Q: What type of institution are you?

A: A private English language institute

Q: How many branches of your institution are there?

A: 20 – 14 in Taipei, 2 in Taichung, 4 in Kaohsiung.

Q: When was your institution founded?

A: Internationally 1951, in Taiwan 1982.

Q: How many English teachers do you currently have employed in Taiwan?

A: Around 650 teachers, approximately 300 are from foreign countries.

Q: Where are your schools located (city and distance from nearest metropolitan city)?

A: All our schools are located in the three main city centers of Taiwan – Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.

Q. Why should I teach for Kojen Taiwan as opposed to your competitors?

A. Only Kojen Taiwan offers housing assistance and allows teachers academic flexibility in the classroom and in scheduling teaching hours, as well as a competitive salary.

Q. I've seen offers for teaching in Taiwan that promise much higher salaries. What's the catch?

A. It is common to offer much higher salaries in advertising. Don't be fooled by high salary offers. Find out what those offers include. Find out what your take-home salary will be. Also make sure of what your teaching schedule will actually be. Many of our competitors dictate your schedule, both in and out of school for their scheduling convenience, not yours.

Q. I don't speak any Chinese. How will I survive in Taiwan without any language ability?

A. First, like most foreign countries, people in Taiwan speak better English than most people speak foreign languages. You will also find that our teachers are most useful in helping you find your way around and finding what you need. Finally, you'll pick up the Chinese that you need as time goes on. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.

In fact, if you are so inclined, this is a great opportunity for formal Chinese language study!

Q: How many hours are English teachers required to work each week?

A: Teachers are required to be available to teach at least a minimum of 18 contact hours per week, except in July and August when they are required to be available to teach at least a minimum of 30 contact hours per week. Teachers teach an average of 22-28 contact hours per week. This is a comfortable full-time schedule.

Q: Are your English teachers permitted to work more hours than you require for additional pay?

A: Of course. However, a teacher must show that he/she is able to handle a heavier teaching schedule. If quality suffers, a teacher will not be allowed to teach more hours until he/she can show that quality is maintained.

Q:If so, are they permitted to work part-time with another foreign language institute or teach private classes of his or her own?

A: No. This is against the law in Taiwan. Your work permit only allows you to work for the school that sponsors you for your work visa.

Q: What days of the week are your teachers usually required to work? (Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Saturday)

A: As a private language school, we teach when our students are available to be taught. For children, this usually means after school and on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons when they don't have public school classes. For our Adults this means mostly after work M-F, but we also offer early morning classes and weekend classes at some of our schools. We also have some classes that we teach on-site during the daytime hours at local elementary, junior high and high schools. Not everyone teaches at these types of classes, but for those that do they are a nice additional source of income. Private language school work is definitely not a 9am-5pm type of job. The majority of class hours will fall between 5-10pm Monday through Friday, and everybody is teaching during these times. To fill out the remainder of a teacher's schedule, teachers will work some of these other times. The greater the flexibility a teacher shows in departments to teach and for these other times will determine how many hours are possible to teach per week.

CLASS SIZE:

Q: What is the minimum and maximum number of students in each class?

A: For adult classes 8-20 students. For children classes 10-25 students (but there is teaching assistant to help in these classes). Sometimes, with the classes that I mentioned outside at the elementary, junior high, and high schools, the classes can slide up to around 30 students.

Q: What is the minimum and maximum age of the students in each class?

A: Pre-school 3-7 yrs., Y-program 6-9 years, M-program 6-9 years, K-program 8-12 yrs, A-programs 8-12yrs, J-program 12-15 yrs, all Adult programs 15-70+ years old. Our student body is made up approximately ½ Children's programs and ½ Adult programs.

FULL TIME OR PART TIME:

Q: Will I be considered a full-time employee?

A: Yes. Because of the laws of Taiwan, it is not possible to hire any foreign labor for less than full time employment.

BONUSES

Q: Will I be entitled to receive any bonuses for completing my contract or for above average work?

A: Yes. For classes where teachers are successful in motivating high numbers to return for successive sessions, there are bonuses awarded.  Also, as teachers are promoted to higher positions of responsibility, there are many other bonus and recognition added into those types of contracts.

Q: When will the payment be made?

A: Return rate bonuses (on classes where most students come back) are awarded about 3 weeks after the completion of a class (this is to insure that any students that who sign up late will be included in the number). The annual bonus is calculated on the last day of contract and the bonus comes through about 2 weeks later. In the case of a teacher leaving after completing the contract, we expedite the process by submitting the forms a couple of weeks before the teacher ends the contract and pay them on their last day before leaving.

TAXES:

Q: Will my income taxes be withheld and paid by the employer?

A: Yes, absolutely. It is the law in Taiwan.

Q: Or will I be entitled to an exemption from paying taxes for up to two years?

A: You must be referring to laws that do not apply in Taiwan. I have never heard of this type of exemption.

MEDICAL INSURANCE:

Q: Will I be entitled to medical insurance through my employer?

A: Yes, it's the law. Your insurance coverage will begin once you have your ARC, so it is best to get some traveler's insurance for your first month in Taiwan.

Q: What kind of policy will you provide me?

A: We provide Standard 'Lao Bao' (Labor) and 'Jen Bao'(Medical/Health) insurance for all workers in Taiwan. It includes and covers major medical, dental visits, hospital and clinic visits (whether to a Chinese or Western style doctor), prescription medicine, eye exams, etc. It doesn't cover things like getting crowns on your teeth (cosmetic) or eye glasses, those you must pay for yourself. It's much better coverage than I could afford in the United States, that's for sure. Kojen pays about NT$2500/mo(US$80) and you pay about US$7 every two weeks. I've been very happy with it for all 11 years I've been here.

 Q: In a few sentences, what distinguishes your school from the other choices that students and teachers may have?

A: Teacher training and support. Our training of teachers is the best in Asia. How can I say that? Well, we have over 120 workshops per year for teacher development. All teachers go through one week of pre-training (workshops, class observations and debriefings, video-training tapes, books). We have experienced teacher trainers on duty every day to assist with lesson planning and to give teacher support. We have a fully developed curriculum for all our classes in all our departments, with lesson plans and guidelines and a unique proprietary library of over 8000 games, activities, and handouts that were created, designed and tested in the Taiwan classroom for teachers to choose from when preparing their classes. I would also say the opportunity for advancement and professional development. All teachers have the opportunity to be considered for positions of Oral Tester, Teacher Trainer, Academic Assistant, Special Programs Coordinator, Academic Director, and Curriculum Development once they have gained experience and show interest and aptitude for these positions. For the professional teacher, these are very attractive options. We are one of the oldest private language schools in Taiwan, we have by far the largest adult program and one of the largest children's programs and we've gotten to where we are by doing it right – trust, support, caring, professionalism, and knowing how to have fun and be creative while doing it.