Teacher Training in Taiwan: Expanding Your Teaching ...

CELTA is not offered in Taiwan, but can be done online or through blended learning through various providers. I did mine in-person at ITI ... Togglenavigation AllHandsTaiwan Toolbox MemBEERship 中文 JobSeekers LogIn CreateyourProfile ManageProfile User Settings LogOut Employers PostaJob EmployerLogIn InnerHTML HiringDashboard PostaJob ManageProfile TeamAdmin UserSettings LogOut Thepictureisn’trelatedtothearticleunlessyouwanttogetverymetaphorical. WhenIfirstarrivedinTaiwan,opportunitiesforprofessionaldevelopmentasanEnglishlanguageteacherwererarebeyondworkshopsofvaryingqualitythroughcramschools.ThoughIcan’tspeakforlocalEnglishteachersintheformaleducationsystem,thelackofprofessionaldevelopmentoptionswasalsoanissueforlocalteachersincramschools. IhonestlyregretcomingtoTaiwanasanunskilledrandomwhitepersonandstartingoutinacramschooljob–asituationIsoughttochangeassoonasIcouldaffordto–andIthinkpartofthatregretiswhatdrivesmydesiretocontributemoretoTaiwanthanItakefromit.Asmyprofessioniseducation,Ifeelthat’swhereImightbeabletomakearealimpact. Withthatinmind,I’vehopedforsomeyearsthatnewpathstoteacherdevelopmentcouldbeopenedinTaiwan,sothatanewgenerationofEnglishteachersmightsimply,well, bebetterteachers andnothavetogoabroadforthattraining,asIdid.Fortunately,duetotheeffortsofpeoplewhowanttoeffectrealchange,therehavebeenrealimprovementsandIhopeandbelievethiswillimprovetheoverallsituationofEnglishlanguageeducationinTaiwan. Sincejoiningthecommunityofteachereducators(teacherswhodevelopotherteachers),I’vebeenaskedafewtimesaboutteachertraininganddevelopmentopportunitiesinTaiwan,andIwantedtoconsolidatealistofresourcesforEnglishteachershere–foreignersandlocalsalike–whowanttodevelopthemselvesprofessionally,whilestayinginTaiwan.  There’sanothergoodpostonthistopichere,buttherearesomethingsnotcoveredinthatpost,soI’mwritingthisone.  Fulldisclosure:Itrainonsomeofthesecourses,butnotallofthem.There’snosalesmotive,andthisisnotanykindofsponsoredpost.Ireceivenothing,andifanyonesignsupforacourseduetothispost,Ihonestlywouldn’tevenknow. Alloftheseareopentobothnativeandnon-nativespeakers,soIhopeTaiwanesereadersofmyblogwhomaybeinterestedinteachingwillalsoconsiderthesesuggestions.Onewaytoendwhitesupremacyandnativespeakerisminlanguageteachingistomake professionaldevelopmentmoreaccessibletolocalteachers,whichIverymuchhopetodo.AlthoughtheTESOLworldstilldiscriminatesagainstnon-nativespeakerteachers,theinternationalqualifications(suchastheTKT,CertTESOL)willbeanadvantageforanyTaiwaneselookingtoteachEnglishabroad. It’sworthnotingthatmostoftheseprogramsare not officiallyrecognizedbytheTaiwanesegovernment. Differentschoolshavedifferentrequirements:publicschoolsgenerallywantateachinglicensebutwillsometimestakepermanentresidentswithotherqualifications.Privateschoolsaremoreopeninwhattheycanaccept,andinternationalschoolsvaryquiteabit.Youraveragecramschooloftenrequiresnothing(whichhonestlyisaproblem),butbetterjobsinthecramschoolsystemeitherappreciateorrequirebasiccertifications.Thesealsoprovideagoodfilterwhenjob-hunting:iftheschoolyouareapplyingtodoesn’tknoworcareaboutthecertificationslistedhere,theymightnotprioritizeeducation.It’sgoodtoknowthatup-front. I’veorganizedthelistroughlybylowesttohighestbarriertoentry.Thefirstfewitemsaresimplyonlineresourcesandreadings,notclassesperse.Actualcoursesyoucantakewillbediscussedlateron. OnlineandReadingResources