EF Gap Year - The Voyager

⭐ EF Malta:
I paid €1,070 for one week with EF Malta: just five days of classes, with flights not included. Considering the service I received, I find this price completely disproportionate.

The most serious issue was the accommodation: dirt throughout the house and cockroaches, in conditions I consider unacceptable. I was not expecting luxury, but I did expect cleanliness, basic hygiene and a proper bed. The mattress rested on a board over a deteriorating wooden box, from which I saw insects emerging. In my view, this could hardly be considered a proper bed. The attached photographs show the condition of the furniture and bedroom.

Nine of us were staying in the homeshare. Three had access to a private bathroom, while the remaining six, including me, had to share a single bathroom. The toilet flush also broke, leaving us having to use buckets to flush it. I find it outrageous to encounter these conditions in accommodation arranged by an organisation charging this much.

Breakfast was virtually nonexistent. During my stay, I also suffered from diarrhoea and could not even find any tea available. This added to the discomfort of an experience already undermined by the accommodation.

I am 38 years old, yet I was placed in accommodation with teenagers, with no real opportunities to socialise with people my own age. I had chosen this trip as an adult seeking professional development, but found myself in an environment designed for completely different needs.

My request to change accommodation only made things worse. The proposed move fell through: when I arrived at the address provided, I could not access the new accommodation. I found myself stranded outside, unsure where to go, and had to return to the previous accommodation, paying additional taxi fares. I felt left to fend for myself, without prompt and effective assistance when I needed it most.

The academic experience was also deeply disappointing. The course was sold as “intensive”, but with three teaching sessions a day, it felt far from the intensity I had expected. The advertised initial speaking assessment never took place. I was assigned to a level solely on the basis of the online test I had completed at home, without an initial assessment of my conversational skills.

I also encountered several teachers who were not native English speakers, including Italian teachers and teachers of other nationalities. One of my reasons for choosing to study abroad was to hear native English pronunciation and improve through that exposure. In this respect, too, the experience fell short of my expectations.

Overall, I felt the programme was geared more towards socialising and entertainment for very young students than towards the needs of an adult seeking serious, well-organised language training.

Based on my experience, I would only recommend this option to someone mainly looking for a holiday and entertainment in a teenage environment. Anyone looking to invest seriously in their language learning should look elsewhere. Given the dirt, cockroaches, poor accommodation, inadequate assistance and disappointing academic experience, I cannot justify €1,070 for five days of classes, with flights not even included. I would not book this experience again.