English First (EF)

EF provides life-changing education for global citizens. For over 50 years, our mission has been to give confidence and freedom to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. With the desire to define your own path in life, and a little courage, EF opens up a world of possibilities.

We combine language training with cultural exchange, academic achievement and educational travel to deliver courses and programs that transform dreams into international opportunities.

In the early 1960s, a young Swedish man named Bertil Hult traveled to England for the first time. As a dyslexic, school had always been a challenge for him. But he was surprised by how effortlessly he picked up English in England.

Bertil became convinced that traditional classroom-based teaching was not always the most effective. In 1965, he decided to start a small company called Europeiska Ferieskolan (European Holiday School – EF for short) that combined language learning with travel abroad. He called the program Språkresor, or Language Travel, which provided one of the world's first hands-on learning experiences outside the classroom.

Today, experiential learning is a cornerstone of modern education. For EF, it has been the philosophy behind every program for 50 years. This simple but effective way to learn has helped us become world’s largest educational organization.