EF Education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
EF Education is an organisation of language schools that was founded 1965 in Sweden by the young entrepreneur Bertil Hult. The basic concept was simple; All inclusive group travel for high school students to England where a mix of language courses and other activities was on offer. It showed to be a simple idea - language studies in the country where the language is spoken - with global potential.
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[edit] Today
EF consists of 14 separate subsidiaries focused around language travel, educational travel, cultural exchange, au pair and academic studies. Today (2006) the company has more than 26000 employees in offices across 51 countries. Bertil Hult has retireed to be chairman of the board and Louise Julian, who in 2004 was elected Sweden's most powerful business woman is now CEO.
[edit] History
- 1965 Bertil Hult took a small group of Swedish students to the United Kingdom to study English during the summer.
- 1970-1979 EF is growing rapidly and opens offices in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Mexico.
- 1978 The Swedish Princess Margareta opens EF's International Language School in Cambridge. The British Department of Education acknowledges EF.
- 1983 EF's first American language school is opened.
- 1985 EF welcomes its 1,000,000th student.
- 1988 EF is the official language school for the Olympics in Seoul.
- 1993 EF English First becomes the first foreign-owned language school in Shanghai.
- 1997 Englishtown.com is founded to teach English over the internet.
- 1997 EF participates in the Whitbread Round the World Race with two boats. EF Education and EF Language of which the latter is the first ever all female crewed boat to take part in the competition.
- 2003 The name of the Arthur D Little School of Management is changed to Hult International Business School, after Bertil Hult became its main sponsor.
- 2005 EF celebrates its 40th birthday and reveals its EFekta system.
- 2006 EF and Smithsonian Institution announce educational travel partnerhship called, EF Smithsonian.
[edit] Languages
EF currently teaches 7 languages:
- German in München and Berlin
- English in the United States, Canada, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom
- Italian in Rome
- French in Nice and Paris
- Spanish in Barcelona, Málaga and Quito
- Russian in St Petersburg
- Mandarin in Shanghai
[edit] Organisation
- EF Language Travel offers language travel to people ageing between 9-15. This is the original product and it is now offered in both summer and winter and in combination with several activities such as golf, dancing or horse riding.
- EF International Language Schools offers language studies abroup to anyone aged 16 and up. The courses range between 2-52 weeks and are offered to all skill level and ages.
- EF Academic Year Abroad offers exchange studies to high school and college studies where one can combine academic and/or language studies.
- EF Corporate Language Training offers taylored language training to adults and corporations.
- EF English First offers language studies in the home country and consist of a network of over 500 schools across the globe, from Shanghai to Mexico City.
- Englishtown.com offers online language training for all skill levels on the Internet.
- Cultural Care Au Pair is a non profit organisation that helps young people to experience the USA for a year, working as an Au pair.
- EF Educational Tours and EF Smithsonian give teachers the opportunity to integrate educational travel into their schedule.
