teach_schedule

People's Park in Taichung surrounded by office and apartment towers. Many foreigners live in this neighborhood.

Teaching English in Taiwan
Michael A. Turton

Introduction	Questions to Ask Employers
Can I Teach Illegally in Taiwan?	Protecting Yourself
Can I Teach for a couple of months?	Schedules
Who Shouldn't Come	Visas
When to Come	Your Students
Getting a Job	Other Work and Links
Who to Teach
Where to Teach
Are They Ripping Me Off?	Return To Home Page

Schedules

There several kinds of English teaching opportunities.

Formal, quality work for adults at language centers and cram schools (rare and high-paying),
ordinary (often informal) small adult classes (common but unreliable),
children's evening english classes,
high schools
elmentary schools
kindergartens
community colleges (not a formal facility, but an organizational framework that sends teachers to classrooms around the community)
universities
tutoring

A sign advertises an English school in Taichung. The most common elements in Taiwan signs are depicted here: the handsome foreign male, kids having fun, the great outdoors.

Adults usually want private classes at hours convenient for them, whereas kids are generally taught from 5-9 M-T-W-Th-F	A dilapidated memorial park in nothern Taichung.
These have only one area of overlap between the demands of adults and children: evenings, when both adults and kids want taught. Thus, the ideal schedule looks something like this:
A wall lines a Taipei sidewalk.

Large classes can be a severe problem. Here a class of forty contemplates a writing assignment.

you get up and teach an early adult class
then rush off to the kindergarten/elementary school, where you teach all morning (pay is generally good, but work is draining). Then you teach adults privately over lunch,
take the afternoon off or teach a private class somewhere or grab a couple of hours at an elementary school,
then in the evenings you teach kids or a high paying adult class.

Schoolkids typical of those found in cram schools.

Such an idealized schedule provides about US$100-200 in income a day, six days a week, if you can stand the workload. Sundays are off. Basically, a kindergarten in the morning and kids in the evening will enable you to pay off your college loans in a year or enjoy a month off in India, China, etc, and still save ten to twelve grand in a year, if you work hard and don't spend your income on nonsense like booze or constantly upgrading your computer.

Ships unloading in Keelung harbor.

Remember to lobby hard for more hours and not accept cuts in hours. One extra hour a week will over a year will pay for round trip tickets and several weeks of vacation in Nepal or India.

Day/Time	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Morning 8-12	A few schools	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Classes at some schools, privates
Afternoon 1-5	No Classes (some privates)	Kids in school, teach elem school, adults over lunch, take Chinese classes	Kids in school, teach elem school, adults over lunch, take Chinese classes	Kids in school: Teach elem school, kindergarten (age 2-5) or Adults 7-9 am	Kids in school, teach elem school, adults over lunch, take Chinese classes	Kids in school, teach elem school, adults over lunch, take Chinese classes	Classes at some schools, privates
Evening 6-10	No Classes (some privates)	Cram schools 5-10	Cram schools 5-10	Cram schools 5-10	Cram schools 5-10	Cram schools 5-10	Cram schools 5-10

Schedule blocking for a typical foreign teacher. Some teachers teach on Sunday afternoon as well, but that is not easy and such classes are subject to frequent cancellation by people taking day trips. A few schools offer courses on Sunday morning. In most places second graders are supposed to go home at noon, but schools often offer programs in the afternoon. Younger kids go to school in the morning only.

A country lane bordered by bamboos and betel nut trees.

Remember: you're an hourly worker -- no pay for holidays or illness. If there is a typhoon or a sudden holiday, you are out cash. October can be especially devastating to hourly incomes, with several holidays, as is Chinese New Year (some places give two or three weeks off!). Make sure you're liquid.

Introduction	Questions to Ask Employers
Can I Teach Illegally in Taiwan?	Protecting Yourself
Can I Teach for a couple of months?	Schedules
Who Shouldn't Come	Visas
When to Come	Your Students
Getting a Job	Other Work and Links
Who to Teach
Where to Teach
Are They Ripping Me Off?	Return To Home Page