EF International Language Campuses

About

The world is waiting. Learn a language abroad.

See the world, experience a new culture, and make friends from around the world as you prepare for your global future. EF's fun and interactive classes help you learn faster while living the language first hand. Earn college credit, participate in an internship, and explore your dream destination abroad. Start any Monday and study from two weeks and up, or join us for a semester or year abroad. We also offer University Preparation courses for students looking to attend college in France or Germany.

Website

www.ef.edu

Founded

1965

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Community Photos

Me sitting in front of a bridge in Ronda, a town close to Malaga

Me dancing in the middle of a dance circle at the Water Gun Festival

Left to Right. Hayoung, Suryeon, Yukihiro, Me

A path through a traditional village. Where traditional meets modern, a neighborhood nestled at the top of hill; a brief getaway from the city.

A snapshot of one of the streets in the Seoul area. Plenty of restaurants, plenty of signs, and the hustle and bustle of the public.

A parisienne street we wandered to, red neon lights light up a store front.

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Reviews

I had a great week in Costa Rica! Due to travel restrictions, I had to change my original plan and only stayed for a week. While it was hard to get support from the staff at first, Alexis from the EF team reached out and was a huge help! And, everything at the school was excellent. I had a wonderful homestay and Miquel was an awesome Spanish teacher. The city was beautiful and it was great to meet people from all wound the world. Plus, for those with more time to stay, the school arranges many fun activities in Tamarindo and around Costa Rica.

Sent our daughter with EF to Seoul, South Korea for a 3 month program. She traveled when she was 16 and turned 17 while there. Excellent language instruction, excellent home stay, great pre and during information and contact. Even during COVID the program felt extremely safe and well supported. Any concerns or questions we had were answered to our satisfaction in a timely manner. We would 100% recommend EF to everyone and will use them in the future for another trip or with our other children. Thank you EF staff!!!

I went with EF for 6 months to Tokyo in Japan and I had a great time. Japan is an interesting country with many beautiful sites to see with a beautiful language and culture to learn about. Since I was there when Corona broke out, I did not go to all the places I wanted and many things did change/happen, but the school can't be blamed for that.
Overall, even with Corona, I had a very smooth trip.

School:
The teachers at the school are very good at what they do. The classes are immersion style classes so the class is conducted fully in Japanese which can take some time getting used to if you are an absolute beginner, but the teachers, staff and the other students are extremely helpful and friendly if you need help. The teachers also make an effort to plan activities that are more interactive so you do not just have to sit and listen for an extended amount of time (but there are some days where that is the case). The other school staff also are very friendly and can all speak English so if you are having a hard time or something is bothering you, you are able to speak to them comfortably.

Accommodation:
I personally decided to live at the Residence instead of a host family. The residence is not owned by EF instead EF works with the residence to reserve rooms for EF students. Due to this, you get to meet many different people if you live there as other foreigners live there as well as native Japanese. I found the residence to be a lot of fun as you are surrounded by your friends and you have as much freedom as you want. The RAs are very helpful if you have any issues regarding residency. The downside, however, is that you do everything by yourself like buy or cook your own meals, buy your own bath products, clean up after yourself, etc so I would recommend the residence for those that are able to take care of themselves. Another thing to note is that it is sometimes to connect with the native Japanese that live there due to language and culture barrier, but eventually they warm up to you if you keep trying.

Activities:
Tokyo is a busy and exciting city so there was always somewhere to go, something new to see, or something new to try. The school also has activities planned everyday and those range from TeamLabs museum to visiting the shrine from "Your Name" so I would recommend trying to go to those if you are interested. Outside of those, the upper class men usually can recommend places to go to or you can just grab your friends and go spontaneously.

People:
All the students and school staff are so open and friendly. It is very easy to make friends with others even if you are more introverted. Also most students are from different countries around the world so you are able to learn a lot about different cultures along with Japanese culture. Japanese people can be a bit cold and standoffish which is just how their culture is sometimes, but mostly they will be nice to you.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

1. Don't be afraid to be friendly. All the students there are in the same boat as you; they are in a foreign country where they probably don't know anyone. Due to this, all the students are willing to be your friend if you are simply just go up to them and talk. Most students speak English so that is not an issue most of the time.
2. Accept the culture. Japanese culture is very different from Western culture and many western people I knew struggled to adjust to the difference. In my experience, I think if you are just open minded and more easy going when it comes to accepting cultural differences then your trip becomes more fun.
3. Don't be afraid to try new things, New country, new people, new activities so don't be scared to try new things whether that be skiing in Nagano or trying natto.