OnlineresourcesThere’sawholeworldoutthereofwebinarsandotheronlineteacherdevelopmentresources,mostofwhichisfreeorverylow-cost(thoughsomeisofmuchbetterquality,andsomeisquestionable–usesomecriticalthinkingtodeducewhat’swhat). Joininganinternationalcommunityofpracticethrough IATEFL membership Anti-racismresourcesforteachers TEFLEquityAdvocates TeacherTraininginTaiwanFacebookPage and FacebookGroup OnlineCourses Ifyouwanttotakeanonlinecoursethatisn’tquiteasintenseas,say,aTrinityCertTESOLorCELTA,therearemanyoptions. Nile, InternationalHouse and OxfordUniversity’sDepartmentofContinuingEducation aregenerallywell-regardedproviders.Thesecoursestendtofocusonparticularareas(e.g.BusinessEnglish,CLIL,TeachingYoungLearners),andcanbedonewithnocertification,orafteraninitialcertification.Morethanoneinitialcertificationisnowavailableface-to-faceinTaiwan;thesearediscussedbelow.  Reading Again,there’sawholeworldofreadingoutthere,soI’mjustgoingtoprovideashortlistofbooksI’vefoundusefulinmyowndevelopment. AboutLanguage –ScottThornbury:cruciallanguageawarenessforEnglishteachers,especiallynativespeakerteacherswhodon’tknowhowtheirownlanguageworks TeachingEnglishGrammar –JimScrivener:aresourcebreakingdownhowtoteachkeygrammarconcepts,includingcommonissuesandpointstoremember LearningAboutLanguageAssessment –KathleenBailey:ifyou’reinterestedinknowingaboutwhatmakesalanguageassessmentworthwhileanduseful TeachingCollocation –MichaelLewis:thischangedmywholeapproachtolexisasasystem,andhowIapproachitintheclassroom.Lewis’otherworksuchas“TheEnglishVerb”arealsohighlyrecommended HowLanguagesAreLearned –PatsyLightbownandNinaSpada:ashortandengagingintroductiontothefieldofSLA(SecondLanguageAcquisition) GrammarForEnglishLanguageTeachers –MartinParrott:thisisnotsomethingtoreadsomuchasaresourceeveryseriousEnglishteachershouldhave(Swan’sbookisfinetoobutIpreferParrott) Agoodlearner’sdictionary(anypublisher,whicheverlevelsuitsyourlearners):thiswillhelpyoudevelop yourabilitytoclarifylanguageandconcept-check.BigBadWolf’s7-daysalesoftenincludethematsteepdiscounts.  TheCulturalPoliticsofEnglishasanInternationalLanguage –AlastairPennycook:Ifyoudon’thavetimetoread Orientalism (Said), PedagogyoftheOppressed (Friere)and Teaching EnglishasanInternationalLanguage (McKay),thisbookprovidesausefulintroductiontoallofthoseideas,andtakesthemfurther.Awordofwarning:itwaswritteninthe’90sandneedsanupdate,andtakesapostcolonialperspectivethatdoesn’talwaysfitTaiwan’ssituation(colonizedmorebyChinathananyWesternnation). The“HowTo”series(variousauthors) Thisisawholeseriesofbooks–theyarenotverylongandnotparticularlyacademic,makingthemperfectfornewteachersfindingtheirway.Eachbookisclearlytitled(e.g.HowToTeachSpeaking,HowToTeachBusinessEnglish,HowToTeachReading,HowToTeachGrammar)andeasytoread.Otherthan HowToTeachWithTechnology (notrecommended),theseareusefulintroductionstowhateverareayoufeelyoumightneedtoimprove.Theyaren’tcheapsochoosejudiciously. Ifyouare really newtoteachingandneedagroundinginthebasics, HowToTeachEnglish fromthisseriesisagoodstart.  