Module 1 · September 2026
Who's Who & Your Legal Status
Your first month is mostly about finding out who to ask. Here is the map: five offices, three key people, one legal red line, five phone numbers.
認識校園組織、你的法律身分，以及一定不能踩的那條線。
This is not an evaluation
Your score is shown only to you. It is never shared with your school, your co-teacher, or the Education Department, and it has no connection to your contract renewal or any performance review.
We report only anonymous group statistics — for example, “68% of us got the reporting deadline right” — so we know which topics to explain better at the next meeting. Answer honestly. A wrong answer here is exactly what this is for. Retakes are unlimited and are not recorded.
本測驗與任何考評、續聘無關。個人分數只有你自己看得到，僅回報匿名的整體統計，供我們調整下次會議的內容。可無限次重做。
The five offices 五處室
Almost every question you have in your first month belongs to one of these five. Walk in and ask — that is what they are there for.
Timetables, textbooks, exams, the school calendar, booking the English classroom.
Ask for: 教學組長 Curriculum Section ChiefStudent safety and health, discipline, assemblies, sports day, clubs, injuries.
Ask for: 生教組長 or the school nurseStudent counseling, special educational needs, referrals to social services.
Raising a concern here is never an overreaction.Keys, repairs, equipment, purchasing, anything about the building.
Ask for: 事務組Your contract, leave forms, health insurance, work permit paperwork.
Learn this person's name in Week 1.The hierarchy 職稱
校長 Principal → 主任 Director, heads an office → 組長 Section Chief, heads a section inside it → 老師 Teacher. Using “王主任” or “李組長” shows you understand the structure — but calling anyone 老師 is never wrong or rude.
Your three key people
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Personnel Officer人事Everything about your status — contract, leave, insurance, work permit, renewal.
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Your co-teacher協同教師Everything about your classes — planning, materials, what happened in the room.
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The homeroom teacher導師Everything about a particular student — level, family, friendships, absence. They stay with the same class for years and are the family's main contact. Go to them before you go to any office.
Your paperwork
| Item | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| Contract 聘約 | You are employed by contract, not under the Teachers' Act. Your leave entitlement and procedure come from the contract and your school's rules — read the leave clause in Week 1. |
| Work permit | Tied to one employer. See the red line below. |
| ARC 外僑居留證 | If you move, you must file the address change with the National Immigration Agency within 30 days. Tell Personnel too, but the filing is yours. |
| NHI card 健保卡 | Coverage starts on your first day of employment; the school enrolls you and premiums come out of your salary. Carry the card — it turns a clinic visit from thousands of NT dollars into a few hundred. |
| Income tax | 183 days in a calendar year (1 Jan–31 Dec) decides whether you are taxed as a resident at progressive rates or at the higher non-resident withholding rate. This bites hardest in your first and last partial years. Annual filing: 1–31 May. |
The one red line
No outside teaching work without a separate permit
Your work permit authorizes you to work for one employer. Taking Saturday hours at a cram school without a permit for that employer breaches the Employment Service Act: a fine of NT$30,000–150,000, and the authorities may revoke your permit and order you to leave.
Your principal cannot authorize it. Declaring the income does not fix it — the offense is working without authorization, not failing to pay tax. This is the most common way a foreign teacher loses their position in Taiwan, and it is almost always avoidable.
Employment Service Act, Arts. 43 & 68 (official English text) →
Five numbers to save now
| Call | For |
|---|---|
| 110 | Police |
| 119 | Fire and ambulance |
| 113 | Protection Hotline — child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault. 24h, English available. You will use this in Module 4. |
| 1990 | Foreigners in Taiwan hotline — free, 24h, English / Japanese / Vietnamese / Indonesian / Thai. Visas, insurance, housing, everyday questions. |
| 1957 | Social welfare enquiries |
One thing to do this week
Ask 教務處 for the school calendar (行事曆) and put every date in your phone — especially the make-up school days (補課日), which are working Saturdays that compensate for extended holidays. Turning up to an empty school, or not turning up to a full one, is a first-year mistake you only need to avoid once.
Now check yourself · 接著練習Module 1's questions
24 questions on what you have just read, in the practice bank. Answer one at a time and see the correct answer and the reason straight away. No score, no time limit, nothing recorded.
Practice Module 1 →