.webp)
After my daughter’s rapid adoption of English upon starting Kindergarten last year, I was sad to see her default language switch from Mandarin to English. We spent a lot of time and money to raise her Mandarin first – Mandarin speaking nanny, Chinese books, Mandarin immersion preschool, Mandarin afterschool – but, once she was in an English speaking environment, her Mandarin skills all but evaporated.
Since my husband travels a lot for work, I had the idea to spend two weeks in Taipei for the purposes of reigniting my daughter’s Mandarin skills and interest. But the question remained:
Can a short-term camp in Taipei meaningfully improve a child’s Mandarin?
The short answer (for us) is yes! The long answer is – it depends on a few factors.
- How much of a Mandarin foundation does your child have?
Our daughter had a pretty strong Mandarin baseline, given all the resources we poured into it. - How “immersive” is the camp?
Just because the camp is based in Taipei does not mean that kids will solely speak Mandarin. In fact, many summer camps in Taipei attract American parents (like me). If there’s a high ratio of foreign kids, English will creep in more.
Also, staff language policy may differ from camp to camp. Some camps strictly use Mandarin for all activities, while others may allow bilingual communication if kids struggle. - Is vocabulary reinforced outside of camp?
We spent time with family and friends in Taipei, who my daughter conversed with in Mandarin. That helped a lot. I was pleasantly surprised to see her Mandarin abilities come through. - Is your child shy or outgoing?
While our daughter is initially shy in any new environment, she warms up quickly and is willing to take language risks sooner.
A good friend of mine brought her two kids to Taipei last summer for four weeks. Their kids don’t speak Mandarin at home, and so they enrolled in classes to develop their Mandarin. My friend saw a slight improvement, but not a ton – which she expected. But her kids also got to spend time with their grandparents and experience the culture of Taiwan, which is meaningful.
How I Chose a Taipei Summer Camp
I had a fairly simple criteria for choosing a summer camp in Taiwan:
- Mandarin immersive - no English spoken, plenty of opportunity to converse in language
- Fun and engaging - not a formal class or school that might create negative associations with learning Mandarin
- Taipei-based - we have friends and family in Taipei, and we wanted to be based here rather than in other parts of the country.
I also considered whether I wanted to my child to learn to read and write Chinese, but I decided this would go against #2.
Taipei Summer Camp Resources
I spent a stupid number of hours researching this. There are so many camps to choose from, and many of the websites use giant images, instead of text, making the use of Google Translate a multi-step process.
Here are the resources I started with:
This facebook group was the most helpful for me. One of the admins, Grace, hosted a one-hour Zoom describing the types of camps, how to sign up, how to pay, what to expect. She has a great summary and recording of that Zoom on her website.
My main takeaway was that I wanted to sign my daughter up for a local camp (vs one targeting ex-pats), to ensure a better immersion experience. But this also meant that if I encountered a website with an English version, I’d best look at other camps. As someone who barely reads Chinese, I ended up using Google Translate often.
Grace also happens to be based in NYC, and she hosts a ~quarterly Mandarin bookclub for kids which we enjoyed.
A dynamic, comprehensive list of all the summer camps in Taiwan. You can pivot on location, theme, age group, etc. But you can’t do multiple filters, and there aren’t any reviews. Unless you are committed to a theme, it’s a little hard to differentiate between all the camps. I found it a little overwhelming.
Camps that I Considered
There are so many Taiwan summer camps. It becomes analysis paralysis trying to compare them all. But here were the ones I more researched more extensively.
I ended up choosing Eye on Nature, because it was recommended by the founder of my child's preschool, whose opinion I respect.
I will say that another woman kindly suggested we attend a camp designed more for ex-pats. Her impression was that my daughter was very shy and hesitant to speak in Chinese after meeting her once. As a parent, you know your child best. For my daughter, I felt strongly that she could acclimate quickly and therefore decided against this guidance.
What to Know About Taiwan Summer Camps
When can I sign up for Taiwan summer camps?
Unlike the US, Taiwan summer camps don’t start releasing information until later in the year, with registration opening up starting in April. Camps do fill up, but it’s not crazy.