Everythingaboveisatargetedonlinecourse,oraself-accessresource.Let’sleavethosefornow,andtalkaboutcourseworkandgeneralteachingcertificationsthatcanbedoneinorfromTaiwan. Thefirsttwoonthelist–theTKTandlocalTESOLcertification–aremoredirectlyaimedatlocalteachersandothernon-nativespeakers.However,everycourseafterthat(theCertTESOL,TYLECandDipTESOL,etc.)arealsoopentoallteachers,andIspecificallyencouragenon-nativespeakerteacherswhothinktheywouldbevaluabletolookintothem.Acommunityoftalentedlocalteachersisapowerfulweaponinfightingforequityinthefield. TKT(TeachingKnowledgeTest) Thisistheleastexpensiveoptionamongallofthenon-freechoices,thoughit’snotacourse.It’sathree-moduletestaimedmoreatlocal(non-nativespeaker)teachers,thoughnativespeakerscantakeitaswell.It’sagoodwaytoputaninternationally-recognizedteachingqualificationonaresumeandtheknowledgethatistestedisallworthwhile.Withnopracticalelement(thatis,norealteaching),however,considerthistobemostlyawaytogainsomeformalrecognitionofyourteaching knowledge,thoughnotnecessarilyyourabilityintheclassroom. It’spossibletoself-studyforthistestifyouhaveexperienceandweretrainedonthejob,soastudybook(TheTKTCourse:Modules1,2and3 byMarySprattisagoodchoice)andthecostoftheexamsaretheonlyfinanciallayout.  TESOLTaiwanteachingcertification Ofthecertificationcoursesthatrequirepracticums,thisisthemostaffordable.It’sa35-hourcoursewithoneteachingdemoattheendandcoversallofthebasics,andisopentopeoplewithnoteachingexperience.Thecohortismostlylocal,butforeignteachersdotakeit,andmorethanonehassaidthattheirschoolspecificallyrecommendedit.  Thecurriculumincludesabasicknowledgeofmethodology,foundationalknowledgeforteachingvariousskills(speaking,writing,readingandlistening)andsystems(grammar,lexisandpronunciation)includingdemonstrations,andincorporatesclassroommanagement,lessonplanning,assessinglearnerneedsandmore.Assessedcontentincludesashortlessontaughtbythetraineeaswellasseveralwrittenassignments,twoobservationsandanonlinecomponent.  ThiscourseistaughtinEnglishbutspecificallydesignedtobeaccessibletobothforeignandlocalEnglishteachers,non-nativeandnativespeakersalike. Thecourseisofferedmorningsover2weeks(occasionallytwoweeksplusoneMonday),oralldaySaturdayorSundayfor6weeks,allinTaipei.Onceayearorso,theSundaycourseisofferedinTaichung. TrinityCertTESOL andCELTA Formanyyears,itwasimpossibletotakethiscourse–ortheequivalentCELTA–inTaiwan.Thatwasamajorgapindevelopmentopportunitiesforteachershere,astheseareinternationally-recognizedcertificationsthatarerequiredformanyteachingjobsoutsideTaiwan.Ihadtogoabroadtogetmine.Thathasfinallychanged–theCertTESOLishere! It’salongercourse–Monday-Fridaymorningsoverasemester–withmoreteachingpracticums,whichdoesmeanit’smoreexpensive(thoughdividedbyinputhours,itistechnicallybettervalueformoney).Thereareotherassessedareastoo,includingexams. TheCertTESOLisamorechallengingcourse. HavingdonetheequivalentCELTAwassobeneficialformyteachingpracticethatmyonlyregretisthatIdidn’tdoitsooner,andIcanusuallytellthedifferencebetweenateacherwho’stakenacourselikethisandonewhohasn’t. CELTAisnotofferedinTaiwan, butcanbedoneonlineorthroughblendedlearningthroughvariousproviders.Ididminein-personatITIIstanbulandcanvouchforthequalityoftheface-to-facecourse. TYLEC(TeachingYoungLearnersExtensionCertificate) andotherYoungLearnerCourses Iknowlessaboutthisprogram,asIdon’ttrainonitanddon’tteachchildren,butifyoudoteachchildrenandwanttobecomeamazingatit,thisisthecourseforyou.ItcoststhesameasaTrinityCertTESOL–thatis,expensive,butcheaperthandoingawholeteachinglicense.It’sofferedbasedondemand.Itinvolvesinputsessions,awrittenassignmentonmaterialsandfivehoursofassessedteachingpractice(I’mnotsurehowtheassessedpracticeisorganized).  