Hi Matt,

I just moved to Taiwan to teach English and I’m really nervous. My roommate comes home everyday complaining about the unruly kids that she has to teach.  I’m starting my first teaching job next week and I’m afraid that I’m not going to be able to control them. Can you offer me any advice?

Thanks! Love your blog!

Katie

Hi Katie,

There are a few simple things that you can do to keep your classes under control when you start teaching. Although these ideas are simple, they can be difficult to execute because they go against many impulses that a new teacher feels, and they require a lot of self-discipline. However, if you can follow them, your classes will fall into line in the first few weeks (or months, depending on the class), and you will find that things go very smoothly.

1) Be Strict from the Start

New teachers are inexperienced and feel insecure.  Naturally, they want approval of their teaching, so they seek the approval of their students. The easiest way to gain students’ approval is to make friends with them, joke around, and let them have their way.  This is totally natural, and a total disaster for classroom management.

It is infinitely easier to start as an strict teacher and make friends with students afterwards while maintaining discipline, than to let the students walk all over you to make them like you and then try to enforce new rules later on. The standard for all of your classes will be set in the first few days with a class. This is the time to make sure that students know the rules and know that they have to follow them.

2) Be Clear

You cannot expect students to behave if you have not clearly explained what  is and is not acceptable behavior. When you get angry at a student for a reason that they don’t understand (we’ve all done it) it does nothing except confuse the student and frustrate you.

During my first several years of teaching I made a habit of writing the rules on the whiteboard at the beginning of every class and having the students read them with me. When I encountered new behavior that repeatedly caused problems I would add it to the list. This way, if a student broke a rule, I could simply say, “Jimmy. What is rule 3?” Then it would be clear to the student that he had acted in a way that he knew was not acceptable, and could not argue about whether he deserved to be punished. It was clear.

3) Be Consistent

Nobody is on their game all of the time. We all have days when we just don’t want to go through the effort of scolding students and maintaining order. But, it’s important to enforce classroom rules consistently. It is in your best interest to make good behavior a habit for students. This can be a long and difficult process, but in the end, students who are accustomed to being good (because they were not given the opportunity to be bad) are always the easiest to teach.

4) Be Their Friend

In Rule 1 I told you to put discipline before friendship. That is very important when you first meet a class. However, discipline and friendship are not mutually exclusive. Many of the teachers that I liked most were teachers who maintained good classroom discipline, and many of the students that liked me the most were ones that I scolded regularly.

Respect is the basis of any good friendship. If you treat the students with respect, they will treat you with respect in return. This means that when you scold them, it will have that much more of an impact.

Also, it enables you to reason with children and help them to understand why they can’t misbehave. I find it useful with very unruly to explain that I have no choice but to punish them, and that I will always have to do so. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: “Who is my boss you guys?”

Students: “Mr. Wang.” (Mr. Wang is, say, the principal of the school)

Me: “Do you like it when you go to Mr. Wang’s office?

Students: “Noooo!”

Me: “I don’t like it either. Do you know what will happen if Mr. Wang walks past and sees you guys running around and playing games?  He won’t come in and yell at you.  He’ll yell at me. Do you like it when he yells at you?”

Students: “Noooo!”

Me: “Do you think I like it when he yells at me?”

Student: “No.”

Me: “Do you want Mr. Wang to yell at me?”

Around this point in the conversation the students get the picture, and settle down, at least for a while. And you’ve managed to maintain discipline, and let the students know that you will always maintain discipline, without making yourself into the bad guy.

These are the things that I found helped me most to maintain classroom order during my seven years of teaching.

I hope it helps!

Best,
Matt

This post is part of a series called ESL Blog Carnival
– hosted this month at Go Teach Abroad on the topic of Classroom Management

The post Ask Matt: How Should I Discipline Bad Students? appeared first on XpatMatt.

I’m in the process of permanently moving to Southern Italy to write professionally while teaching English.  I’m writing you this email in hopes that you might give me a tip on how to get started with writing professionally.  You appear to have found success and I’m taking a shot in the dark asking for a tip or a recommendation.  Do you know of a particularly informative book?  Is it necessary to begin blogging in order to entice publishing opportunities?

