Cultural guide for English teachers preparing to work in Taiwan

¶ … Culture of Taiwan

Sense of Self and Space

Time and Time Consciousness

Values and Norms

Beliefs and Attitudes

Teaching in Taiwan

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Pros and Cons

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Communication and Relational Style

Work Habits and Practices

Living in Taiwan

Communication and Language

Food and Feeding Habits

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Dress and Appearance

Recreational System

This report is written as a guide for a group of recent University graduates who wish to travel to Taiwan to teach English. The report provides useful information on the culture and society of Taiwan which will help these young graduates get acquainted with the culture before they actually travel to a new country. Since these young teachers will be staying in Taiwan for sometime, it is essential for them to know about Taiwan so they can adapt to the society and culture easily. The report will help them understand how eastern cultures differ from western ones and where they can still find some common ground.

Harris, P.R. & Moran, R.T. (1991) have given us a model for studying culture. This model contains ten critical aspects of culture which helps in studying and understanding culture. This may not include all the aspects, but it covers some essential ones thus allowing people to get a basic understanding. These only serve as the guidelines and headlines, it is only after a person has lived for sometime in another country that he is read between the lines and grasps all the hidden nuances of a new country.

2. DISSCUSSION

2.1. General Culture of Taiwan

Below is a discussion on general aspects of a culture. There are some broad fundamentals which underlie all cultural systems and if can understand these concepts it will help to understand how cultures differ from one another in important ways.

Sense of Self and Space

Self-identity refers to sense of self which is developed with the help of membership with certain groups and conforming to the norms of that group. In Taiwan friends and family still hold more importance than work colleagues. People define themselves through their families and this is what gives them a sense of who they are.

Individualism vs. Collectivism Theory According to Neuliep, J.W. (2000), countries can be ranked according to how individualistic or collectivist they are. They found that New Zealand ranks 6th and Taiwan ranks 43th out of 52 countries when it comes to individualism. This shows that Taiwan is far more in favour of collectivism than New Zealand.

Characteristic of Collectivism in a collectivist culture, people respect the role played by others in their success. They are close to the people they know like family and friends and may not be that ready to trust people outside their circle.

Time and Time Consciousness

Sense of seasons of the year is important because not every country has similar patterns. Since students are coming from New Zealand, they need to understand that summer and winters do not follow the same pattern in Taiwan as they do in their native country. Summer generally runs from June to September. The weather is certainly hot but it is the humidity that tends to bother most teachers. It is a little intense to say the least. Fall is from mid-September to October. This is also the typhoon season with generally two or three storms passing by the island. Winter generally runs from November to February. Winter is actually a prime season in Taiwan with temperate temperatures that are neither too cold nor too hot. Spring generally runs from March to June and is usually marked by endless days of rain.

Values and Norms

Particularism to behave in a given situation depends on the circumstances. Treat family, friends, and your in-group the best they can, and let the rest of the world take care of it. Their in-groups will protect them. There can be absolutes because everything depends on whom you dealing with. No one expects life to be fair. Exceptions will always be made for certain. Taiwanese thus give a great deal of importance to people close to them. They will look out for the well being of those they consider close to them and expect others to do the same.

High-context Culture

GROUP

Collectivism

COOPERATION

Interdependence

TIME = LIFE

Time is Abundant

PERSON-CENTERED

Relationships/Being

HARMONY

Indirectness

HIERARCHY

Hierarchical

HIGH CONTEXT

Information Understood

FORMALITY

Respect for Age and Status

FATALISM

Subject to Fate

TRADITION

Past/History Oriented

SPIRITUALITY

Success = Spiritual Growth

HONOR ELDERS

Respect Ancestors and Elders

Beliefs and Attitudes

Taiwanese culture is distinctly different from Chinese culture. It is a mixture of "native Taiwanese, Japanese and American cultures." Davison & Reed (1998) find that among various religious activities, the dominant one is still the folk religion. People are gradually moving more towards native Taiwanese culture and hence they have started showing renewed interest in their folk religion. "Taiwanese folk religion is the oldest of all religions in Taiwan with the exceptional aboriginal religions. Folk religion is overwhelmingly the most prevalent of all religious activity." (p. 37)

When it comes to customs and lifestyle Davison and Reed found that Taiwanese people are "very frugal and industrious" by nature (p. 191); and are thus ambitious too. Movement is essential to Taiwanese lifestyle; they are ambitious and energetic and hence there is a great deal of activity on the streets as pedestrians rush to reach their destinations, cab drivers move rapidly around and street vendors do roaring business with their humble offerings.

