Being famous in Taiwan is everything. Famous people and places draw crowds of grateful adherents, reveling in the opportunity afforded them of experiencing what countless thousands before them have experienced. There are famous everythings: famous people, famous towns, famous shops, famous gardens, famous restaurants, famous coffee shops, famous shopping centres, famous farms. And, of course, there are famous teachers.

Translated directly into English, the Chinese word used for all these things is indeed "famous", but in most of these situations English speakers would use the word "popular" or "good reputation". However in Taiwan, everyone says "famous". Famous teachers achieve that appellation in two ways. First, there are those who teach senior high school students how to pass school tests with the minimum amount of knowledge and ability and yet achieve the highest results. They do this by teaching students an "if this, then this" approach to answering the overwhelmingly multiple choice style exam papers set by the education authorities. This approach means that students only have to study what the famous teacher tells them, rather than the actual material on which they will be tested. In the case of English, this results in scores of students achieving high grades on their English tests, ensuring their acceptance into Taiwanese and/or overseas universities, while simultaneously being unable to either speak or understand English.

These famous "English" teachers fly up and down the island conducting their sessions in various major centres, commanding high fees and have very large classes, often in excess of 600 students. One such teacher of whom I know has two auditoriums in a nearby city, each containing roughly 300 students. He teaches "live" in one of them and is broadcast into the second auditorium via closed circuit TV. The students who watch his class on TV pay less than those who see him "live", although both groups get exactly the same out of the experience. With such large classes, there is no room for conversation, or input from the students, and hence no real difference between being in one or the other of the auditoriums. The teacher's fame emanates both from the number of students he has, as well as the proven success of his exam scamming techniques.

The second type of famous teachers are those who are genuine school teachers, teaching genuine classes and engaging in genuine interaction with their students. These teachers do not have the widespread national fame enjoyed by the first type of famous teachers. They are only locally famous and receive very little personal benefit, aside from job security, for their fame. Their schools, on the hand, have managed to cash in on their famous teachers. Each year, parents who pay NT$20,000 to the school may choose their children's teachers. Famous teachers are highly sought after and have therefore become a lucrative cash commodity for the schools.

Someone told me the other day that I am a famous teacher in Yuanlin. Considering that Yuanlin is a place not seen on international maps of Taiwan, it is a dubious achievement. I am no Tom Cruise, but hey, my girlfriend is impressed.

8 September 2003

Dion Marc Delport

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