EF Education First

History

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, at the same time that 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 US$1 million 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.

In the summer of 2024, EF Education First was declared an "undesirable organization" in Russia.

In 2024, EF Education First was adopted by the São Paulo Department of Education (SEDUC-SP) as a platform of the São Paulo Media Center, being called "SPeak".

Corporate affairs

Governance

Following their father's retirement, two of Bertil Hult's sons took over management of EF – Philip Hult as global chairman and Edward Hult as chief executive officer.

Locations

EF has offices and schools in more than 100 countries. The company's hubs are in Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England; and Zurich, Switzerland. In 2014, EF opened a new North American headquarters facility on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The building is centered around a 10-story spiral staircase abutting a "glass waterfall." In 2019, EF opened a new global headquarters facility in Zurich, Switzerland in the former Swiss Stock Exchange building, Neue Börse, after extensive renovation. EF employs a global director of architecture and design and a team of in-house designers to plan all offices and schools.

EF is also the owner of historic facilities at which it delivers its programs, including the Custom House and Ashridge in England and the former Marymount College, Tarrytown campus in New York. In 1989, EF bought a piece of the Berlin Wall and placed it on the Hult International Business School Boston campus to represent the company's mission of "opening the world through education." It is one of several segments on display in Massachusetts.

Controversy

EF has been criticised in several instances by 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 following his expulsion after being caught cheating repetitively. 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.

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

In 2015, a former employee filed a class action lawsuit against EF Education First in Massachusetts Superior Court alleging that the company did not pay workers the overtime pay required by law. The parties reached a class-wide settlement in which EF agreed to pay approximately $900,000 in total, including the plaintiff's legal costs and payments to affected employees, covering individuals who had worked as tour consultants for EF Educational Tours from March 2012 through November 2018.

References

References

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