EF Reviews

I love all the activities that we do. We never stop! Every second here is an experience I will have for the rest of my life. Additionally, when every person that I’ve met is so nice. Now I have a lot of new contacts from all around the world and I think we are going to be friends for the rest of our lives. I’m in EF to practice my English but I also learned funny words in Portuguese, French, Polish, etc. I could every activity we do for a million of times. EF is the best program that someone could go.

EF Barcelona is truly the best language school if you want to learn Spanish. The teachers, Alba, Miguel, Natalia, are all so caring and truly want you to succeed. They want you to learn what you want to learn and are constantly adapting the class to fit your needs. Outside of class, the activities are always great and you get to truly explore Barcelona. The best way to learn is talking to the teachers who know so much about the city and showed me so many hidden gems across the city. I highly recommend!

Our daughter began her EF adventure with absolutely no travel experience & now she is enrolling for a third 12 week course. From enrollment to the return home, the EF staff is responsive, patient, and knowledgeable. The language program and educators are exceptional and they go above and beyond to make sure students receive the information according to their learning styles. I highly recommend the host family experience for first time visitors. EF matched our daughter with the perfect family based on her requests and they have become a great support system and family away from home. We are so glad we decided to take the leap of faith with this program. If you are a parent, this is a legitimate, safe, and truly educational program that you can enroll your child in with confidence.

I had an absolutely incredible time in the EF program in Seoul, South Korea. My teachers were kind, funny, supportive, and extremely passionate about their students and teaching in general. The classes were fun, engaging, and effective -- my Korean improved immensely over the eight weeks that I was in the course, and I learned a lot about Korean culture and history. I also happened to meet some of the most amazing people I've ever known during my time there, and made friendships that I know will last a lifetime. I will forever be grateful to EF for my amazing experience in Seoul!

Please, please pay attention to people saying to run away from RF language exchange programs. They are just trying to make a buck. If you think they will deal with you as a real business with respect for customers, you are mistaken. If you are used to dealing with great companies with great customer service and return policies that are reasonable, you will be surprised to learn that EF doesn't care about you as a customer. There is always one idiot out there. Worst customer support ever. Shady business. Research on trustpilot and other places.

Spent almost 2 months in Paris with EF and it was a time well spent during my Gap Year! Made friends from all over the globe that taught me their countries traditions and such. The staff were so friendly and after the first day I felt so comfortable with the school. Everyone there was so nice and we all became close very quickly. My French prior to arriving was so basic and I knew almost nothing. At the end, I left Paris being able to have a full convo with any French local. Its a great opportunity to go if you have the chance! I came back with more knowledge than just the French language.

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.

This program is unlike any other and it made me into the best possible version of myself! I chose Costa Rica, Peru and Madrid for my 3 modules because I wanted to improve my Spanish and I am nearly fluent now! I did some of the coolest things I’ve done in my whole life all throughout my gap year. I scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef, lived in my first apartment in Madrid, jumped the highest cliff jump in the world, held a koala, volcano boarded, snorkeled in Panama, went to the Sydney opera house and so much more. I met some of the coolest most unforgettable people of my whole life and they are all likeminded people who love to explore and travel so it makes it way more fun. If you are on the fence about choosing college or a gap year, take a gap year! Life will start to get busy and you won’t want to regret it if you don’t go when you have the time! You’ll have so many stories to share and memories to cherish and nothing really compares to that.