when I come to America I try this school but it not good. I cannot believe they are teachers. dress…read morelike San Francisco homeless and some no clean! true, smell like bad food some teacher man or woman. the teaching books so bad for me. many students talk a lot and the control is gone. I have to leave very fast. Maybe this school good for party time.

DON'T CHOOSE EF! I strongly recommend against any kind of…read morelanguage-learning or gap year program with EF. I do so based on my own experience with the organization. I signed up and paid in advance for the Academic Year Language Program in Spanish with EF in Costa Rica for 16 September 2019 to 22 May 2020. My family paid an additional fee for an "Intensive" feature, which was to add language instructional hours to the basic program. I took their placement test well in advance of traveling, and informed EF staff of my level of learning to that point and my language objectives. The program I experienced and the international EF management were deficient in the following ways: - The in-country curriculum simply didn't provide the extra instructional hours and features promised for the "Intensive" program (for which I paid a premium). - The program wasn't primarily learning-oriented, nor organized for instruction as much as for providing a tropical vacation and social activities for the students. - The program couldn't provide the necessary instruction to sustain my learning advancement as guaranteed. (By November, I was in the top instructional bracket the campus offered - by myself! - and the program had no one to provide adequate instruction at that level, let alone beyond.) - The program was not a true language-immersion experience as advertised. English was the common language used by EF to communicate with students on administrative and organizational matters, by the students socially, and throughout the tourism-focused town which hosted the EF campus. - The EF Costa Rica staff didn't respond to my complaints with any improvements. (When I responded to a survey request with my frank assessment, my inputs were routed directly back to the unresponsive in-country administrator, who then scolded me for my remarks.) - The program activities were poorly organized and communicated, with some activities in my curriculum occurring at conflicting times and with times and locations of which I learned only accidentally. - EF only made any response to these issues when I contacted the US office to arrange early termination. - In response, they arranged an "internship" which I determined through trial to have no language-learning benefit and to be a complete waste of time. - After agreeing to early termination of my participation (end of January) with a partial refund of my payment according to their published terms, the organization became unresponsive. - After repeated follow-up exclusively on my family's part, EF finally stated they would make a refund at an amount less than their terms require, and not including the amount for the intensive program they had failed to provide. - They refused to consider an equitable refund or to give reasons for their lower amount, simply stating the offered amount was all we were entitled to, and that they would not provide more. - Subsequently, they continued to delay and to fail to provide their stipulated refund amount. - After many further attempted contacts, they stated they would provide their partial refund only after my family signed a statement agreeing to that amount as the full amount to which we were entitled. - They continued to delay even further after receiving the signed statement. - After we posted a Better Business Bureau complaint about EF, we finally received our arbitrarily deficient refund on October 26, 2020, nine months after I ended my program participation and 15 months after the final installment of our up-front payment for the program. EF was dishonest in its dealings with my family, not only in its representations prior to the program, but in its responses to my complaints during the program, and also in its failure to honor termination terms after the program.

I've had a great experience at TALK English Schools in San Francisco. I started as a beginner and…read morein a short time I noticed a great evolution in my English skill. The educational program is complete: grammar, speaking, pronunciation, listening and reading are always part of every lesson. Teachers help us a lot and the staff members are very friendly and engajed. Frequently, there are many internal and external activities, like English Hangout, International Potluck and special events like a Super Bowl Party, Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving. The activities and events are very useful to practice and learning English.

I would recommend this school for sure! The welcome is very warm and the atmosphere really nice! I…read morelearned a lot during the classes. We talked about very interesting topics, about the news, the exercices are varied! I really appreciate this time in Talk English School, it's like a family! Thank you for organizing activities and discoveries SF!

