Finding an English Teaching Job in Taipei

by John Fotheringham

There are two ways to go when finding an employer: using an agent or looking on your own. I am personally against using agents as many of them are shady at best and few will find you the kind of  job you are looking for. If you hold a college degree and have a modicum of experience, you should have no problem finding a gig on your own. And even if you lack experience, there are plenty of understaffed employers that are probably willing to hire you lest they be forced to give a refund to clients.

If you do decide to use an agent, make sure you ask them the following questions before signing anything:

• Do you represent a school or do you operate independently?

• How long has the school or agency been in business?

• Will you provide me with an ARC? Will it be a work visa or student visa? (see warning below)

• Will the school and address listed on my ARC be the same facility that I actually teach at?

• Will I be paid per hour or given a monthly salary? How much?

• Do you take a percentage of my hourly pay or salary or do you receive a flat fee?

• If I am paid per hour, will I be guaranteed a certain number of hours each month?

• If paid on salary, are there a minimum number of hours I am required to work each week?

• Do you require a deposit? If so, how much? Will it be taken out of each month’s pay or do I have to pay the total amount up front?

• Do you or the school provide a curriculum and materials?

• What are the terms of the contract?

• May I please have a copy of the English and Chinese contract?

• What happens if I terminate the contract early?

Finding a Teaching Job Through Online Classifieds

There are numerous classified sites for language teachers in Taiwan. Your best bet is to post your information on as many as possible. For maximum results, translate your ad into Mandarin (though some sites don’t allow this).

Dave’s ESL Café

Dave’s ESL Café is the most popular site for ESL teaching jobs around the world. They also have a treasure trove of activities and games to choose from.

Visit Dave’s ESL Café

104 Tutor

104 Tutor (a Mandarin only site) is part of Taiwan’s most popular employment classified ad site, 104人力銀行 (YīLíngSì RénLì YínHáng “104 Manpower Bank”). Since the site and ads are written in Chinese only, you will probably get many more views than the English-only sites listed below. Have Taiwanese friend help you craft your profile, bio and CV.

Visit 104 Tutor (Chinese only)

MYU

MYU (YǔYán LǎoShī SōuXún Wǎng, 語言老師搜尋網) is good place to find private students. To make this site work for you, get your private students to rate you. Higher ratings will lead to more students and will justify charging more.

Visit MYU

Tealit

What Tealit (Teaching English and Living in Taiwan) lacks in design and layout it makes up for in traffic. This is where most foreigners and many locals go to find private language teachers, language exchanges, apartments, used furniture, and even romance! You can search for available jobs and also post a profile that potential employers can see.

Visit Tealit