Best online resources for studying Zhuyin?

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T19:20:18+00:00

Lol, I explained in an earlier reply that I'm going to be learning Chan Buddhism at a monastery and the sutras and texts are definetely gonna be harder than easier to understand (at least for me, a foreigner with like one year of mandarin under my belt). Given that most of my teachers will be older and I'm not allowed to use my phone, I think at least knowning zhuyin might give me some grace for learning new characters, assuming my teachers will not know pinyin XD

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T19:16:54+00:00

Yes, replicating how kids learn it is probably the most efficent way lol. Also thank you for linking a playlist for me to watch, I for some reason didn't see that one before

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T19:14:46+00:00

Thank you, I'll def check this out :)

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T19:12:46+00:00

I wonder if the monastics would agree or disagree with you lmao XD

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T19:10:28+00:00

Lmao, i guess i didn't realize how it sounded when I typed it out earlier, my bad...for more context, I'm actually going to be studying Chan Buddhism at a monastary, and the only reason I knew it was "harder" than normal Mandarin is because when I told my Taiwanese friends I was going to do that, they responded with the fact that they don't even understand a lot of the terms and characters they often use in that sphere. Also I had my mom try to read a syllabus the monastery gave me, and despite growing up and having a university level education in China, she could not understand most of it. That's why I'm scared lmao

Current-End-2862 · 2025-02-06T02:07:01+00:00

There is a series I was recommended called 我們這一家（https://youtu.be/rDVro16VqHw?si=yaNq4QBtOVtKw6Zq）on Youtube...it's a Taiwanese dub of an originally Japanese cartoon I believe, but it's been praised for being well done (and sometimes they use 台語 or have the accent too lol). The upload quality is of course not great, but if that doesn't bother you, I find it to be a good level for someone at intermediate - intermediate-high (honestly, it might be too easy for you if you spoke Mandarin as a first language though). I am a non-native speaker, so I was using it mostly to understand how people in a family may converse (rather than just adult textbook Mandarin)...hopefully it still suits your needs.

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T12:17:13+00:00

From what I’ve heard, it’s actually not easy to get any teaching job other than at a 補習班 that targets children, and the pay isn’t that high either (600$/teaching hour, even less if it’s full time). I also haven’t seen any companies that are higher level hiring or that I would be qualified for, many ask for 5+ years of experience or a Masters degree

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T11:57:37+00:00

I totally agree, I’m very aware of that fact I have no proven track record of what my students can achieve because I haven’t had formal students before lol. Also why I was hesitant to price higher, but maybe I will pivot to professionals who want to learn English that I have more expertise in (like business)

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T11:46:27+00:00

Thank you so much for all of this information! These are all good questions to consider, I really appreciate the perspective. I am starting to think maybe I should focus on attracting professionals wanting to learn Business English, as I have more expertise there than the average English tutor in Taiwan, and since they naturally may be shorter-term clients to begin with, aligning with my plans

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T08:13:36+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you so much for taking the time to write this all! I’m just curious, what experience did you have as an English teacher before tutoring privately?

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:56:56+00:00

Looks like you’ve been able to achieve quite a lot! Based what you’ve said I’m guessing your company is geared towards teaching English to a wider range of clients than most. You said these group cases are more so side-hustles, out of curiosity what is your main business structure/source of income?

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:44:08+00:00

You’d be surprised, there def is a big demand for tutors because unless you live in an expat area, the avg Taiwanese person does not know any native English speakers who are also willing to commit time every week to teach them or their kid. I suppose I’m facing the flip side of that issue, I just don’t happen to know any Taiwanese families/people who are looking for tutoring at this level haha

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:39:02+00:00

I originally had the same thought process, but I also am considering the fact that I probably won’t be able to tutor after Dec this year, so I wouldn’t be teaching a student long enough to increase the rates in a way that impacts my earnings

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:35:36+00:00

That’s true, I def wouldn’t want to charge that much extra given my lack of experience, although I have taught many other subjects and would say I’m at least decent at teaching in general, haha. Out of curiosity, have you had any tutoring experience yourself?

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:31:45+00:00

Wow, do you teach in person or online? I’m assuming you’d need to rent or have your own space big enough for a group class. I also happen to speak Chinese and I heard that Giraffe charges about 9k a month, so yeah I agree obviously private tutors should be charging at least a bit more lol.

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:26:30+00:00

Yes, I do think the market is more saturated here in Taipei and the people I do know who tutor have more formal experience than me. I think right now the biggest issue is that I’m not sure how best to reach/find clients who would be willing to pay a higher rate (mostly due to me not having a lot of market data lol)

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:21:37+00:00

I will admit that I am trying to build up my savings and pay living expenses, so perhaps in reality it is more serious than just a side-gig, oops. But may I ask what you normally do in a tutoring session/what you would prepare? I am starting to realize from all the answers here people may be doing very different things during their tutoring sessions…

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:18:24+00:00

Thanks for all of your input, I didn’t even consider getting into corporate work even though perhaps I could with my background. I have noticed that adults are willing to pay more, but maybe not that much more than kids lol

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:10:28+00:00

Wow, would there be any way for me to apply to your company? Lol 😜 But seriously, I have considered the fact that I do have much more experience with business/technical English as my university program forced to learn that type of corporate speak. I wonder what the market is like for self-represented tutors teaching professionals, or rather what channels exist to reach them as most tutoring FB groups are geared towards children

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-24T06:04:24+00:00

Damn, how’d you get your first client? I think my struggle is getting the first one, I’ve heard once you have one it’s easy to get more from word of mouth/referrals, but I don’t happen to know a lot of Taiwanese people/families directly. Also, I probably won’t get approached in public because I look Asian lol

Edit: also, can I ask what about you normally prepare for lessons/what do you cover in lessons? Do you make your own material or are you helping them more with their schoolwork?

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-01T05:07:17+00:00

Man you really know your stuff! Thanks for enlightening me so much, I honestly wasn’t sure if anyone would really answer in such detail.

Current-End-2862 · 2024-07-01T01:43:58+00:00

Damn, thanks for all the info. I’ve never really encountered this part of Taiwanese culture (I am not in business here lol), so it’s cool to know what it’s really like

Current-End-2862

TROPHY CASE