• Home
  • Start Your Own Travel Blog
  • Resources
  • About NaTC
  • Contact

Not a Travel Club

We're Not a Club, We're a Community

Accredited Online TEFL
  • Travel Tips
  • Trip Reports
  • Living Abroad

Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching English in Taiwan

One of the reasons Tim and I created to Move to Taiwan was because we found that there was a real lack of clear and accurate information about what it’s like to teach English in Taiwan. There are many other blogs and forums, but they are often filled with misinformation about what things are really like here.

We’ve received many emails from readers asking some specific questions, so I thought now would be a great time to answer the top 5 frequently asked questions we get about teaching English in Taiwan.

If I don’t cover your question below, feel free to send us an email here. I’m going to keep my answers brief and to the point, but I’ll link out to posts where we cover many of the topics more in depth.

What’s the best time to come teach English in Taiwan?

The biggest hiring period for English teaching jobs in Taiwan is during the summer. This is when the vast majority of people either leave and head back home or switch jobs.

Many buxibans (cram schools) tie their schedules to the academic calendar and so they want to hire teachers who will stay throughout the whole year. July and August are probably the best months to come, but as Tim addressed in another post, being here before July 3 is helpful for tax purposes.

The other big hiring period is right before or right after Chinese New Year. This period is much slower than summer, but still can be active. Other than those two times, there isn’t a particular time I’d recommend coming. Basically, you can find an English teaching job throughout the year, but it just may take a little longer than it would if you came during Summer or around Chinese New Year. Just make sure to save a little extra money if you don’t come during a peak hiring period.

Tim has a longer post on when is the best time to come teach English in Taiwan.

How much money will I make teaching English?

This really depends on both how much per hour you make and how many hours a week/month you work. I know people who don’t work much and make around $40,000 NTD, while I know others who work a lot and make as much as $120,000 NTD a month or more. For most new teachers you can expect to make around $60,000 NTD per month (roughly 25 hours a week at $600 NTD/hour) and I’d suggest this as a goal.

Tim has a very good post on salaries and saving money here. In general, $60,000 should be plenty of money to cover your cost of living and have a pretty decent lifestyle as long as you are relatively smart and don’t blow your money.

How do I find a job?

Tim wrote a good post on finding English teaching jobs in Taiwan, so you can go read it for more info. Most people find jobs after they arrive and the most popular website is Tealit.com. There are also many other smaller websites like the Taiwanease classified section and Facebook groups like this one or this one that people find jobs through. If you are in Taipei this is probably the easiest and best way to find a job.

If you choose to go to a smaller city then you can check out other smaller websites that list jobs (there are many of them so contact us if you know which city you want to go to and we can point you in the right direction). I also know several people who have gone to smaller cities and just started knocking on the doors of all the English schools and dropping off resumes until they found one hiring.

What’s the interview process like?

Check out the long post on what interviews are like here. In almost all cases you will be asked to give a quick 15 minute demo to a class of students or sometimes other teachers.

Essentially the demos are to make sure you are fine around kids and can communicate basic concepts.

If you have never taught before then I suggest talking to other foreigners who teach when you arrive and asking them for some tips. If you talk to other people you can get some info about what they did for their demos and what works/doesn’t work. One tip is to come up with a quick and fun game that can be used at all English levels, as many buxibans encourage playing games (while using English of course).

Is teaching English in Taiwan fun?

Teaching English in Taiwan can definitely be really fun and I know lots of people who enjoy it. That’s not to say everyone loves it though and there are many people who don’t like it and complain about their jobs. I think that’s true for any job anywhere though, and teaching in Taiwan isn’t really any different than anything else.

Basically if you work for a good school and have good classes, then chances are you will enjoy your job. Finding a good school is very important, which is why I recommend saving enough money before you get here so that you have some time to find a good position and don’t have to settle for something that isn’t good.