I pride myself on knowing the different pastas without asking the server when dining at an Italian…read morerestaurant. Agnolotti, cavatelli, bucatini -- the list goes on! my love for perfectly al dente pasta knows no bounds. Well, the problem became apparent when we booked our trip to Italy a couple of months ago. I freaked out because my Italian is non-existent and so... HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO ORDER A COCKTAIL AT THE BAR?!?! * well, you speak English of course! * I wanted to be able to confidently order in their language and sure, I can Rosetta Stone my way into learning Italian, but why not learn it from a REAL live Italian? Idesli offers Italian classes twice a week, but it didn't work with my schedule. Carla, the director, was flexible and accommodating. She worked with me to find a schedule that would fit and answered emails promptly. I got six private, 1.5 hour sessions at a fair price. My instructor, Valentina, is patient, kind and engaging. I learned so much with the personalized attention and she always encouraged me to email her if I had any questions. Learning another language is hard! It's like learning how to walk all over again. I'm planning to continue where we left off when I get back from my trip to Italy. I can say that in the short time I've had with Valentina, she taught me the most valuable lesson one can ever learn: the difference of intonation. Did you know that in Italian, penne = pasta, but pene = penis? o_0 You can't exactly order "pene" at a restaurant, right?

I just finished a 10 lesson Spanish package with IDESLI and had a great experience…read more A little background on me: I minored in Spanish and studied abroad in Chile during college but found myself a few years out and faltering in my language abilities. I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Bogota, Colombia for work and began taking lessons with IDESLI to get back up to speed. I can confidently say that after 9 lessons I felt so much more confident in my Spanish abilities. My instructor Monica gave me great feedback and mixed the classes up with conversation, practices, and lessons. She gave me some great resources I can use later on as well. After these lessons I have used my Spanish so much more, in my professional as well as personal life, than I would have prior. I highly recommend IDESLI to anyone looking to take private Spanish lessons in the Bay Area. The private attention I received rivaled any college class I took. This is truly a great value. If I ever find myself needing to freshen up my abilities or to advance my abilities I will be going back to IDESLI.

I have two kids at Russian Hill Academy - one is leaving for Kindergarten this fall 2026 (started…read moreat the tail-end of COVID) and the other just started last year in 2025. We had our son in the thick of COVID and were nervous about sending him to daycare. His interaction with people outside our home was limited, not to mention the fear of illness at the time. Jiali and her staff made sure we were totally comfortable with their practices, and they are super clean in general. It is a safe and clean space for kids to learn, explore, and remain healthy. When it came time to send our daughter to daycare, it was a no-brainer. We jumped at the available slot and she has been happy and thriving for the last 9 months. She is in her own class with kids in her age group and has made her own friends. The school does a good job of having the siblings find one another at select points in the day but she also has a strong independence which is important as we prepare for our son to leave RHA. If we could keep our son at RHA we 100% would but alas it is time for him to move on so we will hold onto the remaining time our daughter has there, dearly. The friends we've made will be with us for a lifetime, and we give so much credit to Jiali and her staff for all the heart (and sweat) they pour into creating a community for kids and parents alike.

I truly wish I could give more than 5 stars. Russian Hill Academy was one of the best choices we…read moremade for our daughter, and if you can get a spot, run don't walk!! Our daughter started there at 15 months (before the recent upgrade) and just graduated last year. I credit Jiali and the teachers for teaching our daughter how to walk, potty training her, and giving her both discipline and love in a learning environment. We saw huge differences in her manners, social skills and language skills while she was at RHA. We still can't believe how fluent she is in Mandarin given that we don't speak at home. Jiali and the teachers are wonderful and work hard to develop an educational, safe, friendly and clean environment. RHA's community is also amazing. All the families we met were fantastic and some will be our life long friends. We never expected to have such a wonderful community and develop friendships of our own but that is the type of welcoming and healthy environment Jiali and Randy developed over decades of doing this. When I first met Jiali I knew she had a special touch. As a first time mom I was nervous to leave my child anywhere, but the moment I saw Jiali's calm, reassuring, and encouraging energy, I knew it was the perfect place. RHA is also a great place for parents who have two demanding jobs. They have a full time program and provide snacks lunch and early dinner. They do their best to take the kids to the nearby park, have lots of activities, and practice language, writing and even math. My daughter's TK teacher is regularly impressed with how high she can count and clearly spell her name. Being at RHA really set her up for success already. Overall, we can't say enough amazing things about RHA and highly recommend it if you're looking for a safe and loving place to teach your kids about culture, social skills, manners, and prepare for a bright future ahead. Thank you Jiali!! We miss you!!

