How We Started

Bertil Hult started EF in Sweden in 1965. Because Bertil suffered from dyslexia (difficulty with reading and writing), he understood that traditional classroom-based teaching was not always the most effective way to learn. He came up with the idea to take a group of Swedish high school students to England to learn English. It was a simple business idea - traveling abroad to learn a language - but one with an enormous future.

Embracing Innovation

EF has always been dedicated to finding the most effective way for people to learn - thirty years ago, we started the world’s first advisory board specializing in language teaching. In the 1990s, EF launched a major technology initiative collaborating with Apple to design an online school of the future, which has evolved today to become the world's largest online English school with over 15 million students.

More recently, we have established a partnership with Cambridge University, and we now run research centers in Shanghai, Zurich and Cambridge. Today we employ over 300 linguists, scientists and designers to ensure that we remain at the forefront of our field.

From Sweden To the World

EF quickly realized that many people were interested in traveling and studying abroad. In the 1970s, EF expanded rapidly opening offices in most of Europe, as well as in Japan and Mexico. In the 1980s, EF opened in the United States, starting our high school exchange and educational tours programs. In the last decade, we have continued our expansion by, among other things, opening English schools across China, the world’s largest market for education. Today we operate in more than 54 countries around the world.

The Future

Over the years, the scope of what we offer has widened, and today we offer a broad range of educational and travel-related programs. But our mission - "to break down barriers of language, culture and geography" - is as valid today as it was in 1965. Going forward, in everything we do - from running a top-ranked MBA program in San Francisco to teaching English to young children in Vladivostok to bringing American teachers and their students to see Europe’s wonders - we will continue to put Education First.