Qualifications and Teaching English in Taiwan

Not just anyone can teach English in Taiwan. It may have been true that in the past all you needed to teach English in Taiwan or just about any Asian country was a passport from an English speaking country, but this isn't the case anymore. To be eligible to teach English in Taiwan today, in addition to being a native English speaker from the USA/CAN/Australia/New Zealand/South Africa, you must also hold either a Bachelor's degree or an Associate's degree with TEFL/TESOL certificate. If you satisfy these requirements, you'll find that getting work in Taiwan is easy.

What kind of Bachelor's degree is required to teach English? Does it have to be education or teaching related? Lucky, for many people, the answer to these questions is no. To work at most English schools in Taiwan, an education or teaching related degree isn't required. You can have a Bachelor's in Business and are still able to work as an English teacher in Taiwan. Since the majority of positions for English teachers involve teaching children, the exact kind of Bachelor's degree isn't important. What is important is that you have graduated from university with one. If you don't have a Bachelor's degree, you may still be able to teach in Taiwan.

For those people without a Bachelor's, the other solution to teaching in Taiwan is if you have an Associate's degree with TEFL or TESOL certification. If you have an Associate's degree but have not TEFL or TESOL certification, unfortunately, you won't be able to teach in Taiwan legally. Luckily, getting yourself TEFL or TESOL certified is easy and it shouldn't take anymore than one month to get the certification papers.

The requirements to teach English in Taiwan aren't too strict. However, keep in mind that if you have a Bachelor's degree or an Associate's degree with TEFL/TESOL certification, you will only be able to work in cram schools. These are the most common and hire the bulk of foreign teachers found in Taiwan. If you'd like to work at a University or public school, some extra requirements need to be met.

Why Teach English in Taiwan

There are many countries in Asia where you could possibly teach English. The demand for English teachers of all levels is very high in almost every Asian country, but the working and teaching conditions in these countries vary greatly. Obviously, as an English teacher, you want the best working conditions to make the most of your time as an English teacher. This is primarily the main reason why many teachers find themselves working in Taiwan. Taiwan is one of the best places to save money and live a comfortable life while teaching English.

Taiwan, while not as clean and beautiful as Japan, offers relatively cheap living costs compared to Japan. It is true that living in Taiwan can be expensive, but one of the great things about teaching in Taiwan is that you have several large cities you can pick to live in. Each of these cities offers you a wide range of working and living conditions. If you want to live in an expensive yet most developed city, then Taipei is for you. However, if you prefer a more laid back and relaxed working environment then Tainan and other southern cities will probably interest you more. Taiwan is not as undeveloped as some Asian countries are. This places Taiwan in the great position of being not too expensive to live in but at the same time it isn't as undeveloped as Vietnam or some other countries. Making the move to teaching in Asia can be a big change for many people, and Taiwan still allows you to enjoy some of the creature comforts that you may be used to back home.

The other thing Taiwan has going for it in regards to teaching is that teachers are paid fairly well. You might be able to get paid more living in Japan or Korea, but when you take into account just how cheap it can be to live in Taiwan, you will see that it can be much easier to work and save considerably more teaching in Taiwan than many other countries. This doesn't mean you'll get rich teaching, but if you are prepared to not go out drinking and dancing every night, you'll discover that with rent being so cheap and the cost of food so low, it can be very, very easy to save a fairly large chunk of money in Taiwan after working for a couple of years. Many foreign teachers take advantage of this and pay off student or other loans back home after just working for a few years in Taiwan.

Taiwan can be a great place to teach English. The low cost of living and reasonable pay makes a killer combination for anyone who is looking at saving up some money fast to pay of loans or other bills you have back home. You'll also have some first hand experience at working in Asia, and trust me, it really is very different than what most of us are used to back home.