My family has a history here…read more My siblings and I attended the St. Mary's Chinese Day School when it was located at its original campus at 902 Stockton Street. Due to required seismic work on the building, the archdiocese sold that building and moved the school's campus for both schools here in conjunction with CCDC raising this building. The school recently celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023 where a variety of teachers and alumni shared memories and a great time together. The school is currently headed by Deacon Simon Tsui, the principal and his wife Katherina. After a difficult period battling the obstacles from March 2020 worldwide, the school found its footing in continuing with its curriculum on a remote basis. The school is back to an in-person classroom environment and the student body size continues to grow as the word gets out about the quality of learning here. Besides learning either or both Cantonese and Mandarin, their school, funded and supported by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, encourages a Catholic background in teaching language and social skills as well and traditional cultural and art skills such as calligraphy and abacus and mental math. The classroom sizes are smaller which gives the instructors and students a greater opportunity of providing one-to-one learning. Though the Fall semester has started, registration is open for the 2025 semester (1/4/25 to 6/7/25).

A wonderful educational institution with a long history of providing quality Chinese language…read moreeducation to generations of students in the San Francisco community. I attended St. Mary's Chinese Language School many years ago when the school was serving students five days a week. I received an excellent education and am grateful that what I learned allowed me to use my language skills to work with primarily monolingual Chinese-speaking individuals in my career.

We have been taking lessons there with Dario, For a year…read morenow. Molto buono! Fun to go out for lunch, drinks afterwards in North Beach

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in literature classes that read challenging works…read moreand are conducted entirely in Italian. The fact that they are on zoom makes this possible even though I am not in San Francisco. This semester I have read La Storia (selection of Classics Book Club) even though I cannot take that class due to schedule conflict, and at the same time am taking the class Leggiamo Insieme where we are reading Vita by Melania Mazzucco. Both are books I would not have found without IIS. They are both long and complex, and introduce many facets of Italian culture at the same time as being beautifully written. Thank You. Both teachers I have experienced at SFIIS, Mattia and Martina, are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I appreciate that they do not (I think!) dumb down literary content but expect us to be able to analyze literary works regardless of its language.

I highly recommend this institution!! I had a great…read moreexperience, every single teacher I had here was exceptional and on top of that they care about your future guiding you in order to accomplish your goals. Thank you ELI for your support and for always give the extra mile with your students!

THIS REVIEW IS ONLY LIMITED TO MY IELTS EXAM EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION AND IN NO WAY REFLECTS OR…read moreFAULTS THE ABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE STAFF. DON'T SCREW UP IF YOU DON'T LIKE ONE STAR REVIEWS. AND CERTAINLY DON'T KEEP CALLING TO GET THE REVIEW REMOVED ONCE YOU DO. GOT A CALL THIS MORNING FROM THE "IELTS Manager" who, in a fairly threatening tone told me to "take it down". Sorry, I don't respond to threats. I've written this review because I had this experience at THIS location. Please ensure that you properly vet third parties who lease your facilities in the future to avoid such negative reviews in the future. Also, please stop harassing me with emails and phone calls to take down the review. Your attempts are sadly not going to change what I experienced, and certainly aren't going to change my review. I have added a disclaimer at the top for what it's worth. ORIGINAL REVIEW I came here to give my IELTS exam and was told to report here, in a fairly threatening tone, on a Saturday morning at 7.30am for a test that doesn't start before 9am - a full 90 minutes in advance - so that my registration could be properly completed before the exam. It's 8am as I write this review and there's no sign of this place opening up. I'd give them a break due to COVID but they asked me to report here this early in the same email where they talked about their COVID protocol. It is extremely unsettling to be asked to come in for an examination this early in the morning - and we drove for a couple of hours to make it here - and find the place boarded up. I'll stop now, gotta save some of my English for the test also. So, how was my English? Do you think I'd pass the writing section?

