EF Reviews

⭐ 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.

I got back from my course about a month ago, and I miss it horribly. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about my trip. The food, language, people, art, and classes were truly unforgettable. EF courses were always fun and held my attention. One thing I’d say is that it’s very expensive. I would’ve gone longer if I could afford it, but I’m extremely grateful for the time that I did spend there. It gave me a sense of freedom that I never thought possible. The hardest decision I had to make was whether or not I wanted to walk to the Vatican before dinner. I highly recommend, you won’t regret going!

I'm only a few weeks into my language immersion program with EF here in Nice, and it's already been incredible. I've studied French for years just to see how far I could take the language — turns out the real surprise is how far the language has taken me.

Getting immersed in an entirely new culture and language has shifted the way I think about so much. Every day feels like a privilege: learning from my teachers, swapping stories with classmates, and living with a host family who's welcomed me into their home. As someone who'd never been to Europe before, seeing the differences between home and here has been eye-opening in the best way.

I won't pretend being this far from home is easy — it isn't. But the people at EF are so supportive and kind, and almost everyone here is working through some version of the same adjustment, so it's hard to feel alone in it.

This is shaping up to be the experience of a lifetime, and I'm so grateful for the chance to learn French in such an immersive way. Can't recommend EF Nice enough.

EF Seoul is a great program for visiting Korea and improving your Korean skills! The staff and teachers are incredibly friendly and helpful, and the activities that you can sign up for through EF allow you to have great experiences for lower prices than if you booked externally. I would definitely recommend EF for those looking to learn while also having a fun trip and meeting new people from all over the world. EF has students from all ages and all over the world, making it an excellent environment to meet new international friends who share your interests and passion for travelling or experiencing new things.

This was my second time using EF for language learning in Korea. They really make everything easy. All you have to do is get there. EF Korea is AWESOME. They make sure that all your questions are answered. They actually read the surveys that you provide and come to talk to you about them. It makes the entire stay more personal. Seoul and the rest of the country is beautiful. I didn't really do anything the first time but on my last trip everything and everywhere was in play. I stayed for 2 months and still was not able to see and do everything. What's also so cool is that they have fun activities that you can choose to do on your off time. This makes it easy for students who may not know anyone or even if you do, to go out and experience Seoul. I did the homestay which was great. The only thing is that I'm 53 years old and most of the housemates were teenagers. Don't get me wrong, they were great and sweet and I had my own room so that was good. However, be prepared if you're older. Although this last trip there were definitely more older adults and I met a really awesome person who I will probably be friends with for years. The other thing with the homestay was the use of air conditioners. Now, this has nothing to do with the school, the school temp is usually fine but the host may or may not use their air condition. During the summer months it can get really hot. However, normally if you ask for a fan they are more than willing to oblige. This is definitely a trip that you should take. It's absolutely worth it!

Traveling to France and immersing yourself into the culture and community is the best way to learn and experience the language - by living it!
This program creates a safety net for me to explore, sample and exist in the French culture. Traveling around the local area and seeing the sites and the history helped me to understand the culture and language. Lots of physical activities kept me active and healthy during my visit. The French cuisine and wines were amazing. Truly I had the experience of my life.

I had a phenomenal experience with EF Paris. The immersive teaching style made it so easy to quickly level up in French, as did being surrounded by French culture. I was so impressed with the quality of facilities, from the residences to the campus itself. The location of the residence ensured that I was able to visit new cultural sites every day. Additionally, it was wonderful to know that the teachers truly cared about the progress and different learning styles of every student. I look forward to traveling with EF again in the future!

I researched a few programs for over 50 year-olds, and I am glad I chose EF. (I am 74.) The class activities were varied, my instructor was terrifically organized and put a LOT of time and energy into teaching, and my fellow students were for the most part terrific. The field trips were really interesting and engaging, e.g., learning to cook paella from a professional cook, making jewelry, visiting castles. I did not live in a residence, but I heard they were problematic for 50+ because of noisy college kids at night. Something to consider. (I lodged in a casita I found on my own.)
Highly recommended.

Overall, I'd give them a 7/10. It wasn’t a bad experience, but it could’ve been better. They definitely have room to improve.

Flights and Financials: Booking your own flights offers more flexibility and may be more cost-effective. When I had a family emergency in Japan and needed to return home early, it was challenging to reach the EF America base to discuss changing my flight. Communication was difficult due to time zone differences, and responses addressed only some of my questions. I was quoted a higher price than my original roundtrip ticket for the return flight, so I arranged my own ticket. Additionally, receiving a refund for the canceled flight is proving to be very complicated, even with a cancellation protection fee. As well as continuing the conversation about a partial refund for my classes and homestay.

The staff at EF Tokyo were supportive, but they had limited ability to answer financial questions and referred back to the American team. There were also some billing errors with charges for services I did not sign up for, so it is important to check your payments carefully. Having dedicated financial support staff on-site would streamline the process. Feedback from other reviews suggests financial support is an area of much needed improvement at EF, especially in the case of refunds. I hope they can continue working with me to get a partial refund, I’m anxious about this process after reading the reviews. I will update this review when that process has commenced.

