Details/No Actions

~Revelant to 2025~

This is the public school route and this particular step is about credentials required.

For this route, you will need all of the same requirements as a Buxiban teacher (see Step 1 in this guide for that info https://www.howtotaiwan.org/guides/how-to-get-a-buxiban-cram-school-job).

In addition, you'll also need a teaching license from your home country. You'll see that the list of recognized countries is very very large, and I cannot go into detail about all of them, but I know that:

These countries separate teaching licenses according to region (provice / state):

• Canada

• USA

• Australia

The USA can provide a substitute teaching license, which is easier to obtain (especially in the state of Illinois).

There is another contigency here to this requirement:

Have taught English courses in accredited foreign schools for more than one year or have served as a full-time teaching assistant of English courses in a domestic public school that participates in MOE's program for more than one year and ...

either have a higher ed degree in education or English or have a TESOL / TEFL / CELTA certificate.

Please please please don't just take my word as gospel truth and do yourself the favor of clicking on the TFETP (Taiwan Foreign English Teacher program) link below for the source information and details about this because there are more contigencies and changes in policy all the time.

https://tfetp.k12ea.gov.tw/en/tfetp/web/eligibility

Actions

I personally am from the USA and I went the substitute teacher route. You can do what I did which is search for a job on Facebook groups. Taipei public schools tend to directly recruit by tasking someone from their schools to post on groups there.

I saw a post from another English teacher who had been at my school for something like 13 years, and the school just asked him to post and find a new teacher on Facebook.

Other places and other areas of Taiwan may go through recruiting companies. I personally know someone through such a recruiting agency and she works the northeast region of Taiwan (New Taipei, Keelung, and Yilan). She works for Teach Taiwan which has a LINE group and a website https://www.teachtaiwan.com.tw/.

They certainly seem like the biggest organization doing this teacher placement. I'd like to make a note and say please go as easy as you can on the coordinators like my local Taiwanese friend and try not to be too demanding or bother them with every little thing, messaging them all hours of night. They have lives too.

Actions

If you are in your home country, then it will really benefit you to use the recruiter because they can help you navigate all the legal requirements for obtaining your work permit, a resident visa and eventually an ARC.

If you are already in Taiwan, then you'll be able to more easily do what I did and apply directly to a school. Some schools don't wanna deal with the hassle of starting fresh with the whole work permit to visa to arc path and may flat out tell you that they are only hiring within Taiwan.

There are many people (including myself) who came to Taiwan and did the Buxiban path first and later got a teaching license which enabled them to move from a Buxiban to a public school. So if you think that is more suitable / reaslistic for you, check out the buxiban guide here and come back to this guide later.

Buxiban (Cram School) guide:

https://www.howtotaiwan.org/guides/how-to-get-a-buxiban-cram-school-job

Actions

Once you are selected for a program or placed, you will most likely have an interview with a 主任 (zhǔrèn) which is basically just a head of a department like the department of student affairs or academic affairs. You may even speak directly the principle from your school.

Either way, they and possibly your agent if you use one from the service mentioned above, will go through the contract with you. I went looking online for the 2025 template of this contract and found one (see link below).

Keep in mind that this is a template and you may have some different things in yours. The payscale and housing subsidy should be the same. Vacation time and other things may vary. This is for the TFETP program.

Items of note (standard for most jobs):

• You should get some sort of flight reimbursement (typically at least one round trip ticket to and from your home country per year)

• Housing reimbursement - $5000 for single individual and $10,000 for couple

• Paid annual leave which includes public holidays and winter and summer paid leave ~ note about paid leave ~ even though you get paid leave, it is also typical that you will be asked to do office hours during winter and summer holidays

https://tfetp.k12ea.gov.tw/packages/tfetp/web/files/english_teacher/contract/02-%E5%A4%96%E7%B1%8D%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E5%B8%AB%E8%81%98%E5%83%B1%E5%A5%91%E7%B4%84%E6%9B%B8%E7%AF%84%E6%9C%AC.pdf

Follow Up Actions

If you accept the job, you will then go through the steps for secruing your sponsored ARC and work permit. I have updated the Buxiban guide on step 7 for the details of what to bring to the NIA (National Immigration Agency), so check it out

https://www.howtotaiwan.org/guides/how-to-get-a-buxiban-cram-school-job

Depending on which program you land (English Village, Foreign Teacher Assistant, Bilingual, etc.) you may or may not have other foreign teacher coworkers. Working at a Buxiban usually provides you with a little built in foreigner community to help you navigate the challenges of living in a foreign country: loneliness, language barriers, bureacracy, etc. The public school experience is generally more "on your own" style.

I read posts from other English teachers online and there are definitely some who struggle with the experience or living abroad and depression. Taiwan is becoming more in touch with the concept of therapy and psychiatric help. Still somewhat expensive, but becoming more available.

In Taipei you can find lots of different kinds of communities on Facebook and at local bars. I've recently got into pickleball and cycling, and there are groups for this. A lot of them in Chinese only, but you can use the powers of AI to help translate a google search and write a message to said groups. They usually do have people who can communicate in English, and I often find that they are excited to have a wai guo ren as a part of their group.

Outside of Taipei, the communities are more close knit, amongst foreigners especially. Locals are also excited to include you in their activities and you will definitely have a more local, real Taiwan experience living there. This all really depends on how outgoing you are. People won't always go out of their way to be your friend or include you. Taiwanese people are shy, and so you must take initiative and be positive and open.

I recommend constantly reminding yourself to be as open-minded as you can be and that will help you have a better time. Of course you can always visit howtotaiwan.org for that good ol how-to info, and I'll do my best to keep providing some for ya 😉