Highly Recommended For First-Time Teachers

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.