EF Education First

EF Education First (abbreviated as EF) is an international education company that specialises in language training, educational travels, academic degree programmes, and cultural exchanges. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult in the Swedish university town of Lund. The company is privately held by the Hult family.

As of 2017, EF had approximately 52,000 employees in 116 countries.

1965 – 1979
Bertil Hult dropped out of college to launch EF’s initial product: English immersion trips to the UK for Swedish students. He had struggled to learn English in school, but while interning for a shipbroker in London, he found he picked English up more easily. He came to believe that “learning by doing” could be as effective as traditional classroom methods.

In the 1970s, EF opened language schools and expanded sales across Western Europe and Asia. In 1972, EF opened its first school in Japan, just as English language keyboards were introduced there. In 1979, the company introduced its first cultural exchange programme: EF High School Exchange Year.

1980 – 1995
In the 1980s, EF began organising educational travel and immersion programmes for North Americans with no language learning component, including EF Explore America, EF Educational Tours, and EF Go Ahead Tours. The company also launched an au pair programme in 1988, EF Au Pair, today Cultural Care Au Pair, which is regulated by the U.S. Department of State.

In 1988, EF served for the first time as the official language training services provider for the Seoul Olympic Games, giving free language training services to judges, athletes, volunteers, and host country residents. The company went on to serve in the same capacity for Beijing 2008, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022.

In 1993, EF opened its first office in China. The company’s network of English language schools in China grew quickly. It differentiated itself from competitors by marketing its international footprint and hiring native English-speaking teachers from abroad. It selected its expansion locations by looking for cities with a university, a McDonald's, and more than 1 million residents. Also in 1993, EF hired graphic designer Paul Rand to redesign its logo.

1996 – 2005
In 1996, the company launched EF Englishtown, now EF English Live, which was among the first online English schools. In 1997, EF sponsored two teams in the Whitbread Round the World Race – a men’s team (EF Language) that won the competition, and the race’s first fully female-helmed team (EF Education).

In 2002, the Hult family purchased the Arthur D. Little School of Management, which was subsequently renamed Hult International Business School. Hult is one of the few triple-accredited business schools in the United States.

2006 – 2015
EF and Hult International Business School started the Hult Prize in 2010, which challenges young people to solve the planet’s pressing issues through social entrepreneurship. The Hult family donates $1M USD in annual seed capital to the winning team.

In 2011, EF introduced the EF English Proficiency Index, an annual ranking of countries by their English skills. In 2014, EF launched the EF Standard English Test – a free, certifying English test designed for non-native English speakers. In the same year, EF partnered with Community Boating, Inc., the oldest public sailing centre in the United States, to help people with physical and cognitive disabilities learn how to sail.

EF celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015 with a series of events in Boston including “A Day with World Leaders” with speakers including Bill Clinton, Gordon Brown, Steve Wozniak, and Priyanka Chopra. The same year, EF reconstructed the Jalapa Devi HSS School in Sindhupalchowk following an earthquake in Nepal.

2016 – Present
In 2016, EF became the educational sponsor of the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. The two organisations collaborated to publish a textbook, Nobel Journeys, which presents the lives and accomplishments of Nobel Laureates.

In 2017, EF purchased the EF Education–EasyPost professional men’s cycling team. In 2023, EF launched a women’s professional cycling team, EF Education – Cannondale.

In 2020, following the 2015 merger of Hult International Business School with Ashridge Business School, EF began offering executive training for international organisations, including via Amazon’s Career Choice programme. The same year, EF began working with the Mastercard Foundation and the Rwandan Development Board to help Rwandan youth improve their English to access professional opportunities and support the country’s hospitality industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to EF’s travel-oriented businesses; however, it also led to growth in the company’s online programmes.

In 2022, the company opened a new campus in Pasadena, California to support enrollment growth in its private boarding school product, EF Academy. The following year, EF served as the Official Language Training Services Supplier for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Controversy
EF has been highly criticised for the maladministration of students taking its courses.

In 2019, seven of its English teachers in Xuzhou allegedly tested positive for drugs. The case ignited discussions about EF's hiring practices, leading to its suspension from the China Association for Non-Government Education.

In 2020, a former teacher of EF was charged for exploiting a previous pupil in China. The defendant, an American national, threatened to post video footage of the student's sexually explicit conduct online unless she sent him more images and a video of herself engaged in similar acts. EF said the alleged crime happened after the man returned to the US when his contract in China had already been terminated for violating the company's code of conduct. The company's spokesperson declined to explain the specifics of the violation. He has pled guilty in a Missouri court to sexual exploitation of a minor and to receiving and distributing child pornography.

On 17 February 2022 Claudio Mandia, an Italian student participating in the IB Diploma programme of the EF Academy in New York, took his life after four days of punitive isolation in a White room, in which he had been placed waiting for his expulsion after being caught copying a math homework. The school has always denied the circumstance that the young man was in a state of confinement, the room "was not locked" and "could have social interaction", was the reply of the Academy of New York Thornwood to the accusations of Claudio's family members. However, according to the family and friends, Claudio was told by the school staff that he "did not have permission to leave the room and that the corridor had CCTV".

Following the story of Claudio Mandia, the Italian television show "Chi l'ha visto?" has brought to light many testimonies from students who participated in the EF Academy study trips. Among the testimonies, there are cases of students being hosted by drunk parents and even one host parent who shot a neighbour.