EF International Language Campuses

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.

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.

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.

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.

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! :)

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. :)

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!

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.