Program Reviews

I spent a month in Madrid in order to improve my Spanish, but I learned so much more than that! All of the students at EF Madrid were so welcoming, passionate, and intelligent. I made so many close friends; I was not expecting my social experience to be so fulfilling and exciting!
I absolutely fell in love with the city-- Madrid is so beautiful, safe, historical, and accepting. I cannot wait to return in the future!
This experience was unforgettable, and I am so glad that I decided to go to EF Madrid!

I spent 4 weeks in Madrid to learn Spanish and honestly, it's been the most wonderful experience in my life. I loved everything about the school : the staff and the teachers were kind and creative, the activities organized by EF were interesting and I always had fun in my classes. The housing was great as well ; my Spanish mom really cared about the students who lived with her.
I also loved the atmosphere of the school : I met dozens of fellow students from around the world and they were all open-minded, nice and eager to learn.
My Spanish improved so much in just a month!!
Muchas gracias a la grande familia de EF Madrid :)

Overall, the program was a fantastic erperience, not so much bc of any effort on behalf of the school, but because of the internaiotnal friends I made during three months I was with EF Paris. That being said, the school staff and classes were all relativzely satisfactory: The acitivities staff, especially Hicham and Louis in particular, were super helpful (with phone data plans, medical insurance forms bc i sprained my ankle during my 6th week, activites, and just overall questions I had with anything) and super friendly. The language barrier was also never an issue.
In terms of classes, i think the French learning you get out of the program really depends on which techers you get. From what Ive heard from other students, the majority of the teachers are fantastic! I had 3 teachers during my time here bc I moved up a level once and my second teacher left for vacation halfway through. While the second teacher was an absolute bore during class, my class had the bonne chance to get an amazing substitue for the last 3 weeks I was here. I would definitely claim that she is the best teacher at EF Paris, so that definitely made up for the previous boring 4 weeks.
After two months in Paris, Im happy I came! Plus, my host mom was absolutely amazing!

I had a really good time in Munich, in this short time i have really learned German well and made lots of friends from abroad ! Different culture and different language at the same time during this time. You can see lots of things here and explore lots of places, and especially the beer here is really cheap. The people from Munich are really friendly, you can talk with them on the train or other place, they will be really happy to talk to you and help you.

When you type China on your browser, safari or any other navigator the first thing that pops up is that China has the biggest population in the world, the largest economy in the world and maybe you can even find information about the pollution.

This can be a little overwhelming (believe me, it happened to me) but thankfully the personnel at EF were very helpful and caring and not leaving aside the host family that welcome you into their home with arms wide open and encourage you to learn their language.

Going to Beijing is quite an experience, every day is different from the moment you get on the subway station until the moment you go back home.. you get people taking pictures of you, you see the weirdest things while you walk, people on their phone 24/7, and so on.. but you get used to it.

The moments in the school are the ones that makes you never want to leave, being amongst friends whom at first were totally strangers but thru the days they become your friends, the relation with the teachers is also close they are always available for anything you need, always cheering for your learning. It's a very pleasant environment.

Each day is a learning day and a day you can share with your classmates, learning Chinese. That can be a bit difficult but at first what isn't, you just have to give it a try.

EF Beijing school is not like most schools but I think it's just what we need to make good friends, learn Chinese and make quite an experience, it has a countless numbers of restaurants just across the road where you can find from noodles to dumplings just to make in Beijing as Chinese as you want. And for the weekends you have your ordinary sightseeing starting from the Great Wall to any temple you want; lama temple, temple of heaven, etc. and not leaving behind Beijing's cuisine starting with their famous hot pot and the thing that could save you from any rush is a jianbing where you can find in any corner for a very low price with a very basic Chinese speaking and last but not least the nightlife, being a foreigner in China is a plus for when you go clubbing.. the alcohol for free so do the most of it.

You might go to Beijing speaking 1,2 or even three languages but your definitely leaving with Chinese in your head.

Going to EF Beijing is quite an experience!

Hola Madrileños del futuro,

If you are considering traveling to a vibrant, wonderful, and indsutrious city, Madrid is the right place for you! In addition to immersing yourself in a new culture and language, Madrid caters to every type of person. This city is home to some of the best soccer teams (Real Madrid and Atletico), breath-taking museums, lucious parks, and great cafes.

As an EF student, you have all the support in the world. At school the curriculum is very interactive, instead of a traditional lecture. The teachers are here to help your Spanish improve every day. Although school is a great place to practice your Español, speaking with local Madrileños is extremely beneficial. Whether you are staying with a host family or at the EF Residence, I would strongly encourage you to engage with the locals. Including EF students and staff, everyone in Madrid is very approachable and nice.

My experience in a homestay has been superb. My host-mom cooks delicious traditional Spanish dishes, and I can always rely on here when I need help. The transit system here is very user-friendly. Many students take the metro to get to school and experience little difficult. If you are wanting to travel outside the city, there are regional buses that go to Segovia, Toledo, and Aranjuez for cheap prices. I have only been here for roughly two weeks, and my experience has been awesome!

Gracias,
Quique

Afraid to start college, I decided to take a gap year and in a blink of an eye I was landing in Beijing, China. When I arrived, I didn't like China, I wanted to go back home, but I began getting to know people with whom later I would hanged out, laugh, share experiences, food, pre- HSK stress (...more) and made me realized China wasn't "that bad".

In China, everything is simply "different" and everyday is a new adventure, from the subway ride in the morning to the dinner you share with your host family or the night you spend having fun with your friends at some local restaurant, bar or club.
I didn't know what to expect before coming, the only thing I will say is: be open minded to a new culture, education, style, everything.

EF staff is always there to help with whatever problem you have, help you improve your Chinese and even make it easier to learn it.

I don't regret coming to China; here I've grown so much as a person, learned a lot from the people around me and Chinese people and their culture.

it's a good way to widen your view of the world, I got to know a lot of people from around the world and it just makes me understand the world better. the language classes jave greatly helped me improve my mandarin and I am already planning to do my HSK 2 exam. Beijing is a very large city that is a live at every hour of the day, which is one of the reasons I love it. I recommend this for anybody who would like to see more of the world and wants to meet new people.

I am currently studying Spanish in the EF school of Madrid. For those of you who are still doubting the benefits of coming here, let me turn them to dust.

This school has been, so far, the best experience of my life. Not only did I meet unforgettable people but ,while doing so, I also got to learn one of the most spread languages of the world.

Moreover, learning Spanish in the capital city is, according to me, the best choice one can make. Indeed, Madrid is the heart of Spain and therefore offers all the extracurricular activities you could ever imagine. Not to say, the amazingly nice staff members will for sure do everything they can to make of your stay here the best time of your life.

I spent nine months in Paris with EF.
My teachers were all excellent, and I was truly impressed with the professionalism and the quality of the school. Every effort was made to immerse students in the culture and there were amways activities available that covered the entire spectrum, from cultural outings to general social events. The school does a great job of integrating students.

For learning the language, the classes were effective and the teachers were very helpful. The workload was very easily manageable and students were encouraged to develop their skills by engaging in their community. The environment is very welcoming and is great for those who don't speak a word of French and for those who want to brush up on their skills before they begin a job in a Francophone country.

The school made every effort to help the students and provide them with the best possible experience. I recommend staying with a family if you truly want to immerse yourself in the language but one should know that it truly is a different culture, and especially in Paris it won't necessarily be easy adjusting to a different way of life. But that's why you do programs like those that EF offers - To better yourself and in turn those around you.