English Cram Schools in Taiwan: An Introduction

Taiwan is not suffering from a lack of English schools. In Taipei alone, there’s practically a cram school on every block. Pick any one location in the city and you are probably within walking distance of four different English schools. The trouble is knowing which school is the best fit for you. English teachers also need to watch out for scams. There have been some cases of schools refusing to pay as well as some that have accidentally let a teacher’s ARC expire.

The Schools

Here’s a few well-known cram schools around Taiwan: Kojen, Shane, Hess and Joy. Each organization is slightly different from the others. For example, HESS pays the best, but also has the biggest class sizes. Joy and Shane seem to be the most popular choices for English teachers and have good retention rates (unlike HESS). Kojen is worth checking out as well. I haven’t heard anything negative about the school.

These organizations have two different types of schools: franchises and direct teaching establishments (DTEs). Franchise schools are owned and operated by local Taiwanese managers, whereas DTE schools are operated directly by the companies. As a general rule, teachers have the best luck working for DTE schools. There’s more oversight, accountability, and the pay is generally better.

However, there are some perks in working for a franchise as well. There’s more flexibility in hours, dress code and vacation time. In the end, the choice is yours. Don’t be scared away from franchise schools by the horror stories of other teachers. Some of the managers are really nice and will bend over backward for you. That being said, I’d still go with a DTE if you can.

In addition to running cram schools (or after-school schools) for school-aged children, each of these organizations also runs preschools. If you love working with kids, preschools are the way to go, since the hours can be more reliable than at a regular cram school. Unlike traditional cram schools, preschools are run during the day, so teachers have a relatively normal schedule with free nights and weekends. Giraffe and Kid Castle are other well-known preschools around Taipei.

If your interested is working with adults, your options will be a bit slimmer. These schools do exist, but they are usually smaller and privately owned. There is one I can recommend in Banciao, called The Language Academy, which only caters to teenagers and adults. As far as I can tell, the teachers absolutely love the students, but management can be a bit difficult at times.

Along with cram schools, foreign teachers are encouraged to apply at public schools. If you have an Education degree, go for it. It doesn’t matter what your Education degree is in; they will hire you anyway. The teachers I know working in the public schools have nothing but good things to say. It’s easy work, with lots of free time and paid vacation. The one complaint they have is not being able to get to know the students and see them progress. The class sizes are just too big and teachers only have the students for a short amount of time each day.

Hours and Compensation

Generally, English teachers work between 20 and 25 hours a week. For a teacher who is just starting out, $560 dollars should be the absolute lowest you accept as an hourly rate, unless the school has some other kind of amazing perk, such as a $40,000 contract completion bonus. Teaching contracts do generally include a completion bonus. These can range between $12,000 and $28,000 NTD.

Some managers will opt to give teachers a higher hourly wage instead of a bonus, so be sure and run the numbers before signing a contract. In addition to a contract completion bonus, teachers are also given a yearly raise. A good raise would be $50 or $60 NTD, so start bargaining around there. Keep in mind that teaching salaries are usually capped at $700 or $800 NTD per hour. If you find a job offering more than that, take it.

Areas outside of Taipei, such as Tainan, pay better and offer more perks, such as paid time off. Speaking of time off, teachers are generally offered 14 or more vacation days and are off on national holidays. In addition to this, teachers are, also, usually given time off between their contracts. All of this time is unpaid, unless you work for a public school or somewhere outside of Taipei.

Conclusion

As stated above, to work in a public school, you need to have an education degree. To work for a DTE school, it’s best to have a CELTA or TOEFL certification. These certifications will, also, make it easier to find a job online. Definitely start applying before getting to Taiwan. I know HESS, Shane and Joy all have an online application process. If you’re already on the ground in Taiwan, you can apply directly to franchise schools. As long as a teacher looks western, these schools don’t seem to be too picky.

I’ve had a number of friends arrive in Taiwan and find work within a week. You just need to be willing to do the legwork. There are hundreds of excellent English cram schools; the ones mentioned in this article are just the most popular places to start. English teachers usually work for Shane or Hess for a year or two and then transfer to a better privately run school they found in their neighborhood or through a friend.

Dragon Boat Festival: One of Asia’s Oldest Holidays

Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, during one of China’s many internal feuds, there lived a king and a poet. They loved each other very much, but many people were jealous of the king’s affections and spread rumors that the poet was working for the king’s enemy. Of course, the poet lost the king’s favor and was banished.

As in any good tragedy, he wrote sad rhymes for the rest of his days until hearing that his king had been defeated, at which point he promptly drowned himself in a river. People dragged the river with their boats looking for the poet’s body and threw rice balls into the water hoping to distract the fish from eating his remains. According to the story, the body was never found, but the tradition of racing dragon boats and eating zongzi began.

Originating over two thousand years ago during the Warring States period, Dragon Boat festival is one of China’s oldest holidays and was one of the first events to be added to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list. Today, it’s become an international sporting event and teams from all over the world come to try their luck in Taipei, which hosts the largest Dragon Boat Race in Asia. During the event, boats line up and race to grab their team’s flag.



Of course, each boat is brightly painted as a dragon and there’s even a special eye painting ceremony the night before a race to bring a boat’s dragon to life. Each boat is loaded with a crew consisting of a flag grabber, drummer and rowers. The drummer acts as the dragon’s heartbeat while the flag grabber has the fun job of pretending to be the dragon’s mouth, stretching out over the dragon’s head to grab the flag.

Dragon Boat Festival is officially recognized as the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar year, which means that the holiday can occur anytime during the month of June or even at the end of May. There are dozens of locations to watch the races in Taiwan including Keelung, Kaohsiung and New Taipei City, but the international championships are held at the Riverside Park in Taipei.

In addition to watching the races, other favorite dragon boat traditions include eating zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo representing the rice balls that were thrown into the water over 2,000 years ago), balancing eggs at noon and wearing scented sachets that in days past would have been useful for keeping bugs away and preventing the spread of disease.