Posted by on October 21, 1998 at 14:57:02:
Rush English School (Shir Jie Lee)
garyrush@mail.lgnet.com.tw
We're looking for teachers that can speak fair Mandarin Chinese and are willing to learn more. About three semesters or four quarters of recent Mandarin study (or equivalent ability) would be a good start. We're looking for teachers that can be both humorous and strict. Teachers must be able to speak loudly, think fast and quickly zoom in on students that need special attention. You don't need many years of ESL training to be a good teacher. TPR, Total Emersion and all that ESL stuff just doesn't work very well (Sorry, that's been our experience. (All the other schools use that stuff, and after five years of study most of their students just don't have the ability of our two year students.) If you've learned it, that's fine. Just don't expect to have time to use it. The three pillars of a good English program are 1. A very logical and no-nonsense teaching plan. 2. A teacher who is intelligent and likeable. 3. An ability to speak the local language (at least for absolute beginners) You do need a legal college diploma in any field. A junior college degree is quite acceptable. We believe 24 to 34 year-old teachers are best suited for this teaching method, but we'll consider any candidate who can teach energetically and control the classroom environment. It goes without saying that we are looking for teachers who are easy to get along with and are dependable.
Teacher's must have a standard north American accent. We can't tell you exactly what that is, but we can tell you what it isn't! Individuals born and raised in the deep south, the Bronx, French Quebec, England, Singapore, Tanzania,..etc. might have trouble teaching at this particular school. The parents of prospective students would listen for all of five minutes and complain to the font desk, "S/he's not North American!" It's not fair, I know. But when in Rome..... You might have a better chance applying at a Chinese owned school, or perhaps working as a private teacher.
We teach 8-13 year-old children. There are 14 to 30 students per class. The average class size is about 18. We teach the students to stand up, speak loudly and open their mouths. We teach grammar and pronunciation. We give moderate pressure. Teachers work independently in the classroom and follow a teaching syllabus. The lessons are translated and broken down into suggested time segments. Part of a typical lesson might look some thing like this:
15 minutes (writing)
How often do you go to the park? (Ni dwo jou yisz chyu gong yuen?) I go to the park once a week. (Wo meige libai chyu gong yuen yi tzs ) Make sure the "once a" links up nicely. Don't let "park" sound like "pock". Also, the dictionary says "often" can be said with or without a silent "t". Have each student ask this question, but substitute the location. Ex. How often do you go to McDonalds?....
There is no class preparation needed on the part of the teacher other than the time the teacher may need to get familiarized with that day's assignment and/or practice the Chinese. If you've taught before, you'll REALLY appreciate that! Homework, compositions and tests are graded by the teacher once every three weeks. Our school has 7 semesters and the curriculum is for 31/2 years) We speak entirely in Chinese in the beginning semesters and gradually reduce the Chinese as the students advance. We start the children from their ABCs and work them up to compositions and conversational ability.
When a new teacher first arrives at the school, the teacher is considered a trainee no matter how much experience he or she may have. A new teacher usually sits in the back of the class for 1-3 months observing other teachers. The new teacher may be asked to grade homework or tests, or teach specific parts of other teacher's lessons. If the trainee is capable of doing so, he or she may be asked to substitute for another teacher. It is by this process that the parents begin to develop a relationship with the new teacher, and consequently refer new students to his or her new class. Classes fill very quickly as referrals come from the students and parents of all teacher's classes.
Presently (October 19, 1998) the current exchange rate is US $1=$33New Taiwan Dollars (NT) The pay break-down is like this.
1. Training period: The guaranteed minimum salary before opening any classes is $50,400.00 NT (US1,527.00) per month at 32 hours a week. (Hourly pay is NT $393 or US $11.90) As we stated above, this should only continue for a few months before the new teacher is considered trained well enough to open new classes.
2. After a new teacher becomes "official", he or she begins to receive an hourly rate of $700.00 NT per hour (approx. US$21.00) at 22 hours a week (remember, this is still before the teacher has any students and can generate any income for the school.
3. After the teacher has opened 3 classes, his or her pay increases to $750.00 NT per hour (approx. US$22.70 ) at 22 hours a week .
4. After the teacher has opened 5 classes, his or her pay increases to $800.00 NT per hour (approx. US$24.24 ) at 25 hours a week .
5. After the teacher has opened 7 classes, his or her pay increases to $900.00 NT per hour (approx. US$27.27) at 28 hours a week .
6. After a teacher has reached $900.00 NT per hour, he or she will still be eligible for a $50.00 NT raise every year according to the number of students being taught and the availability of funds.
Sometimes, as is the case when a full time teacher leaves, a new teacher may suddenly acquire many new classes at once and his or her pay rate may shoot up accordingly. Conversely, after teaching for a year, or two, some classes may graduate or merge, leaving a teacher with fewer hours. His or her hourly pay will remain the same, but until a new class opens the monthly pay will be lower.
If during the training period, we determine that the new teacher is not compatible with our school or teaching methods, we'll shake hands and send him or her home at our expense. Naturally, if the teacher quits or goes to another school, that teacher is on his or her own and no air ticket will be provided. (We would also be very unhappy!)
