not have Americans become rich by taking students AWAY from the schools. Small bushibans often do not have this requirement, but then again, the smaller bushibans never offered me more than 6 or 8 hours/week either... In short, the standard model is to accept a one-year contract for 6-14 hours per week at 400-550 NT/hr, and hope to build up hours at your school and NOT GET CAUGHT hustling privates (and Taiwan is a much smaller place than it seems to non-Chinese!).

Take the best case scenario for an example. 500 NT/hr x 20 hours/week = 40,000 NT per month (1,100 - 1,300 US$/month). This is the approximately the SAME amount of money as working at McDonald's 40 hours per week in the USA! Did you really go to college for 5 or 6 years to make McDonald's wages? Sure, it beats-the-hell out of working for McDonald's, but if you can get a job paying better than US $5.50/hr with 40 hours per week, you are richer staying in America. My current job (in the USA) pays only about 25K/year (LOW wages here!), but I'm still SAVING easily TWICE as much money as I could GROSS in Taiwan. Taiwan is a GREAT experience, but anyone with a college degree (ABSOLUTELY required in Taiwan for a visa) can make more money doing almost anything else right here in the USA. In other words, HAVE A REASON TO GO TO TAIWAN BESIDES MAKING MONEY!!! You'll make some, but not much. living costs are reasonable and the people friendly. However, FORGET about dating Taiwanese women unless you have been in-country 1 year+ AND can speak Mandarin. Despite friendliness, outside of Taipei Chinese girls are VERY conservative and difficult to get to know easily. Their peers, parents and culture all stand in the way. Possible, but not probable. And Chinese men do NOT date white women in Taiwan. Period.

Final notes: When I arrived in Tainan I took over a traditional foreigner house apartment (about US $250/month x 2). The two girls who were leaving had both been in Taiwan for one year. One girl was from Canada, the other from the USA. The Canadian girl was completely broke (in spite of working more hours than most people: 28-30 hr/week), and had to wire her parents for money. The American girl had saved about US $1,500...enough to fly back home and start over. Memories & photographs, but no extra dough. Also, there is a LOT of talk on these ESL websites about the GREAT traveling opportunities while teaching in Asia. To set the record straight: not really. Traveling around Asia is convenient...sort of. The schools are closed ONLY when everything else is closed (e.g., national holidays), thus tickets are higher priced and schedules are very tight. You EASILY may be scheduled for hours on alternate week days making the idea of "extended weekend trips" also somewhat elusive. I worked 1.5 hours each day in a kindergarten (M-F) Tues, Thurs, & Fri evenings for 1.5 hours each, and whatever substituting work I could find for those teachers who were trying to get more-than-one-day-in-a-row off. You'll have LOTS of free time, just none of it together in a lump-sum so that you can use it to travel. VERY disappointing.

Great money? Cheap, easy travel to all of Asia? Maybe 15 years ago, but I found a HUGE number of Americans, Canadians, Germans, Aussies and Brits simply using part-time teaching to fund extended vacations from their home countries. This massive influx of foreigners has driven down wages AND hours available to the point that, really, I have found it much more cost effective to work in America and simply TRAVEL to Asia...

Taiwan's got the most casually-murderous drivers I've yet seen, and some of the most brutally-insensitive environmental and social attitudes, too (by our standards, that is). Like people everywhere, there are good and not so good ones here, too. Outside of the grey slag-heaps which pass for cities, the countryside's generally spectacular, and the food's got quite a bit going for it (apart from the amazing passion for OIL) and keep an eye out for the 'fruit salad' - it features veg and 1000 Island dressing . One CAN enjoy some of Asia's best coffee here and the money's excellent but the hours can be brutal and the bosses will likely agree to anything you ask and then simply ignore the fact. Desperately want a 6-day working week? Good, Taiwan delivers. Want nice students and the most well-behaved teenagers around? Here they are. I'm still trying to find something lasting to internalise from Asian culture, apart from the constant pollution-sourced eye and ear infections. All things considered, it's a pretty safe country with a lot of new experiences to offer - just make sure you have accident insurance before going sightseeing.

Well, I've been here for many years. There are always good and bad things about any place. Yes, there's pollution, and it is crowded and humid. But it is much safer "crime-wise", than any big city in America, I live in Taipei. It is also a convenience, where I live I can walk to a mall, hospital, banks, stores, temples, ect., oh parks too. Hey, I don't need to drive! In the U.S. I have to drive everywhere. Here I don't cook, too convenient. If you are open and flexible, give it a try, that's how I came. Most people that are real negative about a place usually don't try to learn the language or culture. One other thing...you can make 15 bucks an hour (starting, no experience needed), teaching English.

Taiwan is a great island in its own way. I have been here for 4 years and am trying to adapt to the culture. People here are very friendly. If you work for some one you may hate dealing with 4-5 bosses when it comes to collecting your pay. Most Taiwanese get a 5 year multiple entry visa to the states yet they only give you a 30-day or 60-day visa with a big attitude problem in H.K. or L.A. (U.S. Citizen). They like you to work for them as long as you are new to the country and don't speak any Chinese. they drive around at night with their lights turned off. If I wore 1" thick glasses, I'd drive around with my high-beams on , not with my lights off ! It doesn't save gas nor battery ! They start off in second gear and go to 3rd. at about 25 MPH and you hear the engine and transmission pleading for mercy! They think it saves gas to get to a higher gear right away. I think this place will catch up in another 20 years or so. Most ATM'S still are in Chinese and don't offer English service. A few do, though.The weather is really wet, 95% humidity.