When do Taiwan summer camps run?
Most summer camps run for the month of July and through the first week of August.
When is pickup and drop off for Taiwan summer camps?
Based on our experience, drop-off is generally 8am-9am and pick-up is 4:30pm-5:30pm.
How do I contact Taiwan summer camps?
The best way to communicate with camps is through Line.
How do I pay for Taiwan summer camps?
Some of the local camps only accept payment from local banks. The ones designed for foreigners will accept Zelle or credit card.
What do I need to bring for Taiwan summer camps?
At Eye on Nature, we were told to bring the following:
- Water bottle
- Sunscreen
- Bug repellent
- Hat
- Change of clothes (depending on camp theme)
- Pillow (for Kindergarten age kids and younger)
- Reusable/washable utensils for lunch (Taiwan is fairly ecofriendly and uses less plastic than the US.)
- Stationery (pencils, notebook)
- Tissue/wet wipes/toilet paper
- Rain jacket or rain gear
Our Experience with Eye on Nature
We just finished up two weeks of summer camp at Eye on Nature (eye上大自然), and we really loved it. My daughter had a blast, and I felt it was a high quality camp that, while not specifically focused on developing Mandarin, encourages curiosity, discovery and learning in-language.
Eye on Nature runs about 25 themed camps each summer at different locations across Taipei. Each week is a standalone program, with its own location, teachers, and curriculum. The upside: kids explore a variety of topics. The downside: friendships reset weekly.
It’s clear they’ve been doing this for awhile, because they send parents the curriculum of what the kids will do each day of the week (and I don’t think the curriculum varies year to year). Communications are all managed through Line – changes in pickup times, typhoon backup plans, etc.
Week 1: Fairy Tale Preschool Science Camp (童話科學幼兒營)
Location: Jinou Girls Highschool near Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
My daughter started out a bit apprehensive, but quickly warmed up. Despite the “preschool” label, it was perfect for her age, 6, despite the nap times at their desks (common in Taiwan for this age group). She explored topics like:
Food science (e.g., turning a raw egg bouncy after soaking in vinegar for 7 days)
Light & optics (rainbows from refracted light, shadow play with lanterns)
Sound waves & vibrations
Elasticity & force
Each day, she would explain to me her take-home project, in Mandarin. The camp sent home a daily activity sheet and a workbook packet.
Don’t let the name fool you – it was great for my six year old (despite the nap times at their desks – common in Taiwan for this age group). She learned about food science, water refracting light into rainbows, the relationship between light and shadows, soundwaves and vibrations, and elasticity as a force.
Each day, she brought back her projects and described them to me in Mandarin.
The camp also sent a daily activity sheet and a workbook packet.
Week 2: Taoyuan Specialty Farm Camp
Location: Multiple farms in Taoyuan (1–1.5 hours by bus from Taipei)
I’ll be honest, I had no clue what this camp was about. We signed up for it, because it was the only Eye on Nature camp that would accept kids her age in mid-August.
Unlike the first week, this camp was much more outdoor-focused. Activities included:
Making foods from fresh fruits and vegetables
Growing and picking plants
They also fed piglets and lambs, learned about sustainability and saving energy practices, and discovered stink bugs.
She got a firsthand look at farming life — something uncommon for us as New Yorkers. I will note that there were also more American kids in this group, so she spoke more English, but still learned plenty of new Mandarin words.
Our Experience with Eye on Nature
I chose the camp Eye on Nature (eye上大自然), because it was recommended by our daughter’s preschool founder. It also fulfilled my initial (simple) criteria for an ideal camp experience:
I also evaluated a few other camps that I learned of through the Facebook Group. The Love Nature is not a summer class or a school – of which there are many options in Taipei – but a real summer camp where parents can sign their kids up for different weekly themes in different settings around the city.
Final Take
Two weeks at Eye on Nature gave my daughter more than I had hoped for: a fun, hands-on summer with meaningful Mandarin impact. She came away more confident, curious, and connected to Taiwanese culture and the language.
.webp)
.webp)
.png)
.png)
.png)