I would like to add one important point to Ken S. Huang's very interesting letter about English instructors (Letters, Nov. 15, page 8). Being a foreigner (but not a native English speaker) who spent one year in Taiwan and fell in love with the island, I could not help but notice that often, too often, Taiwanese children are taught English by foreign teachers who have no qualification other than speaking English as their mother tongue.
I have met people whom I would never, ever allow to teach my own kids, people (especially young men) who spent all the money they made (and yes, it is a lot) in bars, seducing girls, getting drunk and speaking of Taiwan and the Taiwanese in a most obnoxious way. They had little or no motivation to be good teachers or even role models; they came for the money and never even thought about integrating or learning a single word of Chinese.
And what's even worse, I have met people who did not speak English very well but who were employed (especially by private cram schools) because they had a white face. They were told to tell parents that they were American or Canadian (when their accent was obviously not American), while their English was barely good enough to manage their daily life in Taiwan. In job advertisements it is of course always noted that schools are looking for native speakers with teaching degrees or experience, but reality is often quite different.
I certainly do not want to offend anybody. There are people who are devoted to teaching and who come to Taiwan to make a difference and to get to know the country and its people. But unfortunately, there are way too many "black sheep" who take advantage of Taiwan's fascination with (white) foreigners and who live an easy life, going to class with no qualifications and only money and pleasure on their minds. Seeing this has often made me feel bad; it still does when I think of it.
I truly hope that people will come to their senses soon and check out their potential teachers' abilities, not only in terms of speaking English, but also teaching it by means of didactical methods. Who knows, maybe some day Taiwan will even be able to turn down all those who take advantage of it in this shameful manner.
Juliane Hagen
Germany
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