Gloria English School Needs ESL Teachers in Taiwan!

Gloria is great for people who want to land a job before arrival. They help you get your documents in order, but you'll have to foot the bill. The hours are good, but only having one day off sucks. It is an easy job, but it gets tedious and many of the textbooks are abysmally bad! Like any job it has it's ups and downs, but with the North American job market like it is, a steady $20/hr pay check in a country where most things are half the cost is very tempting. I may go back to be honest. I may even work for Gloria again when I arrive just so I have a job when I get back! Most of the co-teachers are great. Experinces vary depending on where you get stationed. Tong-An is a never ending frat house. Cheng-gong is close to the train station but kind of lonely. Not sure about Ping-zhen, but if you find yourself in Taoyuan there's a great little pub on the corner of San Min Rd and Zhong Hua called the H.O.P. with pizza and beer. Tell Nathan that Paul says hi!

I have just finished my second long term contract with Gloria English School. If you are new to teaching, this is a great first position.

The curriculum is set, and although there are quite a lot of books to get used to for each of the levels, once you have become comfortable with the materials, it is very easy to plan your classes. You also have some creative freedom when it comes to the games and activities you plan to support the lessons.

You will work alongside a Taiwanese co-teacher, who will carry a far higher workload than you will. This teacher will be responsible for dealing with the parents, writing the report cards, ensuring the test scores are high enough, and even teaching all the grammar so you don't have to. You will teach in the classroom together on your teaching day and he or she will ensure that Mandarin is written on the board for the kids to copy, homework books are completed, etc... It is important to communicate fully with your co-teacher to ensure a good working relationship....you will often become good friends outside of class, too.

Gloria is a cram school, so the kids come after their regular school hours to study English. This means you will teach in the evenings Mon-Fri, usually two classes, one from 5-7pm and the other 7.10-9.10pm. The teenagers and higher level students will often come on Saturdays, so this will be your busiest teaching day, and you could be teaching anywhere from 10am to 9pm. Of course, this means that Sunday is your only full day off.

Don't feel so bad about 'giving up' your Saturday, though. Almost everyone in Taiwan works on Saturdays, so you will find most of your colleagues in the same boat. You still have time to go to Taipei on Saturday nights (40 mins by bus/ 30 mins by taxi), or get some rest and do some sightseeing on Sunday. You also have a lot of free time during the week. Taiwan seems to be go, go, go 24/7 so you will always find something to do, and most businesses open during your free time.

If you stay in the accommodation that Gloria provide for free, it's a little bit like university dorms. Sometimes up to 15 teachers will be living there, so it's an instant social life! You can also get help with planning your classes and lots of advice about living in Taiwan. I moved out during my second time at Gloria, and found a great apartment that cost 11,500ntd to rent ( about 380usd), so it's very affordable to do if you want your privacy back!

I had a great time at Gloria, and in Taiwan. If you want an adventure while still having the support of a good school, then this is for you.

I've just completed a one-year contract with Gloria English School in Taiwan. I'm returning back to North America for other career opportunities, but overall, my expereince with the school has been fairly positive. If you are looking for a year abroad (gap year) to teach, travel, and learn a new language, Gloria offers a great flexible work environment

Pros:
-pay is fairly competitive compared to other English schools in Taiwan
-great benefits: the health insurance included dental!
-20+ hours a week; approx. 4 hours a day in the evening (which meant lots of leisure time in the mornings and afternoons)
-8 weeks vacation: it can be tricky to book time off during the holidays, but if you give the senior managers enough notice, it's usually not a problem; I got to travel to a handful of Southeast Asian countries during my year there
-undemanding work: once you get the hang of the flow of the class, it's generally very easy to teach (there are tons of resources and teacher's guides to help you along the way)
-free accomodations! they're certainly not luxury rooms (think: college dorms), but I managed to save a ton of money staying in the dorms

Cons:
-location: Taoyuan is not the most happening place in Taiwan (but, it is a short 40 min train ride to Taipei, which is nice)
-the weather gets very hot and humid in the summer - sometimes it was so unbearable, I had to stay indoors all day with the AC on full blast
-the social scene can be a little cliquey, but if you don't care for that kind of drama, it's bearable (a word of warning: there seems to be a lot of complainers / whiners amongst the foreign teachers (most of them probably have never held a full-time job for long before) - steer clear or their negative energy will suck your soul!

No teach abroad experience is without its flaws. But, overall, I think I lucked out with Gloria. It was my first time living in Asia and first teaching job, and the school made my transition to my new life in Taiwan pretty easy and smooth.

If you want a rewarding experience while you are abroad and want to develop your teaching skills don't bother with this school. The school is designed for the partier in mind and treats their staff like mindless fools. If you want to be treated with respect and have a culturally enriching experience this school will most likely get under your skin. There pathetic curriculum is a joke to anyone that has even the slightest inclination of what quality education should be. In sum, I would never recommend this school because it doesn’t do what a school is supposed to do: teach students. There are a lot of worthwhile schools in Taiwan that can provide a quality experience for more pay and less hassle.

Good luck.

Gloria is great if you're just starting out and aren't sure what you're doing. You will always teach with a native co-teacher, who handles classroom discipline, interaction with parents, and most administrative things. Compared to the native teachers, foreign teachers have little prep work. Once you understand the (easy) curriculum, the hardest thing is thinking of new games. You are paid in cash, and always know what's being deducted for taxes, etc.

On the negative side, the administration is very political. If they don't like you, or you're a bad teacher, they will passive-aggressively take away your hours until you leave...but you'd have to do something crazy to get fired. You are promised 8 weeks of vacation, but during holidays and times of low staffing, you may not get your vacation requests accepted. Taoyuan is not the greatest place in Taiwan, but you'll save more money than you would living in Taipei.

I'd recommend it for someone who wants to get their feet wet in TEFL and maybe save some money. There are great people, and you'll make friends and get decent support. Just don't plan on staying forever.

The good: they pay in cash after every shift, they don't try to dictate your vacation schedule (unless it is Christmas), they have a lot of other cool people working there to make integrating and socializing easier. They don't proscribe to any of the 'professionalism' BS you see at other places. They just want you to act cool.

The bad: they entice people to come over to Taiwan on their own dime with a promise of 20 hrs. a week averaged throughout the year. You only get paid for the amount of time you are standing in front of a class, not for prep time or anything like that (except on very rare occasions). If they (the management, co teachers, or students) don't like you then they will just not give you any hours and hope that you will go away. I have seen way too many people get screwed by them by not being given hours to teach. They also lie to the government about taxes and have you sign a fake contract for the government. They also with hold 2 weeks of pay at the start of your contract.