Classes: These are great classes. I have 100% learned a lot even in my short time here. If you stay for a few months, you’ll be having conversations in Japanese. I would definitely recommend learning some on your own before you come to the school. Using any app for a couple of minutes a day will better prepare you. The classes move fast. That being said, you can only miss 80%, so if you’re coming to meet people and see the country, you will not have a good grade and won’t get your certificate. You need to speak and read English to do this program 100%! They say the classes will be an 80/20 Japanese to English, but in reality, it was 95/5 Japanese to English. English is the only language they give directions and explanations in, if you can’t understand English you will struggle. That being said, It’s hard but really rewarding. In 2 weeks, I went from nothing to introducing myself, my entire family, and a lot of basic phrases. This is an amazing language school if you put the effort in.

Homestay: I stayed in a homestay with a roommate and two different families. The school’s policy is for host families to provide breakfast and dinner on weekdays and three meals on weekends. If you are not receiving this, you should request a change. It took some persistence to arrange a move, but it was accommodated. My first host family did not provide the expected meals, and I rarely saw my host mother, which did not meet my expectations for a family experience. If you’re not prepared to sleep on a futon, this will not be for you. I slept on a 2cm thick futon on wood floor for the first two weeks. This is apart of Japanese culture, but it’s not the most fun part. those with back issues, or sleep issues I don’t think this would work for you. My second family, the Irinami family, provided a much more positive and welcoming experience. The mother was kind and an excellent cook. They welcomed me into their family with open arms. I feel very blessed to have spent a week with them. If you get put in this family you are very blessed. Based on these differing experiences, it seems EF could continue to develop host family standards to ensure consistency for all participants. The investment in the program warrants attention to these details to help ensure a positive stay.

Trains: personally, I never want to see another train or bus again in my life. Some people love it, others hate it. The normal commute to school is an hour. For a lot of students, it’s even more. It’s very overwhelming. They don’t teach you how to navigate the trains or how to get to school. You wing it till you make it. I definitely think there could be a program with students who are experienced to help out the new students on the first day; these more experienced students could get activity credits or something in return. It would be extremely helpful. YOU WILL GET LOST… a lot. Just accept it, learn from it. It does get better. In total, there is 100% something more EF could and should be doing to teach students about the trains and how to get around this new country alone.

Activities: honestly, 4/10. Nene is very sweet and is definitely working hard to set up these activities, so I'm not dissing her hard work. I think there is a lot more that could be done, though. Timing-wise, I found it hard to attend anything. They have the activity once a month and at one time during the day. If they offered the same things more frequently and at a variety of times, I think a lot more students would be able to join. I also think that more staff and teachers joining in on these would create a much deeper bond between student and teacher, while also allowing more teachable moments. During my stay, I did an excursion to Kyoto. It was pretty good, 8/10. I’m pretty sure I overpaid, but it was a great trip, and I made some lifelong friends. They had a VERY packed itinerary, but I was able to go off with a few friends and do our own thing. It was super fun, and I 100% recommend going on an excursion trip if you can.

Day-to-day life: you have a lot of free time. If you struggle to make friends quickly, this will be difficult. The school does not give nearly enough information on exploring Shibuya. You are thrown into the fire as soon as you get there. I think the staff could give a list of activities to do around, and maybe a map with some staff-picked spots! Making the city a classroom, and the opportunity to hear and speak Japanese easier and less intimidating for students. I think this aspect is missing any staff support. There is way more the school can do to help you feel more confident while in this HUGE new city in your first few days.

Staff support/ school environment: the staff I worked most closely with throughout my family emergency and my experience as a whole was Micah. He was very helpful and understanding. I think he is very good at his job. The teachers were also very helpful when it came to class time. They did a good job, but like I've been saying throughout this whole review, they could be doing SO much more. Moving on, the environment of the school is very nice. They provide a great space for students to lounge, call families, hang out, and study. The building is very convenient, and there is a supermarket in the building for lunch! I believe there are also restaurants, but I never personally went to any of them except for McDonald's on the bottom floor.

Overall, I do not regret coming here. The friends and memories I made here are something I will forever treasure. That being said, there is room for EF as a company to grow, and I hope they continue to try to improve the work they do.

Reminiscing on everything Italy has to offer. Everything is so beautiful and I felt like I was in the heart of their culture. With traveling with an amazing tour guide to eating the absolute best pasta from our pasta making class, I hope I get the chance to return even just for a day to take it all in and bring back the memories that were made. Thank you to our lovely tour guide for doing such a great job to keep everyone safe, happy, and immersed in culture, thank you to everyone that was on the trip with me because those memories will never fade, and thank you to EF for the support and guidance through booking and everything pre-trip and post-trip!