Thanks,
Faith

Hi Faith,

If you’re starting from scratch, then you are going to have to invest some time and money into getting things started properly.  I did my minor in professional writing and spent about 8 years freelancing to get where I am (which is nowhere nearly as successful as it may look on my website), so be ready to put in a lot of time and effort to start making money.  That being said, if you follow the instructions and advice from the following resources carefully and remain diligent you can probably make a go of it.

First, to get an idea of what you’re getting into, start by reading these articles I wrote for Transitions Abroad. They focus on blogging, but give you an idea of one potential income stream and what it takes to get started.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/articles/professional-travel-blogging-jobs.shtml

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/articles/building-a-travel-blog-getting-started.shtml

Then, buy and read these three books, written by two of the most successful contemporary travel writer/bloggers, which contain a wealth of  information about travel blogging and writing travel articles for publication:

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-tips/build-your-own-travel-blog/

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-tips/make-money-with-your-travel-blog/

http://travelwriting2.com/

Next, consider taking this relatively inexpensive online travel course. They have turned out some very good travel writers in the past (including Nomadic Matt) and also offer some support to help you get started:

http://matadoru.com/

Finally, work your ass off, persevere, and keep chipping away until you’ve found a niche that works for you and makes you money.  Good luck!

The post Ask Matt: Getting Started as a Travel Writer appeared first on XpatMatt.

I have been researching living and working in Taiwan and came across your writing, tips, information and blog. I have found this to be a wonderful resource.

I have seen enough of Taiwan to know that I would be happy living there. I would like to marry my Taiwanese girlfriend and settle down there.

I am currently working on my BA, degree which I hope to complete next summer (2011). After that I would like to find a job teaching English. However, I shall be 43 in 2011. Would this be considered too old to take a teaching job? I ask this because when researching some of the websites relating to teaching, it always portrays pictures of young twenty something people. I am concerned about my age and if that will be a disadvantage.

I would appreciate any advice you may offer me.

I shall continue to follow your blog, it is very insightful and a joy to read.

Mark

Hi Mark,

It’s true that the majority of English teachers abroad are young recent graduates.  Over the last decade more and more teachers have been deciding to stay permanently.  Although they are in the minority, there is a growing number of English teachers middle-aged and older.

Looking for a job as an older person can have benefits and drawbacks.  Many schools hire English teachers for their appearance.  These schools look for white teachers that look ‘American’.  These schools are usually not very good educationally speaking, and would probably prefer to hire younger teachers.

However, schools are actually looking for responsible long-term employees will probably see the value in hiring a mature teacher that is interested in living in the country long term.  Younger teachers often only stay in Taiwan for a year or two, they go out partying, call in sick, and want to take time off to go traveling.  A mature teacher like yourself can offer a boss responsibility, stability, and security that they can’t find with a younger person.

Although age will probably affect your job search, I’ve never heard a teacher here complain about not being able to job because they were too old.

Best,

Matt

The post Ask Matt: Am I too Old to Get a Job Teaching English? appeared first on XpatMatt.

Dear Matt,

I’m thinking of moving to Taiwan, but I’ve heard there are not as many teaching jobs as there used to be.  Are there still many jobs?  How can I improve my chances of finding one?

Thanks!

Cliff

Dear Cliff,

When I first arrived in Tainan six years ago I would be approached on the street and in restaurants by people who needed teachers.  When I went to an interview, I would be interviewing the school, rather than the school interviewing me.  Teachers were in very high demand. Schools would accept anybody.

Now, due to changes in the English teaching industry and an increase of the number of Westerners looking for teaching jobs (many driven here by the recent global recession), the job market is more competitive.  You may have to interview with several schools before finding a job.  If you come at the wrong time of year,  you may have a lot of trouble finding one at all.

That being said, any person who plans properly and is willing to pound the pavement for a few weeks should be able to land a good job. To ensure that you find a job, it is important to plan your move to Taiwan properly.  There are several things you can do to improve your chances of finding a job.

1) Find a Friend
Do you know anyone in Taiwan.  If so, ask them if they know about any jobs.  Most teaching jobs tend to be found by word of mouth.

