Program Reviews

This summer, I embarked on my first-ever EF experience in Tokyo, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The program allowed me to immerse myself in the Japanese culture like never before, offering a perfect blend of education and adventure. From the moment I arrived, I knew I was in for something special.

The educational aspect was equally impressive. Over just three weeks, I was able to advance from A1.1 to A1.2 in my Japanese language skills, thanks to the supportive and engaging teachers. Their kindness, thoughtfulness, and sense of humor made learning enjoyable, and I was thrilled to stay connected with some of them even after the program ended. The variety of spin classes offered allowed me to tailor my learning experience to my interests, and the ease of switching classes if something wasn’t a good fit was a bonus.

This experience was amazing! I made so many friends all around the globe and learned so much Spanish. The school was so nice, and the teachers very good. You need to go on this place. The food at school is very nice too, and the staff were so kind with me. You have many time between your classes for going to the beach, in the bar for taking a drink, and you can made excursion in other city during the weekends. The staff for activities are so sympathetic and help you every time. Thanks you to EF for this moment.

My teenage daughter arrived in Tokyo and walked around FOR THREE HOURS lost and scared. We called the Tokyo school and spoke to staff, no one bothered to help her. This set the tone for the entire trip.

In my opinion, very expensive (I paid approximately $6000) and very disorganized. Also in my opinion, classes were sub par.
I paid six hundred dollars for a roundtrip airport transfer to Narita that was literally never used. For the return, this company was notified of an airport change approximately four weeks in advance and a limo still showed up to take the student to the wrong airport. In my opinion, every aspect of this program was disorganized.

I totally got the run around regarding a refund for the unused airport transfer. After emailing the customer service rep for assistance, I was advised to schedule a meeting with the "student experience coordinator." The "student experience coordinator" did not show up for the Zoom meeting and did not respond to my emails to reschedule. (I had sent several emails, previously, explaining this simple issue and no idea why a meeting was even necessary.)
This is a very simple issue: please refund me the $600 roundtrip airport transfer that was never used.

In my opinion, once this company has your money, they care about nothing else.

Compared to other French classes I have taken, this one has to be the best. The teachers are very nice and helpful and will work with you regardless of where you are in your proficiency. In my experience, the teachers were very supportive and understanding and took the time to ensure that everyone in the class had a full grasp of the material before moving on. They were always willing to stay behind and answer questions and were very kind. You receive discounts associated with EF from everything like food to boutiques, so you shouldn't have to worry about staying within a budget.

I have finished one month of my 8 month stay in Costa Rica and I have nothing but good things to say about it. My host family is incredibly kind, the campus is incredible, and there are beautiful beaches with great surf lesson options everywhere. Tamarindo itself is lovely: however, it is quite expensive as the area is a hotspot for tourists. As for my Spanish, I have already noticed an improvement after only one month. Nightlife is very active and there are plenty of activities to join on the weekends. I recommend this course for everyone.

I spent a month in Saint Raphael this summer with EF. I had so much fun and made connections around the world. Great if you’re just starting out! It got so hot in the classrooms though in south France. You have to get your own water bottle because we only got water at meal times but that was just me as an American ha. I loved going to places on the weekend like Monaco and Antibes. That’s probably my favorite part! I am an Ambassador for them and they treat me really well! Have fun traveling!!!!!

I went on a high school exchange year with EF a year ago, and it was the best year of my life! 
EF has always supported me throughout my Exchange Year. And even gives me a chance to inspire new exchange students after my exchange year as an ambassador. My exchange gave me the chance to learn about myself, other cultures, and to find a second family and friends from all over the world! Thank you for making me realize that I want to go to college there. Thank you to the whole EF-Family who made this year so special!

I signed up for 3 weeks in Malaga, and I liked it so much I extended my stay to 4 weeks! The social scene is great, you meet plenty of fun people and learn so much about other cultures. But you're meeting them all in english. Most people leave the spanish at school and don't want to go through the effort of socializing in spanish. So, try as you might, you won't really get a ton of speaking practice outside of school. As long as you apply yourself during the classes though, you'll still learn a lot. Not as fast as you do in some more focused programs, but that's the price you pay for the great social/party scene. Speaking of the party scene, if you are under 18 you simply aren't going to have as fun a time unless you have a group of other under 18-year olds who don't like partying, which I didn't see once during my summer. If you are under 18 and do like clubs and partying, I will say that the law is more of a suggestion there.
Also: the host families are awful. You are guaranteed to have a max of 5 kids in your host family... Except that rule is often broken. I was fortunate enough to switch from an awful family with 8 kids to the literal "#1 Host Family Malaga," so I ended up being ok. But my advice: don't spend the extra money to stay with a host family. You won't end up interacting with them and actually practicing spanish a ton, and you almost certainly will get something uncomfortable and dirty. But I won't end on that bad note; overall I had an amazing time and would definitely recommend it!

I am 16 years old and my trip with Ef Tokyo was my first trip abroad alone.This trip was my favorite vacation ever and I have made so many friends from Japan and other countries. I was only with Ef Tokyo for two weeks but I learned a decent amount of Japanese while I was there. While in Tokyo you have a lot of free time and you can go wherever you would like. You can go throughout the country independently which was something surprising but definitely something I enjoyed. I took trips to Akihabara, Kyoto, Harujuku, Shinjuku, and so many other places. My residence was 1 hour by train away from the school which is in the heart of Shibuya which is an awesome location. One thing I didn’t like about the school was the time of the classes because some days they were at 9 while others were at 18:00. I loved meeting new people while I was in Japan especially Japanese people because it gave me a new perspective of life in Japan. I made a Japanese friend that
took me too his home town’s festival. If you go to Ef Tokyo you will have so much fun and make so many friends no matter how long you go. I really recommend Tokyo even if you are like me and knew 0 Japanese when you arrived. I’ll be honest it is sometimes hard to get around without being able to speak Japanese but I could always rely on google translate so I’m the end it was okay. I also really enjoyed the activities the school provided. My favorite one was my trip to Kyoto where I bought a model katana and learned about Japan’s history. If you like the city or the country side Ef Tokyo is great because in 1 hour from the residence is the heart fi Tokyo and 1 hour the other way you can visit beaches and mountains. I am so glad I did Ef Tokyo even though I was super nervous in the beginning. The staff was great and everyone there is super nice I really do recommend visiting Ef Tokyo! Oh one more thing the food! I loved the food you can get such good food for so cheap. Japan is the most beautiful country I have visited and I hope everyone can experience Japan once in their lives!

I traveled to Rome for 4 weeks through EF and have had the most amazing experience. I stayed through the Dotcsmpus which is about 20 min away from the center and school. Overall, this trip has been the time of my life, Rome is a beautiful city, with so much culture and history but I also had the opportunity to really learn some Italian while being here through a couple of my instructors at the school. On top of all of this, within this experience I’ve met incredible people from all over the world, in which I will see again in my future. Truly the best trip!