Banyan Global Learning
Learning LiveEst. 2008 · Exclusive partnership · Not enrolling

Seventeen years.
One school.
Six thousand students.

Since 2008, Banyan has delivered daily live virtual sessions to Tsai Hsing School in Taipei, Taiwan — one of the city's most esteemed private institutions. It is the longest running daily live virtual learning program in K–12 education.

This is what seventeen years of live, expert-facilitated global learning actually looks like.

Read the storySee Global Learning Live
Partner school
Tsai Hsing School, Taipei, Taiwan
Founded
1949 · Wenshan District
Partnership since
2008 · Grades 5–8
“

Our students didn't just learn English — they learned to use it, to think critically, and to engage with the world. It transformed their confidence.

Tsai Hsing School Administrator
Taipei, Taiwan · Learning Live Partnership
17 years
of uninterrupted daily live sessions
6,000+
students have moved through the program
1 → 8
classrooms running synchronously, grown from a single pilot
15
alumni universities: NYU, Georgetown, Northwestern — and more

The story

Tsai Hsing School: A Pioneer in Global Education

Founded in 1949 in Taipei's Wenshan District, Tsai Hsing School has long been recognized as one of the city's most respected private institutions. Known for its commitment to academic rigor and moral character development, Tsai Hsing has consistently prepared students to become future leaders.

In the mid-2000s, the school's leadership recognized the growing importance of English proficiency and digital skills in the global education landscape. They sought to elevate the school's English and global education program in a way that no local hire could deliver.

The school realized that once students reached the middle grades, their English level was sufficient for real-world practice, which was crucial for advancing beyond classroom proficiency. If bringing the classroom into the real world wasn't feasible, they wondered, what if they did the next best thing?

The result was a groundbreaking approach to learning.

In 2008, Tsai Hsing partnered with Banyan to create the first Learning Live pilot in a single fifth-grade classroom. The program offered daily, live virtual sessions with an expert educator, a structured curriculum, and authentic international connections built directly into the school day.

The partnership quickly expanded to all middle grade levels and continues to thrive today.

“Parents cite Learning Live as a key factor in choosing Tsai Hsing. It is now marketed by the school as a signature element of its educational offering.”

— From the Tsai Hsing case study, 2025

What the program produced

Three kinds of lasting change

The outcomes of Learning Live weren't just measured at the end of a semester. They compounded over years — visible in alumni university placements, parent enrollment decisions, and students who arrived at international settings already knowing how to show up in the world.

Confidence in English communication

Students develop the ability to speak English spontaneously and publicly — not just correctly. They present to international audiences, hold real-time discussions, and learn that communication is a relationship, not a performance.

Tsai Hsing students regularly present to international audiences in English — a direct outcome of years of live, stakes-bearing exchange.

Cultural and global competency

The curriculum aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals and brings students into cross-continental conversations on climate, identity, food, and place. They virtually explore jazz clubs in New Orleans and food carts in Mexico City — not as passive viewers, but as participants asking questions.

Not cultural tourism — cultural relationship. Students build mental models of the world by talking to people who live in it.

Academic growth and lifelong impact

With high attendance, high participation, and high engagement, the outcomes of the Learning Live program can be seen long after the students leave the classroom. Alumni who go through Learning Live in 5th grade arrive at international universities with the confidence, communication skills, and global perspective their peers are still building.

Alumni accepted to Northwestern, Georgetown, NYU, the University of Washington, and top international high schools and universities across Asia and the West.

The timeline

Seventeen years
built one year at a time

There's no shortcut to a 17-year track record. This is how it was built.

2008

The Spark: One Classroom, One Camera.

Learning Live launches with a single 5th grade classroom in Taipei, connecting students to a live educator in the U.S. through nothing more than a camera and a shared passion for learning. A new model of global education is born.

2009-2011

Expanding Across Grade Levels

Learning Live is added to Grades 6, 7, and 8, creating a comprehensive middle school program that builds students' skills and confidence over multiple years.

2010

First International Collaboration

Tsai Hsing students receive a special award at New York's Lego Robotics competition after collaborating with a team from Locust Valley High School. This marks the beginning of a series of international collaborations that become a hallmark of the program.

2011

Pioneering Mobile Learning

As 4G technology expands in the U.S., Learning Live introduces real-time virtual field trips. Students explore the streets of L.A., engage with local artists, and witness the behind-the-scenes world of American culture. Learning becomes an adventure beyond the classroom walls.

2014

Collaboration at Scale

The program expands to serve over 500 students across multiple grade levels. Banyan builds a robust curriculum aligned to linguistic, digital, and cultural competencies. Learning Live becomes a signature of Tsai Hsing's academic identity.

2017

Expanding to Elementary Grades

Building on its success in middle school, Learning Live introduces the Bridges curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 4, fostering curiosity and global awareness from a young age.

2018

A Decade of Impact

Learning Live marks its 10th anniversary, having served over 2,000 students. Parents cite the program as a key factor in choosing Tsai Hsing. Students showcase their skills in international competitions and collaborations with elite schools like Menlo.

2024

The Next Generation of Global Leaders

With eight classrooms and over 5,000 alumni, Learning Live reaches new heights. Graduates are accepted to prestigious universities such as NYU, University of Washington, and Ohio State, ready to thrive in a globalized world.

2026

From Pioneering to Prove: The Birth of Global Learning Live

Building on 17 years of success at Tsai Hsing, Banyan launches Global Learning Live (GLL), making the Learning Live model accessible to schools worldwide. A groundbreaking partnership becomes a proven pathway to foster the skills, confidence, and perspective students need to lead in the 21st century.

The students who went through this program are now in college and beyond.

The first cohort of Tsai Hsing students who learned English through Learning Live are now adults. Some arrived at prestigious universities. All of them arrived already knowing how to talk to people who aren't like them — which is the skill the program was designed to build.

New York University
University of Washington
Ohio State University
+ international high schools & universities across Asia and the West
8
classrooms today

Tsai Hsing today

A school that helped build a new way of learning — and never looked back.

Today, Learning Live runs across eight Tsai Hsing classrooms. The partnership has become inseparable from the school's identity — cited in enrollment conversations, featured in school marketing, and returned to year-after-year because students ask to come back.

The program delivered what Tsai Hsing had asked for in 2008: students who could move through the world with confidence, curiosity, and the capacity to connect across difference.

Seventeen years later, that mission is still running. Every school day. Live.

Tsai Hsing enjoys enrollment at capacity
Daily sessions, uninterrupted since 2008
Parents cite it as a key school-choice factor
The model, now available to your school

We spent 17 years figuring out what sustained global learning actually looks like.

For schools seeking a more accessible entry point, we created Global Learning Live — a 4-week cohort program that distills the essential elements of that model: live facilitation, international peer connection, awe-driven experiences, and the discipline to let connection build over time.

It is not the same product. But it is the same insight.

Explore Global Learning LiveEnroll your classroom