We offer a resident visa to work and live in Taiwan. We will help you locate housing and take care of you until you pay checks start coming in. Every year we are off with pay during Chinese New Year and summer vacation (about 10 days) Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (2 days) Taiwan Double Ten National Day (1 day) and on typhoon days (0-5 days) We have medical and dental insurance (a small portion of which you pay--about $5 a year each for yourself and every member of your family) and yearly bonuses. Upon successful completion of an 18 month contract the teacher is flown home at the school's expense. We truly hope every teacher will keep renewing his of her contract until they can buy a home in the states or buy their own Rush English school franchise here in Taiwan!
Our working environment is pleasant. We have a couple of bashful Chinese girls answering the telephone at the gwei tai (front desk) who often bring the teachers Cokes or snacks for no other reason than to encourage us to work harder and make more money for the school! We are strict in the classroom but the relationship between the teachers and "management" is pretty easy-going. There is really no feeling that "the boss" is around, because everybody does their job and has a strong work ethic. Beside, "the Boss" teaches, too. We sometimes hang around after work and talk about the strange things the kids did that day and have a pizza or a few Cokes.
Parents are usually very respectful to teachers, often apologizing for their child's lack of progress. Sometimes they give "little" monetary gifts called "hong bao" (red envelopes). Once I received a hong bao so large I was able to buy a fax machine. Naturally, I protested against taking the money (as I should) And that parent insisted (as they always do). Polite as lambs with friends and guests, fierce as tigers in the market place, Chinese are always special.
What can I say about Taiwan? I've been here for close to 7 years now. Noisy and polluted with a little hepatitis here and there, motorcycles roaring all hours of the night. Hoards of silky-haired Taiwanese ladies shopping on trendy streets. Mobile phones, cheap computer hardware, "massage" parlors and the smell of "stinky tofu" floating on the air. And let's not forget canned coffee, night clubs, 7-Eleven's, old folks practicing sword tai chi and younger students practicing praying mantis gung fu in nearby parks. You can buy jade, learn calligraphy or paragliding, scuba dive or have an American style steak. You can find mysterious temples on jagged peaks, or do business in glassy high-rise buildings. And you ‘re just a hop, skip and jump from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea. Thailand and the Philippines. India and Vietnam aren't so far, either. Love it or hate it, Taiwan can't be ignored.
The people are usually very modest, denying every compliment with a "Nali? Nali?" "Where? Where" (Literally, where is this compliment that you have so graciously afforded me due?) I've been stopped by the police on several occasions for minor traffic infractions. Upon seeing me, each time the officer involved broke into an ear to ear smile and began talking to me in English, saying things like; "America VERY GOOOOOD!" Needless to say, I never got a ticket.
I would venture to say that if you have asthma or allergies, you might want to test the water before you plunge right in. The air pollution in Taipei is a bit on the strong side and when it joins up with the humidity, it can give some individuals a "double whammy". (I know, I'm one of them)
If you have children under four, you might want to consider long and hard before bringing them here. There is a virus in Asia that kills toddlers every year. It killed 50 in Taiwan this year. I suppose your child would have a greater chance of being struck by space debris, but if you're married, it is something I should mention before your wife (or husband) finds out and demands a ticket home on the next available flight. I have 2 boys. One is 4 and the other is 2 months. I don't believe any western children have perished because of the virus.
Asia is in an economic down turn, but for some reason Taiwan has been relatively unaffected. Many English teachers from South Korea, Japan and other places have been contacting me about English teaching jobs at our school, but alas! They can't speak any Chinese! When the economic situation in Asia improves, your pay will be worth more US$$$.
I think China (including Taiwan) and the Chinese language is where it's at. There are many people studying Chinese in Taiwan's Universities and language schools. A lot of them started out studying in Mainland China, but later switched to Taiwan. They complained that they weren't able to interact freely with the locals in China. The rules were stifling and the standard of living was poor. That may be changing now, but after Japan, Taiwan is probably still the freest and most comfortable country in Asia.Asia is the new frontier. It might take 50 years, but I believe most countries will be climbing over themselves to pay homage to this giant. It is not necessarily what I hope for, but history teaches us every country has a "golden age" , and barring a holocaust, most indications show China's time has come. Those individuals who link their fortunes with China, learn its language and culture will most likely prosper in the years to come. I'm 39 now. I wish I had started when I was 19. If you're willing, we can certainly start you on your way!
If you would like to apply for a teaching position at our school please send us an email and I will send you a questionnaireif you look like a good candidate for this school. We need at least one good teacher NOW!
Rush English School
259 Fu-hsing South Road
Section 1, 9th floor, Room 2
Taipei, Taiwan ROC
If you'd like to call our school from the USA, our TEL/Fax number is : 011-886-27032172 I believe there is a 14 hour time difference between Los Angeles and Taipei. 9:00 in the morning would be about 1:00 in the afternoon here. We are usually in the school 5:30 to 10:00 PM Mon-Fri and 1:00 to 9:00 on Saturday. At other times, I can usually be reached by mobile phone:
011-886-936122682 (I probably won't answer the mobile when I'm teaching, but I'll come out of class if the call comes through the school number.) But you can also email me if you have any questions.
Good luck in all your endeavors!
Gary Rush