Theoretically,othersimilarcoursesarealsopossibletotakeinTaiwan,specificallythe CELT-P (forteachersofprimaryschoolstudents)and CELT-S (secondaryschool).I’mnotsurewhatstageofdevelopment/availabilitytheyareatyet,butcheckthisspaceforupdates,orjointheTeacherTraininginTaiwanFacebookgroupsabovetohearaboutthelatestdevelopments. TrinityDipTESOL andCambridgeDelta ThisisthenextlevelupfromtheCertTESOL,andisalsofinallyavailableinTaiwanstartingthisyear.Itisahigher-levelcertification,meaningyouneedtomeetcertaineducationalandexperiencerequirements.AbasicTEFLcertificationisalsohighlyrecommended. ItisequivalenttotheCambridgeDelta,meaningthatinEuropeit’srecognizedatthesamelevelasaMaster’sdegree(thoughitisn’tone).TheDipTESOLisorganizedintofourunitsandinTaiwan,Ibelievethatthreeofthosefouraretaughtintensivelyoveranumberofweeks–askdirectlyformoreinformation.Thefirstunit–anexam–canbetakenafterthecourse.TheDipTESOLincludesfourpracticumhoursandseveralwrittenassignmentsandaresearchproject. AgoodreasontodotheDipTESOLinTaiwanisthatyouwon’thavetofindalocaltutorfortheteachingpracticums–it’sallhandledhere,sothere’snoneedtogoaroundaskingqualifiedteachersifthey’lltakeonthatroleforyou.Iwasluckyinthatsomeoneoffered.I’mnotsurehowtheteachingpracticumsareorganized(whethertheyareyourownclassesororganizedbythecourse). IhaveaCambridgeDelta,obtainedinTaiwanviadistancelearning.Thiscanbedoneentirelythrough Nile,(yes–theNileDelta) Bell or TheDistanceDelta. ITIIstanbulalsooffersModules1and3online. Module1 isanexam–youcanstudyforthisonyourown,butIrecommendtakinganonlinecourseforafewhundredpounds. Module2 isteachingpracticeandwrittenassignments:fourhoursofassessedteachingpracticeplusonediagnosticlessonandoneexperimentallesson(notassessed).Thepapersforthesearekillerasthewordlimitsaretight,butyou’lllearnalotdoingthem.There’salsoaprofessionaldevelopmentassignmentandobservationrequirements.YoucandothisinTaiwanthroughalocaltutor,whomyouhavetofindyourself.Thefourthassessedlessonisdoneexternally,whichmayinvolveflyingsomeonein,whichyoupayfor.Theydotrytokeepcostsdown,oftensendingoneexternalassessoracrossAsia,soyouonlyhavetopayforaregionalflightandanightinahotel. Module3 isanextendedwrittenassignmentbasedonreallearners–meaningyouneedagroupofreallearnerstoworkwith.Youwriteaboutasub-fieldofTESOL,assesstheirneedsandcreateacoursebasedonthefundamentalprinciplesofsyllabusdesignandassessment. Variousteachinglicenseprograms Iwon’tsaymuchaboutthese,asthelevelofrecognitiongivenbyTaiwan’sMinistryofEducationisvariable.Onlinesearchesbringupafewoptions,butI’veonlyfoundonethatseemstostillbeavailableinTaiwanandcomesrecommendedbypeopleIknow:the globalteachercertificationandMaster’sprogramofferedby theCollegeofNewJerseyinHsinchu,withcourses(andcoursework)happeningeveryfewweeks.ThisisarealprogramthroughalegitimateuniversityintheUnitedStates,andcanlandyousomebetterjobs. Italsoqualifiesyoutotakethe