When I came to Taiwan to teach English I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It’s one thing to read up as much as you can and then another to actually experience it all firsthand.

One thing I noticed as I interviewed for various schools was that I found myself often asking the same questions and trying to address concerns I might have about the school itself.

Over time I began to develop a list of things to look for, assess and ask about if I couldn’t ascertain the answer myself. Over time I’ve also picked up a few things I probably should have taken into consideration back when I was weighing up which school I wanted to teach at.

Today I’m sharing what I believe to be the top 5 most important tips on what to look for, assess and find out when, as a new arrival, you’re deciding which school you want to teach English at.

1. Can the school’s boss speak fluent English?

In schools in Taiwan it is ultimately the boss of the school that has the final say in what goes. With that in mind you’d be surprised at the amount of English school bosses over here that have opened up English schools as businesses yet have appallingly low English levels themselves.

This in itself isn’t a bad thing but for negotiation and communication you’re really putting yourself at a disadvantage when teaching at a school whose boss can’t string two sentences together.

Some schools will have a ‘senior teacher’ or some other equivalent who can speak the local language (Chinese in Taiwan’s case), but be wary. If you have a spat with said ‘senior teacher’ a few months down the track this is the person standing between direct communication between yourself and your boss.

The last thing you want is to feel like you can’t get your side of the story across if something happens or that you’re shut off and not able to discuss anything with your employer.

2. Are the teaching materials in English?

As the vast majority of new arrival teachers to Taiwan can’t speak a word of Chinese, let alone read it you’d think this would be a given.

Think again.

When I took on a substitute job at one of the first schools I taught English in, I completely negated to check the teaching materials they offered.

Lo and behold I rocked up on the first day and discovered half the texts were in Chinese and the other half were split between Chinese and English.

To someone who couldn’t read Chinese there didn’t seem to be any logical split between the paragraphs either. You’d be reading a long in English and then for no particular reason the next two paragraphs would be in Chinese. Unfortunately it’s in these paragraphs that the core lesson guide and target language structure was contained.

The worst book I came across was this one;

The book was a teaching aid for the GEPT which is some English exam kids have to do in Taiwan. The entire book was in Chinese and all I was given was a CD with each track containing a list of vocab words.

From this CD I was then required to construct a lesson plan from scratch. This included coming up with my own games, flashcards, what I was teaching and how I was going to teach it from nothing more then a vocabulary list on a CD.

Not the easiest thing for a new teacher having just dropshipped one self into a teaching position in a new country.

Now I probably would be able to come up with lessons a lot easier but when you’re starting out you need all the help you can get. Definitely check the materials you’ll be working with before signing any contracts.

Teaching materials clearly written for Taiwanese English teachers will give you a big headache and drastically increase your planning time in the beginning as you familiarized yourself with your various classes.

3. Will you have a Teaching Assistant in class or not?

Teaching Assistants don’t actually teach any English but they are handy as hell to have in the classroom. In Taiwan at least I’ve found students are much more better behaved by the sheer presence of a TA being in the room.

TA’s are also a strong deterrent against students using Chinese in class (whether it’s students communicating with each other for fun or to help one another), as the TA knows exactly what’s being said.

If you’re on your own there’s nothing more annoying than 2 or 3 students (or more) deciding to start a conversation in Chinese as soon as you turn your back. Moreso if you can tell they’re talking about you but have no idea what they’re giggling about.

TA’s are also great at helping with admin work, such as photocopying, preparing exams and classroom management. You’ve also got someone to bounce ideas off quickly in class if all of a sudden you find yourself having gone blank!

If the classes you’ll be teaching number on the large size, find out if you’re going to have a TA or not. In my experience having a TA makes a big difference.

4. Class sizes

It goes without saying that for the most part the more students you have the more difficult it can be to maintain order in the classroom; especially when you’re a new teacher starting out.

Most schools are upfront about what class sizes you can expect however be cautious if your potential future boss is telling you you’ll be teaching 5-10 kids and you walk past classrooms stacked with 20-30 kids a class.

Most schools are quite happy to show you around (or even let you sit in on a class if they’re happy with your interview), so don’t be afraid to ask. Better to see actual class sizes at the school with your own eyes rather then take every bosses word for it that you’ll be teaching small class sizes.

5. Accommodation

Although not directly related to teaching at the school, accommodation help can be a big plus and also an indication of how willing school staff might be to help you adjust to your new life.

Accommodation is just one thing that can be quite daunting to organise yourself in a new country where you don’t speak the language. Later on down the track there’ll undoubtedly be more challenges you’ll need help with. The level of enthusiasm a boss shows in offering to help you finding accommodation can be a good indication of what to expect later on.

As self sufficient as I was back home in Australia I’ve had to rely on school staff for some pretty basic things, mending a leather jacket and work pants, buying medicine, getting my bicycle drive train cleaned up and soon to be purchasing a scooter are just to name a few.

This help is all the more important if you’re planning on teaching and living outside of a major city where English might be not so widespread (infact pretty much non-existent if we’re talking Taiwan).


Most of what to look for and ask when considering whether to teach English at a particular school comes with experience, obviously depending on the country you’re looking for work in.

After a few interviews however you should have a pretty basic idea of what the differences in schools are and what to check before singing any contracts. Remember most schools (in Taiwan anyway) are wanting you to commit for 6 months to a year (more typically a year), so you want to make sure you’re not locking yourself into a nightmare situation for a year of your life.

If it helps jot some of these ideas down (and any others you come up with) on a bit of paper and bring them along to the school interview itself. This certainly helped me when I was looking for work and bosses didn’t at all seem to mind when I quickly jotted down answers to some of the questions I had prepared.

Good luck!

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