Education First

"EF Education" redirects here. For the yachts, see EF Education (yacht) and EF Language. For the cycling team, see EF Education First Pro Cycling.
EF Education First
Company typePrivate
IndustryEducation
Founded1965
FounderBertil Hult
Headquarters
Lucerne Edit this on Wikidata
,
Switzerland Edit this on Wikidata
Key people
Philip Hult, Chairman
Eddie Hult, CEO
Number of employees
52,000[1]
Websitewww.ef.com

EF Education First (abbreviated as EF) is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange. 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.[2]

History

Bertil Hult dropped out of college to launch EF in 1969. He had earlier dropped out of junior high and gone to work for a ship broker in London, where he learned English by immersion; he had been unable to learn it in school due to dyslexia. The company started selling a French language course to Swedish students seeking to study in France, but he thought English was a bigger market and started offering services throughout Europe. In 1972 a friend convinced him to open a school in Japan, just when English-language keyboards were introduced there, and the company experienced explosive growth. The company expanded to the US in 1983, first establishing headquarters in California and then in Boston in 1988.[3]

Hult never took outside investment and instead grew the company through revenue.[3] By 2014, EF had approximately 37,000 employees in 55 countries.[4] By that time, Hult had stopped running the company and had passed leadership to his sons.[3][5]

EF Learning Labs publishes the annual EF English Proficiency Index, a ranking of English language skills by country.[6][7]

EF has developed a standardized English test called the EF Standard English Test.[8]

EF Academy Oxford Campus

The company also offers an e-learning program for adults called "EF English Live," which was formerly known as "EF Englishtown."[9] EF English Live program has been certified for pedagogical quality by the Education Alliance Finland.[10] Through a division called EF Tours, the company offers educational tours, service learning tours,[11] and conferences.[12]

Controversy

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 China Association for Non-Government Education.[13]

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 sends him more images and a video of herself engaged in similar acts. EF said that 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.[14]

EF has been highly criticized for the maladministration of students taking its courses. On 17 February 2022 Claudio Mandia an Italian student participating in the program of the EF Academy in New York, took his own 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.[15] 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 Thornwood to the accusations of Claudio's family members.[16] However, according to the family and friends Claudio was told by 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?" have brought to light many testimonies from students who participated in the EF Academy study trips. Among the testimonies, there are cases as students being hosted by drunk parents, and even one host parent that shot a neighbor.[17][18][19]

Sports

In 2018, they became the owner and title sponsor of the Slipstream Sports cycling team, which then became known as EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us". EF Education First. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. ^ Shemkus, Sarah (November 16, 2017). "EF Education First named No. 1 on list of largest Mass. companies". The Boston Globe.
  3. ^ a b c Johnston, Katie (February 3, 2014). "Education First aims to bridge barriers with exchange". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ Johnston, Katie (April 9, 2014). "Mass. team will help Brazil learn English for 2016 Olympics". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "Bring in People Who Are Better Than You". The New York Times. December 9, 2013.
  6. ^ "English where she is spoke". The Economist. October 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "English Proficiency Falters Among the French". The New York Times. November 10, 2013.
  8. ^ "Take A New Test Aimed At The World's English-Language Learners". NPR. October 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "Englishtown, Inc.: Private Company Information - BusinessWeek", Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 2010-10-21
  10. ^ Education Alliance Finland (14 August 2019). "Catalog of certified products". Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Sandwich Students Offer Helping Hands In Dominican Republic". The Sandwich Enterprise. July 12, 2015.
  12. ^ Murphy, Colum (18 March 2014). "Cooperation on Flight Search Could Help Boost U.S., China Ties". WSJ.
  13. ^ "EF Suspended From Education Association Following Teachers' Drug Offenses". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019.
  14. ^ Chen, Qi'an (23 October 2020). "EF Under Fire After Former Teacher Admits to Sexual Blackmail". Sixth Tone.
  15. ^ "Claudio Mandia, studente suicida a New York: i genitori denunciano la scuola". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  16. ^ Niro, Carmine Di (2023-01-12). "Claudio Mandia, il processo per lo studente morto suicida nel college di New York rischia di spostarsi in Svizzera". Il Riformista (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  17. ^ reports, 6 News staff (2021-08-17). "Council Bluffs Police give details of foreign exchange coordinator sentencing". www.wowt.com. Retrieved 2023-06-05.{cite web}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Chi l'ha visto? 2022/23 - Claudio Mandia suicida in Usa: le testimonianze di altri studenti della "EF Academy" - 11/01/2023 - Video". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  19. ^ Drigo, Lorenzo (2023-01-11). "Suicidio Claudio Mandia/ Racconti contro EF Italia: "Il mio ospite sparò al vicino"". IlSussidiario.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  20. ^ Westemeyer, Susan (September 9, 2017). "EF Education First revealed as Cannondale-Drapac's new title sponsor for 2018". CyclingNews. Retrieved 2017-09-09.

External links