David on Formosa

There have been a few interesting blog entries and news articles about teaching in Taiwan recently.

Michael Turton presents a very interesting analysis of why pay rates for foreign teachers have stagnated. Some people suggest the reason for low rates of pay or the lack of pay rises is the presence of many South Africans willing to accept low wages. Michael’s analysis suggests that there are actually larger market forces at work. Hence South Africans accepting low rates of pay is merely a symptom, rather than a cause of the problem.

Another Taiwan teacher laments the poor working conditions in Taiwan. Many schools unreasonably expect teachers to attend various school events without being paid. Unfortunately too many teachers are happy to do this (or at least unwilling to complain).

Meanwhile the Taipei Times reports that the Ministry of Education has failed to recruit enough applicants to teach English in Taiwanese schools. The Ministry wants to have a foreign English teacher in all 3,300 of its schools. So far it has managed to recruit just 22!

A useful source of commentary and information on English education in Taiwan is Scott Sommers’ Taiwan Weblog. Scott also comments on the issue of teacher’s salaries.

If you want to know more about teaching in Taiwan, my own webpage Teaching English in Taiwan is a good starting point. Michael Turton’s site is more comprehensive and definitely worth reading if you plan to head to Taiwan and teach.