PraxisII (teachingqualificationexamsintheUS),availableonaverylimitedbasisinTaiwan. TheprogramrequiresyoutobeteachingmorethanEnglishasit’snotspecificallyaTESOLcoursebutratheroneforgeneralyounglearnereducation,andyourpracticumsaredoneatyourownworklocation.Theprogramdoesn’trequireadissertationbutitdoesrequireyoutotakethe edTPA. Ifyourgoalisaninternationalschooljob,youmightalsoconsiderdoingaBritishPGCEonline. Here’sjustonewaytodothat (therearesurelymultipleproviders).Thiswon’tqualifyyouforpublicschoolworkbutwillstillbeastepupandislikelytobeacceptedatsomeinternationalschools. Master’sprogramsMostpeopledon’trealizethatrelevantMaster’sprogramscanbedoneinTaiwan.Englishlanguageprogramsareheldatvariousuniversities,including NTNU (NationalTaiwanNormalUniversity), NCCU (NationalCheng-chiUniversity)and NTUST.Othersexist–includingthoseat WenzaoUrsulineCollegeofLanguages and NationalTsinghuaUniversity –butIamnotsureoftheproportionofclassestaughtinEnglish. FraminghamStateUniversityisalsolookinginto(onceagain)offeringcoursesinTaiwan,thoughthesearenotsetyet. ThecoursewouldleadtoaMaster’sinEducationwithafocusoninternationaleducation,butdoesnotincludeateachinglicense. Youcangetonthemailinglisthere,ifyouareinterestedinfuturecourses. Nilealsooffersamodularface-to-faceMATESOLaccreditedthroughtheUniversityofChichester.Asyouwouldnotactuallyresideabroad,butrathertakecoursesovera2-3weekintensiveperiod,IamnotsurehoworwhetherthiswouldberecognizedinTaiwan. Thereusedtobeotherwaystogetaface-to-faceMaster’sinTESOLwhilelivinginTaiwan–suchasthesummerintensiveprogramIamwrappingupattheUniversityofExeter,butmostofthemseemtohaveceasedoperations(Exeterisclosingits MEdsummerprogram,forexample). Onlineoptionsexist,butcanbeexpensive.Thesearen’tgenerallyrecognizedinTaiwan,thoughanyexamsyoutakeinpersonmightbe.It’sworthcheckingwithyourcurrentorpotentialemployer–Ican’tprovideanyguarantees.  PhDandEdD(DoctorateofEducation)degrees Ifyou’vecomethisfar,youmightbewonderingaboutPhDandEdDdegrees.Here’sthething,though:ifyou’vegottenthroughaMaster’s,youprobablyhaveaclearideaofwhereyouwanttogointermsofadoctorateandthere’snotmuchIcantellyou.Several options do exist thatwouldletyouliveinTaiwanwhiledoingsomecourseworkabroad,butIcan’tspecificallyrecommendone,andIdoubtanyarewidelyrecognizedinTaiwan. AllIcansayisthatPhDsaremorewidelyrecognizedthanEdDs,andaswithMaster’sprograms,officialrecognitiongenerallyrequiresfull-timeresidencyandin-personclasses. I’dalsosaythatifyoureallywanttodoaPhD,youshouldnotbepayingforit.ThismightnotbeabigdealifyougotoapublicuniversityinTaiwanwheretuitionislow(NCCUoffersaPhDinTESOL–samelinkasabove),butIwouldn’tplopdownthetensofthousandsofUSdollarsthatprogramsabroadcharge. Honestly,eithergetfundedordon’tgo.Imeanit. AbouttheAuthor JennaCodyisanAmericanteacherandteachereducatorlivinginTaipeiandcurrentlydoingaMaster’sinEducationattheUniversityofExeter.Shewritesaboutbeingafemaleexpatandwomen’sissuesinAsia,aswellastravel,hiking,photographyandfood.Youcanfindmoreofherarticlesonherblog,LaoRenCha. Related Feedback  Comments:1 Yourfeedback Clickheretocancelreply. Yourname(required) Youremailaddress(required,butwillnotbepublished) Yourwebsiteifyouhaveone(notrequired) Yourcomment Δ