I’m looking at moving to Taiwan and I’m trying to see what options are available for schooling a 13 year old and a 10 year old. They know almost zero Mandarin.
I know there are expensive international schools, but do public schools accept kids who can’t speak Mandarin and help get them up to speed? Or, are there cram schools kids can go to for Mandarin while doing correspondence or home schooling?
Just trying to get some options and see what would work best for our situation.
They do. Some public schools have ‘bilingual’ sections. For example Dafeng school in Xindian. Depending on what you mean by getting up to speed there might be expectations to be managed there. Best of luck!
My best advice is to stay away from any school with “international” in its name.
Regardless of whether you’re looking at experimental schools, schools that supposedly carefully vet each student for real international-ness (TAS, I’m looking at you) or what the lovely, wonderful, high recommendations on Google from “local guides” (which were paid to put that information on there!!”) say, “international” schools, 100% of the time, will have your not really mandarin speaking children off in their own corner learning very little Chinese and probably not integrating with their Chinese-speaking classmates in any way.
I have been to observe and have worked at too many of these schools and I would have recommended to every international parent that they take their kids out and put them in a local public schools if I could have.
Get your kids a really good tutor, one who focuses entirely on listening skills and then building up to speaking skills before touching reading and writing.
My suggestion?
Plop them straight into a public local school.
It’s cheaper
The teachers have to be licensed (where many private schools or “international” schools often hire unlicensed backpackers teaching your kids so they can pay less than 100,000ntd a month on teacher salaries…)
Your kids will have the advantage of being forced to learn mandarin and will become fluent within 6 months (I guarantee)
Their maths skills will likely be much better within a couple of years
I think for 10 year old this is true but 13 will be tougher. I was 11 when I was thrown into a public school in USA. Spoke basically zero English and it took almost a year to be “fluent”. My younger brother was 8 and it took him like 4 months.
I agree with this! And say GO PUBLIC!
Tougher but not impossible. Even if it takes an extra 6 to 12 months (which it won’t) it is fine as the benefits outweigh the costs
Over the years, I have heard stories from both students and parents about putting kids with no Mandarin/Chinese in Taiwanese public schools. In general, it’s pretty hard on the kids after about age 8-9 although results vary considerably.
This parent blogged about her son’s experience here.
Incidentally, she sent her child to this public elementary school, which has since become an ‘experimental school’ (i.e. less traditional curriculum.
This elementary school is in an odd poorer corner of Taipei and serves the children of mainly working class parents. Some of the middle class parents in the area sneer at it. But foreign national parents often seem happier with these more low key schools than the intense elite public schools like Xinsheng Elementay school in Da’an. You could consider living in the Wanfang (萬芳) area nearby which is inexpensive, green, and has good air quality (by Taipei standards).
OP might find this thread helpful.
I teach at junior high school and we have students who don’t speak Mandarin at all so it is not a problem. Kids will be forced to learn the language but teachers help them a lot to pass the exams and complete all stuff on time.
There isnt a bilingual section at dafeng. The kids in the higher grades get once a week with a foreign teacher though.
How do the kids feel about moving to Taiwan? Do they understand they may need to learn Chinese for school?
I’d say just as crucial a question: How do the kids feel about eating bian dang every day for the next couple of years? You know…the mushy green something boiled veggies, overly moist rice, abnormally weird chicken or fried slab of mystery. Like in the schools where the principal takes “a cut” of the lunch allowance. That seems to be a huge recurring theme in elementary schools.
My three American kids are in a local school in the Zhubei area. They are still learning Chinese. My oldest is in 4th grade. This is essentially their first full year in a school here. We lived in Taiwan previously, and they attended Xinsheng (in Da an) for about half a year. This year is going well, but we are still figuring things out.
If you’re here for the long term, IMHO public schools are the way to go. Finding the right public school is a whole other question. We can discuss that too. If you don’t mind a lot of homework, finding one of the few public Chinese language program schools (like Da an) might be the best approach to get them up to speed.
What my wife and I are learning is that you have to get a really good tutor in addition to them being fully immersed at school. Our previous tutors were sub par, like having them spend so much time on Zhuyin or the same basic lessons again and again. We have a good tutor now.
Their listening is about 50% to 60%. Their speaking is at like 5% lol. It’s just a confidence thing we are working through now.
Let me know if you want to discuss schools some time.
I find it funny that nobody even bothered to ask the OP which city she’s moving to before making recommendations for schools in Taipei.
You guys know there are other cities in Taiwan, right?
There’s an international section at yang Ming high school and at Bailing high school both in Shilin district.
There’s also an international program for Jr high students at a school in neihu but I don’t remember which one I think it’s xihu but I just can’t remember. Maybe you can send an email to someone at yang Ming or bailing to ask.
There also might be one for elementary school students as well but I’m not sure.
One requirement seems that you must hold a gold card (or be a Taiwanese citizen). It seems that regulation was set by the MOE in Taipei
About 70 percent of foreign residents of Taiwan live in northern Taiwan. Many of those who end up down south started up here. It’s not an unreasonable assumption. Here are a couple of interesting options not in northern Taiwan:
Tzu Chi Experimental Elementary School (Hualien)
A friend’s daughter is very happily enrolled at Tzu Chi. Her parents are very pleased with its child-centered approach and arts program. It is not religious despite its affiliation.
P’uma (English article) is one of the first and most important indigenous (Atayal) schools in Taiwan. The principal is an important Atayal intellectual and educator.
Tafalong is another indigenous (Amis) school well known for its arts program. Gorgeous setting in the Rift Valley.
Yeah, they know. They’re nervous, but also excited.
It’s OK. They’re probably right LOL
Are you referring to the fact that they require all students to have foreign citizenship? My understanding is this is due to Taiwan law. TES and other international schools have the same requirement.