Chinese Language Schools in Taiwan

Taiwan is a small island comprised of a population of 24 million people, with the majority of people living in the capital city of Taipei, located in the north of the Island.

Taipei has a population of approximately 7 million people and home of Taoyuan International Airport. Many Chinese Mandarin Institutes in Taiwan are located in Taipei City Centre. Taipei is a clean, modern, fun metropolis where you will find many talented Taiwanese teachers. Therefore, Taipei offers many private schools and universities Chinese language courses, with private schools offering more flexible, weekly starting dates on every Monday of the year for all levels.

Other cities that offer the opportunity to learn Chinese in Taiwan include Taichung or Kaohsiung, both of which are located south of Taipei and enjoy a warmer climate. However, due to the low international student intake in cities outside of Taipei, the flexibility of start dates and diversity of opportunities may not be as prevalent in these cities there.

Since Mandarin Chinese is comprised of two different writing styles, the simplified method or traditional, it is important to choose a Chinese language school in Taiwan that suits your needs and goals. 

Many university level Chinese language classes in Taiwan will use the traditional character writing method, which will not be useful for any non-beginner Mandarin students who may have studied simplified format before. There are, however, private institutes in Taiwan, mainly in Taipei, that focus their Chinese language classes on the simplified method and use pinying (the Romanization of Chinese characters). Furthermore, university Chinese language courses in Taiwan may focus a lot on writing of characters, whilst the private institutes will be more conversational based. It’s entirely up to you which method you prefer to learn in Taiwan.

Mandarin Chinese has two different styles; simplified Chinese is used outside of Taiwan and traditional writing is used only within Taiwan. If you are a complete beginner, then it is always recommended that you choose a traditional format for your Chinese language courses in Taiwan, as this will allow you to recognize simplified characters as well.

If you are not new to learning Mandarin Chinese and have only studied simplified characters, then you will find it difficult to study traditional characters. Therefore, if you are choosing a Chinese language school in Taiwan, make sure that the school has a simplified curriculum.

Surprisingly, there are many advanced speakers of Chinese that cannot read or write characters. So, this is no problem for language learners in Taiwan, as some schools offer their entire course curriculum in the pinying system. This means you can continue to learn and progress whilst ignoring characters and using the pinying to read.

Taiwan has many benefits, including its course structure, high quality of teachers, and friendly people.

Smaller Class Sizes. Learning Chinese in Taiwan will usually entail taking courses in smaller class sizes, compared to what may be offered in mainland China. Class sizes at private language schools in Taiwan rarely rise above six students, which will allow you to have a more personalized experience.

Visa Free Entry. Unlike most other Asian countries, Taiwan actively takes part in the three month tourist visa exemption. This means that many visitors, from over 100 countries, can arrive in Taiwan without having to obtain a visa. The majority of Chinese language learners are, therefore, visa exempt for up to three months (which is equivalent to one term). For long-term Chinese language programs in Taiwan, students from certain countries are able to obtain a visa extension easily, or simply leave the country (there are low cost one hour flights to neighboring countries in the region) and re-enter to receive a new three month visa.

Living Costs. While Taiwan boosts a modern economy, it is considered a rich county. Tuition costs and home rentals are average priced (aka not considered low costs). Food and eating out is extremely cheap in Taiwan, however, so this usually offsets the higher accommodation costs and tuition rates.

Accommodation. The main challenge for students who choose to learn Chinese in Taiwan tend to be felt within the realm of accommodation. When it comes to homestay opportunities, Taiwanese families do not commonly offer up spare bedrooms within their homes for foreigners; this is due to the culture of Taiwan, where many kids live with their parents until they are in their mid-30s. In addition to this, unlike other countries that are popular for language learning, homestays are not really an accepted cultural practice.

However, homestays can be found, if students are willing to travel up to an hour from neighboring suburbs of Taipei, where local families tend to live in larger houses more suitable for homestay accommodation, rather than a typical small apartment in Taipei. Many Chinese language programs in Taiwan, specifically those located in Taipei, offer student accommodation located on campus or nearby to the institution. Lastly, short-term accommodation is readily available in Taipei and can be found for approximately $30 per night.