My time in EF was very unique, as I stayed there in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that hit Spain pretty hard at the beginning. My first month and a half was the normal EF experience, and it was wonderful. The classes were of great quality, and EF was always very helpful with anything I needed. Then the pandemic arrived and most of the students left, however I stayed and was able to still have a good experience first in the Residence, and then later in a host family. We had online classes the rest of my time, and they worked very well. I ended up graduating from EF with a C1 in Spanish!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

My advice to future travelers is that it's okay if you're not sure exactly what to expect, go in with an open mind and they will be very accommodating and helpful when you do arrive.

I went to Malaga for a month through EF, and it was an incredible time! The teachers were all amazing, and very kind! EF definitely is a lot about making money, but that didn’t effect my trip as much as others. Overall it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I had a host family, and they were incredibly sweet and accommodating. I am very happy I chose the host family because it definitely helped me learn much faster since I was much more immersed in the culture and language.

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I choose this program because I go to art school and I have always loved art. Rome, having being the home to multiple artists, not only allowed to me to get to learn a new language and meet new people, but also to dig closer into the fascinating pieces it holds in all the museums and national sites. It also has great food.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I won this trip as a part of a giveaway, so EF practically arranged everything for me. The housing, the flights and the program itself was carefully taken care by the team, which made it super easy, stress-free and enjoyable overall. And Fiona was super sweet and easy to reach; she also gave me all the info I needed to chose a course and everything.

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What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I would say just go, even if you don't know anything about the language, the food, the metro or whatever is holding you. You will eventually find out - it is just way easier than expected, and you will find people around the path that will gladly show you and teach you all you may need to know. Also, I would recommend staying at a host family; this way you get more involved.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

An average day to me would have been going to class in the morning from 8am till like 2pm, and then I would probably grab lunch somewhere new, and then wander around the shops, the streets or the free museums. At night, I would maybe go out or hangout with my roommate. Gelate was always the way to end my day.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear was the homestay and getting around.

In my previous travels with EF, I always stayed at their residences, which made it super easy to get around, while this time I had to take the metro and the bus to get to the school, and having no knowledge on the language scared me because I thought I was going to be lost all the time.

What is close to Rome to visit on a Day trip?

Any weekend you can take a bus, a train or a flight to other cool cities like Venice, Florence, Naples, Milan, among other cool trips outside of Italy for a weekend getaway. It's easy to book and cheap, especially if you book with friends to keep you company.

Sophie Ricciardi

2018 Alum

Maria

2018 Alum

Matt Omalley

2015 Alum

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

What is your favorite travel memory?

I had countless beautiful travel memories! But my favorite is definitely when I went to Lake Louise in Banff in 2014.

I had my dream come true by doing a road trip in western Canada and finally got to sit there on my own and take in the stunning but peaceful view of the Lake. The great nature always fascinates me the most where many great memories were left.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

The biggest change comes from within. We meet students from all parts of the world and see them grow every day, and being part of this program, I also become more open to different cultures.

I love being with our students and listening to how much they find China a great place to explore. Working with EF as a school director also helps me understand customer services are everywhere in the school.

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What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

It has to be the transformation that I see in our students, both in language and, more importantly, in the ability to embracing differences. Hayato from Japan did not speak a word of Mandarin when he first arrived in April and was quite negative towards the cultural difference between China and Japan; however, after a 9-month course, he can now have conversations with all the staff in Mandarin, and he's mentoring new students with some personal tips to help them adapt to the Chinese culture.

A star student for sure! :)

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

The language Academic Year program! Seeing how much fun our students have had and how much they have grown as a person really inspired me. You can not only improve your language skills during an academic year program but also make friends and become more independent. Just be a bit more specific, I wish I could also do a one-year program in EF Barcelona learning Spanish one day. :)

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

I think we do live by our company's core values and mission of "Opening the world through education", which gives us motivation and reasons why we work.

When people share the same values and a common goal, they work as a team and give their best towards the customers/students day in and day out. And that's what makes EF very very special. I am proud of the team every single minute because we are changing the world for a better place by breaking down barriers through education! Seriously!

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I've been working with EF for almost 10 years now and I've been also speaking to a lot of colleagues, and if you ask them the same question, the answer is going to be the same: it's the PEOPLE, and people with the good company culture fit.

I truly believe there's no job that cannot be done by a group of people with a tremendous passion for education that paired up with the "Nothing is Impossible" philosophy. In the meantime, being flexible and agile as a company is also key in my opinion.