ETHOS Language School
An American school with native speakers located in Cebu City, Philippines
We have a collection of "Frequently Asked Questions" from past visitors and students. Look through the list below and click on the link of a question you want. The link will take you down in the list to that question. After the question, you will find a "back to top" link to bring you back to the top of the list.
If you do not see the question you wish to ask, CLICK HERE to go to the bottom of the page where you can enter and send your question through an email. We will do our best to respond within 24 hours!
We are very serious about the safety of our students. We try to make sure that our students have the best study experience possible. We monitor and advise students on their plans for outside trips and sightseeing in the city! All students who are minors will have a staff member with them or will be with other students in a group wherever they go.
We also have a school nurse, who watches over the health situation of all staff and students. She will also assist any student who might need medical attention. (We ask that all students inform us regarding any medical needs or allergies so that we can keep them safe.)
Cebu City has some of the finest health care facilities in the country. We have a company nurse who monitors the health of all staff and students. We have a nearby doctor who looks after minor illnesses and we are only about 10 minutes away from the closest major hospital. If you have international health insurance, you will not have any problems.
We have been open since April of 2012.
If you can come to the Philippines, you can come study with us. We can accept foreign students for classroom studies, and we can also have online studies with our foreign students.
You can come anytime you like! The only thing that will affect your ability to come is how full we are at the time you wish to come. At present, our maximum student capacity is 30 individuals. Contact us for more details about availability of housing and class bookings.
Please study our Payment Rules page. In order to make a reservation with us, you must pay a non-refundable registration fee. This fee will not be refunded, even if you have to cancel because of something like COVID-19.
We will refund any balance payment you might have made, but if there are bank charges and transfer fees to get your money back to you, these will be deducted from the amount.
Instead of asking for a refund, we recommend that you consider rescheduling and come study with us at a later date. Your registration fee will remain valid for up to 12 months so that you will not lose your money.
In addition, we highly recommend that you make your payments through credit card because this is the easiest way to receive a refund. It also has the fewest charges for refunding your money back.
According to Philippine Immigration laws, ALL members of a family that are coming for English study must secure all the immigration requirements for foreign nationals. This means that each family member, even young children, must have a visa, an SSP, and an ICARD. Please check the "About Immigration" tab on our English page for the most current details and requirements for immigration.
We promote the study of English and so we require all family members who stay in our housing to enroll in classes. Parents and children will enroll and study.
We do provide a babysitting service. It is an extra cost that parents pay as needed. The service is available only on weekday afternoons after classes and only up until the close of our office at 5:30 PM. Check out the BABYSITTING item in the menu above for more details.
There are a number of fast-food restaurants (McDonald’s and Jollibee) and several local ones nearby. These might be good options for breakfast and weekend meals. (Please note that only HOME STAY guests have breakfast, and only on school days.)
The best option for meals is to join our meal program.
Each dormitory apartment has a complete kitchen and all students are welcome to use them to cook their meals. A kitchen-use schedule will be overseen by our staff, on a first-come, first-served basis. (Priority will be given to the students staying in the dormitory.) Anyone who chooses to use the kitchen must clean and return all pots, pans, and utensils after each use. Please note that we do not have enough refrigerator space at the dormitory for all students to store food. (Again, priority will be given to the students living in the dormitory.) However, we have nearby supermarkets where daily meal ingredients can be purchased before cooking.
Home Stay students may NOT use the refrigerators of their host families to store food without first asking permission. The decision will be up to the host family and students must be willing to accept that decision without complaint.
(Also, please note that any damage to our kitchen facilities, utensils, or appliances will be paid for by the student.)
Because we have limited housing facilities, we designed our Family Program housing to be SHARED. This allows us to save money for the families. In return, if a family is staying in a facility that has enough room for another family, we will book another family there with them.
If we allowed you to book private rooms, the cost for your housing would be very expensive. Plus, we would not be able to accept other students who would have the unused beds in the room. We cannot do that.
If you are concerned about sharing a room with another family, there are also outside housing options available near the school and we have had students stay there in the past. One local hostel rents private rooms by the day and they also have a kitchen. Students simply pay a daily fee for using the kitchen. Contact us if you would like to stay in one of these and we will assist you at no extra charge.
Send us a message here and we’ll respond by email (usually within 24 hours).