My 8yr old has been in Mandarin Immersion since she was 2yrs old. She's been taking once a week…read moreZOOM lessons with Mei since February 2024 and it has been super helpful! My husband and I don't speak or read Mandarin and it's nice to have a little bit of help outside of school. My daughter loves Mei and scheduling has been super easy! She just started 3rd grade and told me that she feels her Mandarin has improved and that she's feeling super confident. I highly recommend. Mei and KaiXin Language School!

KiaXin Language School has been a really interesting and fun way to learn the basics of Chinese. I…read morehave participated in the first two levels of Mandarin taught by KiaXin's Jennifer Bai. Jennifer is extremely kind and patient. I strongly recommend her and think she is a very effective teacher.

I have visited several preschools and I know Sara the director stands out. She replies to your…read morequestions very quickly and gives all the information you need to know. I talked to a parent who takes her kid there and she told me her kid is very happy there and hitting lots of milestones. The place is very tidy and the menu is healthy and attractive to kids. I ended up taking my son to a preschool very close to my place- Nob Hill is too far from my home.

Best pre-school ever!…read more Our daughter was what we called a "Pandemic baby", meaning she had no social interactions with other people or children for that matter. Therefore she was always a bit scared and pretty much shy all the time. After trying other schools, L'Academy was the only place that was able to make her blossom and help her through this though time. We loved everything, from the concept, the school and especially the teachers! They are wonderful people that gave our little one a great place to go each day, interact with other children and learn a lot each day. They are really flexible in term of dietary restriction and have great options each day. I must for us was Mandarin emersion and they fully delivered! Thank you L'Academy and all its wonderful teachers!

This is a lovely break from the hustle of city life and tourist rushing. The Way of Tea is…read moreparticularly focused on noticing *this* moment right here - this one that will never happen again because even if we came back to this place later we would be different people. Urasenke hosts an abbreviated (not the four-hour long-form) tea ceremony at 6 PM on the first Wednesdays of each month. It's part educational program - because the hosts encourage everyone to ask questions as they go - and part tea ceremony. If you have no idea what to expect, here's some help: - You will be kneeling or sitting on mats the whole time, so wear clothes that are comfortable and stretchy (jeans can be binding in the knees). But do dress up a bit, as this is a somewhat formal event. - You will be asked to remove your shoes just inside the door. Wear clean socks. - You won't be served a meal. While the long-form ceremony includes a light meal, this presentation does not. You'll get a little sweet to contrast with the tea. And the thin tea is meant to be exactly three-and-a-half sips. - You really can ask as many questions as you like. Take some time soon to pause and notice the moment. Have some tea at Urasenke.

If you've ever read "The Book of Tea" by Kakuzo Okakura this is place for you to experience the…read morefull tea ritual involving all of your senses. This unmarked tea room presents the entire experience of formal tea ritual as practiced by the Urasenke Foundation, a Kyoto-based non-profit. From the Japanese prints, to the flower arrangement, to an inspiring poem to the subdued lighting and tatami mats, a theme for the season is expressed to prepare your mind...then you enter the tea room. Each tea utensil and movement in making the tea has been refined to create a meaningful ritual that celebrates the beauty of the moment and being in the present. We had a very bitter live tea that was whipped and served with sweets that created an effect that the bitterness became suprisingly pleasant and refreshing. The students and teachers were exceedingly friendly and calmly dispelled any awkwardness for those of us on dial-a-clue as to the subtlties of Japanese etiquette. Among our group was a Buddhist monk from Tibet who asked a number of interesting questions relating tea to zen. Check their calendar online for the weekly "Open Hearth" dates and make a reservation as this is no casual cup of tea. I believe the Urasenke people also host occasional tea services at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.