Program Reviews

I have stayed 6 months in Rome, with the EF school here, and it is hard for me to find the right words to describe this journey! Today I am so incredibly happy that I made this choice, and my stay in Rome has been amazing, fantastic, unique, "veramente bellissima!" I recommend you all to do the same as I did! I am 27 years old, but you are never to old to explore and to follow your dreams! My dream was Rome, and I don't regret following it a second! Today I have friends all over the world- i have homes all over the world, i can speak italian with italians and I have tasted the real italian cuisine, and I don't want to go back! With the help of wonderful teachers here at EF, I feel that i have finally cracked the "italian-code" and I am in love with this language! The staff at the school is always there to help you, guid you, teach you, comfort you (when you feel a bit homesick) and motivate you! After this experience I have decided to continue my journey in Rome, and I am moving here when i finish school. Thank you so much, EF-Roma, for this wonderful experience! Un grandissimo abbraccio!

I arrived to Nice in the middle of September and as soon as I got to meet everyone, I already knew it was going to be amazing.
Since the first day with my Host Family I felt like I was at home.
I met unique people, I met a lot of friends and I even fall in love with one of my closest friend.
Nice has given me the best experience I have even had and I would not change all this time here for anything else!
I feel like I am finally geting to know who I am and what I want.
I think EF Nice was for me my way to start showing who I really am.

My experience at EF Nice have been great so far. The school has found an excellent balance between learning and joy which results in some great improvements.
The city itself has a lot of sightseeing to offer due to its History and easy access to a great variety of museums.
During spring and summer, this city definitely does justice due to the high amount of visitor.
The school building is very close to the beach, it is a very welcoming building with a great lounge, cafeteria and extremely friendly and enthousiastic people.
The wide variety of activities always found a way to keep you occupied and make the best out of your stay.
You will be surprised how quickly you are able to learn French!
The staff at school takes your problems very seriously and won't hesitate to help you with whatever is on yourmind.

I was quite nervous walking into the EF Paris school, but any previous apprehensions I had quickly faded away upon stepping through the door. I was Immediately greeted with a big smile and an enthusiastic "Bonjour!" by a staff member who seemed to love her job a bit too much. After a brief placement test and a walk through the school we, the new students, were given a little tour of the neighborhood where the school is located. The tour culminated on the roof of the famous Galleries Lafayette, one of the largest and nicest shopping centers in Paris, so we could see a view over the city. Even after doing a lot of research and reading/watching all of the reviews I could find, I was still pleasantly surprised with EF Paris.

The school itself is very modern and chic, and it has lots of areas outside of the classroom for students to interact and practice their french. The classrooms themselves are on the smaller side, seating only about 15 students, but this makes for a better learning environment and connection with the teachers. Speaking of the teachers, they are all very passionate about teaching French and making sure you use your new found language skills as much as possible. You can also expect to develope personal relationships with your teachers. For example, I went and watched one of my teachers perform in his improve troup on a Sunday afternoon. Not only was it another way to get out and explore Paris, but it was also great French comprehension practice.

The EF staff does a good job placing students into classes that will challenge them, and my placement felt right from the start. But if you do feel as if you are placed in the wrong class, it is not difficult to switch. You can expect to speak and learn a lot of French in your time here, and if you put in the work, you should expect to leave with a much better understanding of both the French language and culture.

-Oliver Welch

I am from Malibu, CA, USA. I came to Nice in the beginning of 2017 to perfect my French, but also to get a little time away from everything back home. Not only is this trip a study but also a vacation. I love France, I really can't, nor do I think I ever will get enough afit. Paris is such an amazing city that I spent some time in but Nice is a very special city. This place has already made it's way into my heart and it will stay there for the rest of my life. The study experience is truely so special and amazing here at EF; I have been learning so much and meeting the best of friends and relationships that I hope I can hold for the rest of my life. I really will never be able to thank my dad for sending me on such an amazing voyage and giving me the opportunities that I have been given because of him. I am only here for another 2 and a half months but I am going to make each day count because I know when I leave, I will always be wanting to come back.

When coming from the western world, one always "underestimates" China (culture, traditions, food, people, etc...). We've always thought is such a different country compared to what we are used to, however, you do not realize until you don't come here. I mean it in a really good way, despite the culture differences, one grows up extremely fast by being in China, specially as a person. Furthermore, the help received by EF Staff has been more than useful.

About Beijing, there is not much to say rather than what you already think about it. Huge and bustling city where you will always be able to find whatever you need, being a mix of the most traditional chinese culture and the most modern west traditions.

I came to Spain for a year before college to play football (soccer) at a level higher than that availible in the US for 18 year olds. In order to obtain a Student Visa and stay in the country I had to take 20 hours of classes a week and chose to do this at Education First Barcelona. Being on a team of only Spanish speakers, the obvious choice was to study Spanish. At the same time to stay in touch with my future major, I took two online classes from MIT in physics and calculus. On top of that to keep me even more busy, I worked as a model in Barcelona through a local agency. A normal day for me included waking up at 7:30 am and essentially being on the move doing something until 12:30 am. That was my goal, to be busy and through it I believe I have gotten a ton out of my experiences. I have gotten better at soccer, depending on your definition, become fluent in Spanish, and above all else lived on my own as an 18 year old far far away from just about everything I know. All the pieces lined up exteremely well and I am sure that I have developed more individually over this year than any of my previous years and I highly recommend challengeing yourself as I have.

I came to China 3 days before start my course that's why I was thinking of leave the first week, but when I came to EF Beijing I met awesome people and realized that the place its really great to be here in china, first is the friends that you met in the first day and then is the different things that you can do outside of the school like go to eat in different places, discover the culture and got to have fun at night, I was impressed with the cheap things that you can buy in china, such as clothes and electronic devices, honestly I'm having a good time here in EF Beijing and I'm satisfied with it.

I stayed 6 months at EFRome and I'm now in my last week here. I came to have a gap year to decide if I would change my university major or not, and at the same time to learn a new language. It was much more than I expected, I really have nothing negative to say. First, the staff is amazing and very welcoming. I also had the best luck with my host family, and even though the house is 40 minutes away from school, I didn't mind doing this everyday since both the school and my home are great places. I also made a lot of amazing friends I wasn't expecting to meet and that I'll never forget. I came without knowing anything of Italian and now I can talk to any Italian, read many books in the language and understand music and TV, thanks to the teachers. Rome is also a beautiful city and even after all this time there's so much I haven't seen yet. I really enjoyed my time here and would love to came back!

When I graduated my high school me and my family were looking for a place for me to spend my gap year. My mom remembered me saying: "Wouldn't it be cool to speak Chinese." and half a year later I was in Beijing! China is a whole new experience. I had no clue what to expect, but it turned out to be one of my greatest decisions i have ever made. Very soon after I was on the plane to Beijing. One of the best decisions I have ever made! these past six months flew by, I had the time of my life there with all the other students and staff.

The EF staff in Beijing is really nice and friendly and help you with every problem you have. Just recently I past my HSK 3 and i couldn't have done with help of my teachers. They teach in a way that Chinese looks easy, I never thought that was possible!

The location of the school really good. It is relatively close to everything you need. The place where you spend your Friday and Saturday nights is only a few subway stops away.

Beijing is also really cheap, for a few Yuan you have a whole meal in front of you. Cooked and well!

Needless to say my time in Beijing was amazing, that's the reason i am going back for another three months!