Education is important in Taiwan and so is work. Children are expected to start working early but they are also expected to do well in schools. Boys have greater responsibility in terms of developing economic connections than girl children.

2.2. Teaching in Taiwan

Pros and Cons

Teaching English in Taiwan should be a pleasant experience for most people since there is a healthy demand for English language instructors. Camenson (2007) reports that, "Pay is generally good, and many teachers report being able to save money. However some complain about the level of red tape to go through in the country." (p. 120)

Work Habits and Practices

Work ethic is very important in Taiwanese culture especially for ESL teachers. It is expected that teachers engage in understanding the country's culture and it is a great exercise in bridging the gap between eastern and western societies. Teachers must understand who they will be dealing with when they undertake this job. In Taiwan, ESL teachers get to teach young children of 4-15 years and it should be made fun so learning doesn't become a problem. ESL teachers will need to spend 20-25 hours in class teaching and 10-15 hours in office each week. Office time is needed for preparation of class lessons.

It may not seem very demanding at first but teaching English to young children is no mean task. It can pose many challenges since they are coming from a culture where English doesn't have a major presence. Though they will be familiar with the language due to exposure to the Internet and Television, still teaching a new language may not prove easy because of huge language and cultural differences.

2.3. Living in Taiwan

Communication and Language

English doesn't have a major presence in Taiwan and hence it is advisable to know some Mandarin before going to Taiwan. Though English is taught in schools, it is not a language that travellers will find easily understood by Taiwanese. Mandarin still rules even though people in Southern parts and rural areas prefer to communicate in Taiwanese. Though generally considered a dialect of Mandarin, Taiwanese is quite a different language and the two are not "mutually intelligible." (Kelly, 2007, p.361)

Recreational System

Recreation is important in Taiwanese society and it has become more vital since Taiwanese started getting higher income in 1980s (Moiz, Wu, p. 107). They enjoy life the way any modern society would like going to the movies, enjoying karaoke, meeting family and friends and spending time in the parks. Eating out is also one activity Taiwanese enjoy and shopping malls are normally immensely crowded on the weekends. The night markets in Taipei see huge crowds where all kind of exotic stuff is sold.

3. CONCLUSION

Taiwan is a growing nation which has made its mark on the world only recently. For this reason, people in this country are eager to know new people and to engage with the international community. While they are not used to seeing foreigners, they are still eager to help and may sometimes stare too. But they are naturally friendly and travellers are less likely to encounter any serious problems when looking for directions. As an expatriate, Westerns or people from more developed countries will find life in Taiwan far more different than the one they might find in other developed countries of the world. The difference lies in that contrast between East and west which generally guides cultures in each country. Individualism is not important so it's important to take care of others and consider their feelings when something is undertaken. No one would want a westerner working as if he wants to take all the credit. It is essential to share credit in order to gain more respect and acceptance among people.

4. REFERENCE

Harris, P.R. & Moran, R.T. (1991). Managing Cultural Differences. (3rd ed.). Houston. Texas: Gulf.

Moiz, Azra. Janice Wu. [2006] Taiwan. Cultures of the world. Benchmark Books NY.

Neuliep, J.W. (2000). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Reed, Barbara Edith. Davison, Gary Marvin. [1998] . Culture and Customs of Taiwan. Greenwood Press

Camenson, Blythe. [2007] Opportunities in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Mc-Graw Hill.

Kelly, Robert. [2007] Taiwan (Country Guide). Lonely Planet. 7th edition.