Filed Under: Living Abroad Tagged With: Taiwan

Comments

  1. Nick Chickanis says

    December 3, 2013 at 5:33 am

    I am thoroughly interested in making the move. Am in the earliest of planning stages-have just begun doing research and figuring everything out. I am US born, and English is my native language. Although I consider myself to have a complex understanding of the English language, I do not have a bachelors, nor any kind of experience teaching. I guess my biggest question is-how easy would it be for some like me to find a teaching job in Taiwan?

    Reply
  2. Claire Gosteli says

    September 26, 2014 at 4:52 am

    Dear Nick and Tim,
    I thoroughly love and appreciate your website for all the useful, informative and interesting articles. I am looking to move to Taiwan within the next couple months after teaching for 8 years in Thailand and your website has really got me excited to go. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
    • Tim says

      September 26, 2014 at 11:58 pm

      Hi Claire,
      Let’s trade places. I’d love to spend some time in Thailand!

      Reply
  3. Rose says

    November 22, 2014 at 4:07 am

    Good day Nick and Tim! I’ve read through all your blog posts regarding teaching in Taiwan. I never really considered Taiwan at first as a possible destination to teach English, but now I’m sold! However, I’m curious if they have restrictions about ‘native English speakers’ such as in Korea. Some countries require aspiring teachers to be from the US, UK, Canada, NZ, Australia or South Africa (and some other countries such as Ireland), but I’m from the Philippines. I’m just wondering if you would know if Taiwan has such restrictions similar to South Korea?

    Reply
    • Tim says

      November 22, 2014 at 11:22 am

      Hi Rose,

      Thanks for reading our blog. Taiwan does have some pretty tough restrictions in place that are very similar to South Korea. I have seen some teachers from the Philippines in some smaller schools, but I’m not sure they were legally working or not, to be perfectly honest.

      Reply
  4. Dasha Filippova says

    May 3, 2016 at 2:42 am

    Hi! Thank you for the post. I am interested in teaching in Tainan. Can you recommend some ways to find work before arrival? Also, I am only interested in summer session, and would like to leave at the end of August: will this be hard to accommodate? Can one NOT tell the company you will leave?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pros and Cons of Teaching English at a Chain School | Move to Taiwan says:
    June 4, 2013 at 5:01 pm

    […] If you have decided to come teach English in Taiwan and done any research, then you have undoubtedly read about the various chain schools that are here (i.e. Hess, Kojen, Giraffe, Joy, Sesame Street, etc). Many people seem to have a negative opinion of chain schools and I think this is often in large part due to a lot of misinformation on the internet about them. Both Tim and I have taught at chain schools in the past and we know many others who also have worked at them or continue to work at them, so we have a good understanding of them. I’ll use this post to go over the pros and cons of working at a chain school so that you can decide whether it’s right for you. If you have more questions about what it’s like to teach English in Taiwan, make sure to check out my FAQ post. […]

    Reply
  2. The Best of Move to Taiwan | Move to Taiwan says:
    August 17, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    […] Frequently asked questions about teaching English in Taiwan […]

    Reply
  3. Living Expenses for Taiwan: Rent, Utilities, Food, Transportation and Nightlife says:
    October 21, 2013 at 2:21 am

    […] sure to check out our articles on Teaching English in Taiwan and FAQ about teaching to see if it’s right for […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Popular Posts

Sun-Yat-Sen lake

Taiwan Vs Korea: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

4 Places You Should Visit and the Languages You Should Learn to Truly Enjoy Them

Danshui River view Taiwan

5 Challenges for Those New to Teaching English in Taiwan

Join Our Newsletter

Get updates sent right to your inbox.

*We are a spam free zone

Recent Posts

  • Moving to the UK for Your Child’s Education? Here’s What You Need to Know
  • Do I Need to Learn Thai Before Visiting Thailand?
  • The Pros & Cons of Solo Travel: Is it Right for You?

USEFUL INFORMATION

NaTC's Privacy Policy

Advertising Terms & Rates

Write for Us

Disclaimer

NotaTravelClub.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Copyright © 2022 NotaTravelClub.com | Sitemap