Working and living in Taiwan was an incredible experience for me! I believe that Taipei is one of the most exciting cities and the Taiwanese people are unbelievably outgoing towards Westerners! I worked for Jumpstart Kindergarten and had a great experience with the kids! I met some great people in the hostels and had some of the best times in my life!

Still, though, it can be tough...living in a hostel, eating the same type of food from street vendors, breathing the Taipei air, braving the Taipei traffic, and working your butt off...

What I'd recommend is that you take a vacation to Thailand every six months or so and just recuperate--otherwise it can just get to you...

After living in Taiwan for six years there are SO MANY stories that I could tell. They would be about 99% good and 1% horrible. But, they were a result of my expriences and actions and may not be of any benefit to anyone else. In every country I have been in there have been many wonderful local and foreign people and a few absolutely miserable excuses for human beings.

One day while in downtown Taipei, I decided to find a beauty shop but for some reason the three I knew of were closed so I went into a department store and asked the young lady at the information counter where I could find an open one. She said, "Wait a minute." She went over and talked to the manager, came back and said, "Come with me." We left the store and she walked me to an open shop about a half a mile away. I was astounded. I also had people chase me down the street to return a couple of cents...and that after doing some heavy duty bargaining.

I had Chinese friends and students who seemed to delight in taking me places and doing things for me and they would never let me pay. I got to feeling rather bad about that.

On the other hand I had to Kung Fu my way out of a taxi once when a driver wouldn't open the door. I stepped in the bingi, (sewer) once, got food poisoning once, (at an American franchise) and had other difficulties, mostly minor but a few major.

I loved MOST of the local food and throughly enjoyed much of the culture. My mantra was, "It's not right or wrong, just different!" It worked well for me.

I dated many Chinese men and married one of them and have raised two Chinese step-children...wonderful kids who are now grown and on their own. I am dying to return to Taiwan but my husband would prefer to stay in the U.S. So, it seems that it is the individual differences that play a significant part and generalizations don't hold up well.

To those of you who just arrived or plan to go I say throw away any rigid notions or ways, hang loose, go with the flow, overlook the "warts" and enjoy this fascinating culture and wonderful people. And, appreciate the opportunity to be a teacher in this place.

I came to Taiwan 11 years ago, just after the lifting of martial law, not expecting to stay for more than a few months. When I returned to the USA, I found that I missed my students very much.

If I focus on the pollution, etc. I can get depressed. If I focus on my students, and on the incredible political changes of the last decade, I find that I love Taiwan.

The pollution was the greatest problem for me. It only took me a month to come down with an upper respiratory infection that just wouldn't go away. I was warned to stay away from the little clinics, because all they did was give you pretty packages of pills that aren't effective. Getting ill helped me lose weight faster too (that wasn't a bad thing for me!).

I worked at a bushiban that treated me fairly and even help me improve my teaching skills by videotaping a few of my presentations. I regret to say that I left them in the lurch - bad decision. That I was going to a better school which ended up being a nightmare. Live and learn.

One thing that bothered me intensely was expat behavior. I tried very hard to not live up to the stereotype that Americans are sex maniacs and drunkards. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues did the opposite.

And I did make another grave mistake when I married a native and then decided the society was too much for me to handle. I wanted to go back home to my familiar environment. It worked for a while, but it ended up being too much for HIM to handle, so he returned to Taiwan. I am still deciding whether or not I could handle living there again. I guess I'll have to return and give it another shot.

Recommendation: if you are from the West and decide to marry a native, make sure you are willing to stay in Taiwan for the duration, even though your potential spouse says they would like to live in YOUR country. They may have no idea what it's like and what they might be in for (minimum wage jobs, discrimination based on race or language limitation, etc.)

Thanks for letting me give my $0.02.

My impression of Taiwan has been OK. I can't say that it's the best place to go or that I don't regret not going to Japan instead but after being here for over a year things have worked out well. Except for one thing - HESS. If you want to come to Taiwan and teach English there will be many obstacles for you to overcome, mainly culture shock. If you want to have an unbearable experience then work for HESS. HESS will rip you off, lie to you, cheat you out of your money, threaten you, and basically make your life a misearble hell. Not everyone has had as terrible experience as mine, but I know that my case wasn't the exception, it was the rule. So if you think that Taiwan is the place that you want to teach ESL and study Chinese, give it a try. But stay away from HESS.

Taiwan can be like a rollercoaster of an experience. At one point, you're rolling in the dough, surrounded by friends, and stimulated by everything you see. Then the next thing you know, you're broke after having patronized all the bars on the island, you're friends leave for home, and you're disgusted, if not outright pissed-off by the pollution, grime, traffic, and everything ranging from slow moving pedestrians to noise from construction work nearby that wakes you up early Saturday morning, which by the way always happens when you're trying to recover from a hangover from the previous night. But not too much later, you're back up again enjoying the good life, meeting new friends, learning a bit of Chinese, adopting a stray dog, and appreciating all the wonderful opportunities that the island offers. Make your stay in Taiwan worthwhile and take time to explore places outside the cities. That's where you'll find out why Taiwan was once called "Beautiful Island."