2) Come at the Right Time
Teachers tend to sign contracts at the beginning of the semester, as this is when schools prefer that they start. Most contracts are one year long, and end the same time they started.  This is when most teachers leave their jobs to travel or move home.  So, the best time to look for a job is the end of the semester so that you can replace a teacher who will be leaving. The overall best time to look for work is the end of August, before the fall semester.  Just before Chinese New Year (usually around the end of January) and the end of June are also good times.

3) Go Where the Jobs Are
The other thing you can do to improve your chances is move to the South.  Taipei and Taichung have traditionally had larger foreign communities, and attract more teachers, making the teaching market more competitive there. Kaohsiung still seems to have a lot of teaching positions, and is a large and comfortable city.  The market in Tainan is also fairly good. Personally, I prefer to live in the South anyways.  There are usually fewer earthquakes and typhoons, and the weather is much better.

Schools in smaller towns are also usually good places to look for jobs. Few teachers are eager to move to them, as most prefer to live in a larger center with a larger expat community.

4) Know Where to Look
Many schools look for teachers on these websites:

The Tainan Bulletin

Kaohsiung Living

Tealit

5) Know What Not to Do
If you respond to teaching job ads online, chances are you will be contacted by an agent or recruiter.  Although some agent/recruiters are good, they have a reputation for being overwhelmingly greedy and dishonest.  They are referred to locally as ‘snakeheads’.  Unless somebody has personally recommended an agent to you, then I would strongly suggest that you avoid dealing with them.  Many people have lost their VISAs, lost pay, and been screwed over in every manner imaginable by agents.

If you would like to read the tale of one infamous agent, go to the Kaohsiung Living bulletin board listed above, and search for the name ‘Selwyn’.   You will find numerous posts warning people about this agent who operates in Kaohsiung. There are some unbelievable stories about him!

The post Ask Matt: How Do I Find a Teaching Job in Taiwan? appeared first on XpatMatt.

I just landed a job at a language school in Taiwan, teaching both kindergarten and elementary age kids.  I found the job through IACC.

I have a few questions:

First, I noticed that you said do not deal with recruiters as many of them have shady business practices.  I have heard this before, but so far IACC has been very helpful.

Second, do you think NTD $50,000 per month + 5000 rent subsidy is too low a salary?

Kindest Regards,

Mel

Dear Mel,

I have said before that, as a general rule, you should not use a recruiter of any kind to find a job.  Despite this, I’m sure that some agencies are not all bad.  However, it is generally believed among teachers that most agencies are trying to make money at the expense of the teacher.

Agencies make money because they can hire people abroad who do not know the going rate, and pay them less.  You should never teach English in Taiwan (except in very rare cases) for less than NT$600 per hour.  From the looks of the job you have been offered the salary is low.

The web page you sent me says there 25 teaching hours per week.

25 X 4 = 100 hours per month.

NT$50,000 + NT$5000 housing bonus = NT$55,000.

NT$55,000 / 100 hours = NT$550 per hour.

Personally, I would never accept this job.  But, even though the pay is a little bit low, it may not be too bad of a job.  Some people would argue that if the school gives you block hours each day (all of your working hours in a row, rather than at different times of day) and that you are not spending your time running to different branches of the school in different parts of the city, then it’s not a bad deal.

But, you should notice that your working hours are listed on the website as being 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, which is a lot more than five hours per day.

You should be warned that some schools and agencies will offer certain terms to entice a person into work, but will change the conditions of employment once the school has arrived.  They will use the new teachers ignorance about Taiwan, their ability to find a new job, and their ability to get a work visa and ARC, to pressure the teacher into accepting their terms.

Protect yourself at the front end. Hold the school to the terms you’ve agreed to.  If they don’t, then leave.  If they are dishonest at the front end, they will remain dishonest during your employment.

Don’t let them scare you into accepting conditions that are less than fair.  You can leave and you can find a different job and a work permit on your own.

Best,

Matt

The post Ask Matt: Finding a Teaching Job in Taiwan Through a Recruiter appeared first on XpatMatt.

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The post <a href="http://transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/esl/articles/work-teaching-english-in-taiwan-vital-information.shtmll" target="_blank">Teaching English in Taiwan: Vital Information</a> appeared first on XpatMatt.