Direct people watch out. Poster boys for honesty beware. You might confront communication problems if you're living in a foreign country.

In Taiwan, the societal norm is everyone watching out for each other. On the MRT (subway), it's considerate to let an elder or a woman with children to be seated first. This, you can say, is also the same in the Western countries BUT with a small difference. The West has embraced a me-first mentality. The East, particulary Taiwan, hangs on to the helping of others. However, there is a point when a line is crossed.


Some foreigners will experience at one time or another people who will not be straight with them. Trust between foreign teachers and buxibans (language institutes) is very hard to come by. This has led to many buxibans keeping their backs against the wall when it comes to foreign teachers. And of course, teachers like wise.

Many foreign teachers come abroad with the intention to work and travel. Travel is their purpose so that means they will migrate to a different area within a couple of years. One or two. Take your pick. But the trust factor is just not there. Thus buxibans, who want to find teachers for their students for long periods of time, may find it hard keeping foreigners. Some foreigners will move to another country without giving the buxiban any notice. Thus the school has to find another teacher on the fly.

Let it be known that buxibans are no saints. Some foreigners leave suddenly because buxibans threaten to take their visas away. Any expat knows that when working in another country, the visa is issued by the place of employment and that kind of threat is not one to be taken lightly. At that point, it becomes the fight for survival.

Any new teacher must be aware that many buxiban employers do not honor the contracts that many teachers sign, especially financially. Contracts are usually bound for one year, however, on some occassions buxibans will not always pay the full amount. ESL teachers are suggested to always keep track of their worked hours, count funds and always receive receipts for moneys earned or debts paid.

Idealism is usually the major defense in Taiwan. In many cases, if you do not blindly trust the employer, then you are considered a bad person even if you've been unfairly taken advantage of. The smart thing is to keep in mind what is important when signing the contract. I would say prepare to compromise and keep a level head even when there are cultural misunderstandings. Despite what may happen, you are still a visitor in their country.

Get everything you want in the contract done before you travel abroad or you'll be left without money or, more importantly, a visa. This means your travel journey could end abruptly because of an unfair employer.

Not to say that all buxiban employers are unfair. It wouldn't be right for me to say that. However, it's a common practice, whether people get offended by it or not.
Another thing to remember about Asian countries: Direct honesty is not always the best approach. Some schools, because we are talking marketing here, will ask you to give students a higher grade than they really deserve. This doesn't help their English at all, but it keeps the parents paying money for the student returning to the buxiban in the next semester. Even when dealing with inter-office situations, speaking in a meek, polite and round-about way usually gets the problem solved faster than a simple sentence regarding what the problem is or what the solution could be. So for those who relish in the art of straightforwardness and get-to-the-point dialogue, take a deep breath cause it's gonna be a long year.

Phill Feltham is currently teaching English in Taipei. He's been living in Taipei for a year and a half. He can be reached for comment at phill_feltham@yahoo.ca.