The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese (Guoyu), but because many Taiwanese are of southern Fujianese descent, Min-nan (the Southern Min dialect, or Holo) is also widely spoken.

The smaller groups of Hakka people and indigenous people have also preserved their own languages. Many elderly people can also speak some Japanese, as they were subjected to Japanese education before Taiwan was returned to Chinese rule in 1945 after the Japanese occupation which lasted for half a century.

The most popular foreign language in Taiwan is English (lucky for us English teachers), which is part of the regular school curriculum. Although most people speak some level of English, it is advised that you have instructions to get to your school and to your home written in Chinese so you can show a local or a taxi driver.