Countries

Malaysia (YES Abroad)

If you are a secondary school student in Malaysia interested in applying for the YES Program, please click here for more information.

Age Range: 15.5-18.5 years of age at program commencement.
Grade Level: Gap year is an option.
Host Communities: Students are typically hosted in Kuala Lumpur.
Language: The language of instruction is Malay. Host families speak English, Malay, Chinese, Indian, or other dialects.

Host Family

Students will live with host families in order to experience a true immersion into Malaysian culture. Families are selected based on recommendations from members of the local community, and each is carefully screened by AFS staff and volunteers. Many families hold a position of influence within their community, and all are highly regarded by their relatives and neighbors. Hosting communities exist through the presence of a strong volunteer support network, with a local volunteer, or “liaison,” available to each student hosted in the community.

Support Structure

Students are supported through a strong network of AFS staff and volunteers both in the United States and in-country in Malaysia. Within the larger volunteer community, each student will have a local volunteer, or “liaison,” assigned to him or her, who is often either an alum of the YES program, a past host parent or a teacher at the student’s school. Each student will be given a cell phone after arriving, and will have the contact number for the AFS-Malaysia office. In the case of emergency, a Duty Officer is oncall 24/7 in both Malaysia and the U.S., and this number is made available to both students on-program as well as their parents.

Cultural Activities

During the course of the academic year, numerous festivals will be celebrated in Malaysia, including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Thaipusam and Christmas. As the Malaysian population is made up primarily of people with Malay, Chinese and Indian heritage, there are ample opportunities to visit various communities during their particular religious and cultural celebrations.

School Life

Students will likely attend a public, co-educational school in Kuala Lumpur. All subjects will be taught in Malay, with the exception of Maths and Science, which will be taught in English. For the first three months of the program, students will also be enrolled in Malay language classes for two hours, twice a week, to encourage language acquisition. To gauge progress in language ability and understanding of the subject matter, students will be given periodic exams on roughly a monthly basis.