Live with a Taiwanese host family
Real meals, real conversations, real belonging. Your host family is the fastest way into the language and the culture, and usually the part students miss most when the year ends.
A high-school year abroad in Taiwan
Your year in Taiwan starts here
Live with a Taiwanese host family, go to a local high school, and pick up Mandarin the way it actually sticks: by living it. Come with zero Mandarin, leave speaking it.
No Mandarin needed to start
Host family + local school
Run by Bright Future Education
Taiwan, your new home
Why Taiwan
A year that feels less like school, more like a second home.
Wherever you're placed, from a big city to a small town, Taiwan is famously warm to newcomers: safe streets, all-night markets, easy trains and buses, and people who will walk you to the place you're looking for instead of just pointing. You won't be a tourist. You'll be living it.
Go to a local high school
Classes, clubs, classmates, and friendships that come with going somewhere every day with the same people.
Mandarin by immersion
Not flashcards in a classroom. The language soaks in from the dinner table, the group chat, and the convenience store.
Safe & friendly
One of the safest places in Asia, with a local BFE team and a 24/7 line if anything ever comes up.
Friends for life
The classmates and host siblings you meet this year tend to stay in your life long after you fly home.
Everyday adventure
Bubble tea after class, stinky tofu you'll surprisingly love, weekend trips, and a YouBike to get you there.
Festivals, temples & a whole new culture
Lantern festivals, temple fairs, lunar new year with your host family. A year of firsts you can't get from a textbook.
How it works
Four steps from curious to landing in Taipei.
No entrance exam, no language test. We focus on whether you're ready for the adventure, then we handle the matching.
Apply
Fill out the short form below. A few minutes, no Mandarin required, no commitment yet.
We match you
We talk it through with you and your family, then pair you with a host family and a school that fit.
Arrive & settle in
We meet you on the ground, sort the essentials, and help your first weeks feel less daunting.
Your Taiwan year
School, host family, friends, and Mandarin that grows from a few words to whole conversations.
Life in Taiwan
The questions you're actually asking.
The honest answers students and parents really want, straight from the handbook we give every student.
One language, a whole region
Taiwan teaches Traditional Chinese, the original characters. Learn them and you'll read a surprising amount of Japanese too, and connect with Chinese communities from Hong Kong to your own hometown. It's the most useful Mandarin you can learn.
Is it actually safe?
Yes. Taiwan is one of the safest places in Asia. You can head home late and feel fine, and if you ever look lost someone will usually help before you even ask.
What's school like?
Full days, a uniform, and one homeroom class you truly belong to, plus clubs, sports, and even a midday nap. You're never the lone new kid.
And if I get sick?
Taiwan's National Health Insurance covers you. A clinic visit, doctor and medicine included, usually costs just a few dollars, and English-speaking doctors are easy to find.
Staying connected?
LINE runs everyday life here. A cheap local SIM and your own phone are all it takes to be in every group chat by your first week.
What do I pack?
Light layers and your laptop, mostly. Taiwan uses the same plugs as the US, so no adapter, and anything you forget is a cheap next-day delivery away.
Will I like the food?
Beef noodle soup, soup dumplings, bubble tea, and the legendary stinky tofu everyone dares you to try. Eating out is cheap and basically a national sport.
Is it expensive?
Not really. A night-market dinner runs a few dollars and getting around is cheap. Your money goes a long way here, so the year is more about experiences than expenses.
You're never on your own
A local BFE team lives here too, reachable on LINE and a line you can call until a real person picks up. And Taiwan's emergency numbers are free from any phone, even with no SIM or signal.
119Ambulance & fire
110Police
112Works from any mobile, even with no SIM or signal
English help, around the clock: 0800-024-111 (Foreigner Hotline) & 0800-011-765 (Tourist Hotline). Day to day, reach BFE on LINE @bfe.tw.
The honest bit
Come for the language and the life, not the transcript.
You don't need any Mandarin to come. Start from zero. The year focuses on learning Mandarin through immersion, not heavy academics, so the goal is a student who can actually live, joke, and make friends in Chinese by the time they leave.
If you specifically need a strong-academics placement, that's a special, case-by-case conversation. Email us at bfe@bfe.tw or WhatsApp +1-212-300-3654, and just say you're asking about exchange.
Recognised & accredited
A program parents can trust.
Bright Future Education is an accredited, internationally recognised exchange agency, not a middleman.
Vetted & internationally accredited
Asian Agency, 2026
IECA member, Taiwan
Start your application
Tell us a little about you.
This isn't a test. It's the first hello. We'll read every word and get back to you, usually within a few days.
- Takes about three minutes
- Zero Mandarin needed to apply
- Parents welcome to fill it in together
Thanks! We'll be in touch soon.
Your application landed with the BFE team. Keep an eye on your inbox over the next few days.