Program Reviews

Over the summer, I studied abroad with EF in Shanghai, China. I lived with a host family who was very nice and welcoming. Everyone at the EF school helped me settle in and feel at home in Shanghai. My Chinese Mandarin improved tremendously over the course of three weeks and I enjoyed the language classes very much. Living with a host family was great because I was able to practice at home all the new vocabulary words that I had learned in my classes or throughout the day. Additionally, EF offered fun activities for students to do every day, this was very helpful for meeting other students and making friends during my trip. I would definitely recommend this program to other students looking to improve their language skills or participate in a fun summer program. The study abroad trip with EF has been one of the best experiences in my life!

This program is not only a great way to explore Spain, but also boosts language skills. The program balances language classes with explore the country and immersing students into the culture of Spain. Traveling with EF also gives students the option to explore the city on their own terms. There isn't a strict traveling schedule everyone must follow, enabling students to do what they find most interesting. Overall, it was a great experience and I would love to go again.

Last March, I spent one month at EF Paris taking part in the intensive course. I cannot speak highly enough about my experience. After one months time, I was actually looking to extend my stay in Paris, but unfortunately could not be accommodated longer at the residency. I found the classes to be interesting and informative, though truthfully wish the required attendance (80%) was slightly higher, as this encouraged frequent absences from my classmates and I. Most importantly I felt that in just one month's time, my french skills improved dramatically, and having the city at my fingertips allowed me to catapult my abilities. I most enjoyed the international crowd that EF draws. I was extremely lucky and found a handful of friends quite quickly, none of which were American (which I loved!)
The social opportunities are limitless in Paris, EF holding a personal soft spot for Café Oz, the mid-tier club which welcomes students at a cheap rate every Wednesday. Moreover, I hope to return to EF Paris in a coming summer, and have since recommended the program to a handful of friends looking to further develop their french language skills. Hands down the best part of my gap year.

I stayed six weeks with my host family and it was as if I stayed in my own home. After six weeks I developed a great relationship with the family and it was such a pleasant experience. I loved staying with the family because they treated me just as if I was their own. in the entirety of my trip I never once had a problem with my family or their home. they took excellent care of me, and I hope to return to Malaga and see them again.

EF Language Course in Rome, Italy was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. I arrived in Italy and my luggage went missing, I was scared and frustrated. I didn't have anything with me and did not know the family who I would be staying in. I arrived at the home and I had the best welcome, they made me feel comfortable and safe and they made me not worry about my luggage. The next day I needed to be at school at 9am, my host family showed me how to get to school, how to take the metro and which buses to take from Termini. I arrived at school and was greeted with a huge smile by Domenico and other staff. i felt like I had known them forever, they did such a great job at making you feel at home and encouraging you to get to know others. I remember on the very first day we went on a tour of the areas surrounding the school and I met so many friends. Friends who I know travel with and are some of my closest friendships. The instruction began and the teachers were fantastic, professional and charismatic. They made learning Italian fun and they were so passionate about what they did. Every day I looked forward to going to school and learning more of the language and the culture. The teachers and staff didn't make this feel like school, they made it feel like we were all a family who spent time together learning about Italian culture. What I loved the most is that we weren't stuck in the classroom, we took our learning outside and had first hand experiences with the people of Rome. I loved that on the weekends we had field trips where we immersed ourselves in the Italian culture and visited new places. The whole staff was knowledgable and caring. They learned my name on the first day and were always to caring and helpful. This was truly an amazing experience that I will never forget, I recommend this program to anyone who has ever dreamed of studying abroad.

I was really happy with my studies in Paris! The staff and the teachers at EF were very warm and welcoming, they really made me feel at home. I spent 20 weeks in Paris and I learned a lot, both of the language and of the french culture. I would recommend it to everyone who would like an exciting experience and want to make friends all over the world. The hostfamily was also very welcoming and they were really interested in learning about were I'm from and taught me a lot about their culture since they originate from Moracco. The only problem I had at the family was that they didn't know what food to make me since I'm vegetarian. But since I was in Paris there was always nice restaurants I could go to.

I'm having an experience extraordinary. Meeting the friends overall the world, nice teachers, and the activity staffs who always taking care of students. Not only the school courses, you can also travel Paris and around Europe more easily. And having the various cultures experience. The negative thing is the price... But except this everything is so cool. I'm gonna miss this experience and this place so much at the future. I hope other people have this experience also.

After a year of teaching in China under my belt, I knew I wanted to come back. My main concern was that I was going to spend a few years with a lot of travel stories, but little to show for it with my professional self. I told my recruiter this when I applied. She told me about all of these teaching qualifications I could gain with EF. When I asked about other opportunities she said that it has that too. I took it with a grain of salt.

Five years later I have gained teaching qualifications, I've moved out of the classroom and started working in the central headquarters, and now I'm moving back to the US with a full time job with EF at their Boston office. I guess I proved my parents wrong with that one.

This "program" is a bit different from the others because it's not a program. It's a job. You are expected to work, but you get paid and you get plenty of holidays. Of the countries I visited while working with EF in China, about 50% were on my own and 50% were with company sponsored conferences. The housing isn't provided, but I liked that. They help out a ton with finding your apartment, and then I got to choose where I lived and how much I spent on it.

If you want to travel abroad, but also start a real career, this is the place.

The site says Education First, but it should say Saftey Last. I was horrified at the pick up procedures in Nice. My 17 year old daughter was left at the airport for over 2 hours and finally found a representative picking up another student. If you value your children’s safety I would not use Education First for emmersion language learning. In all of my travels to multiple third world countries I have never seen such total disregard for safety in pick up. We were told every thing was in order before our daughter left. I deeply regret using hard earned money to endanger my child.

My experience in Màlaga was amazing. I learned a lot about life in general and, what is the most important, I learned a lot about myself what I did not know before. I improved my Spanish skills heaps and I enjoyed living in Màlaga so much, that I really do not want to go! My host mother treated me like really being part of the family and she made me feel so good. She helped me so much with everything, she showed me so much about myself and I know that she will continue being there when I need someone to talk to. I know that whenever I have the feeling that I need to talk to her, I just have to call her. She gave me an incredible feeling that made me feel so good. I am so happy I had this great opportunity to travel to Spain, to learn how is life over here, to get to know more about the different cultures, the different languages, about the different ways to live. To learn more about how to be happy and about how to be really "alive"! Málaga showed me that life definitely is a great gift, an opportunity that we have to take. Málaga remembered me that, YES, it definitely is possible to be happy. It definitely is possible to enjoy life and I was remembered, with every single sunstroke, how it feels beeing alive. I really do not have the right words to express my feelings connected with Málaga, because for me it is something really special. For me it is more than simply The Sunny Coast, for me it was my way to find back to myself again. So that´s why I am staying :-). During my great experience here I did everything possible to find a way to stay longer and finally I found a Job as Au-Pair, so I can stay a bit longer, what really makes me happy. I love being here. I love the life over here and I know for sure that I will return. I will come back or expressed with better words - I never will leave totally, because a part of my heart will stay here for ever.
Thank you, for everything. I really appreciate what you did for me - Màlaga.

Love,
Lizi