I departed for Cebu, Philippines on September 1st this year to improve my English, and I just completed my fourth week. I took the school's level-up exam and my overall language ability improved by 7%. My reading score jumped from 37 to 70 points (out of 100).

Given that many people wanted to know after my last post whether studying at a Philippine language school is truly effective, I believe it's better suited for students with weaker English proficiency, especially people like me with limited speaking ability. If you're already confident speaking, I'd recommend a native English-speaking country instead. This article aims to share my observations and experiences from the agency selection to actual classes and beyond.

1. What is the Philippine Sparta-style Language School?

I think many people might not understand what "Sparta" means or even think it's the name of a school. However, "Sparta" is actually a "system." Almost all language schools in the Philippines have this strict regime. A typical Sparta daily schedule looks like this:

7:00 Wake up (varies by person)

7:30 Breakfast

8:00-12:00 Four classes (1-on-1 or group)

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-17:00 Four classes (1-on-1 or group)

17:00-18:00 Dinner

17:00-22:00 Self-study + vocabulary test

(Photo / This is what I look like studying—a homebody)

If you choose semi-Sparta, self-study is only on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. On days without mandatory self-study, you still need to be back at school by 10 PM. On holidays, curfew extends to 2 AM. Violations result in fines, which can be offset by "school service."

This lifestyle is even more intense than a typical third-year high school student in Taiwan. Even I, who could survive on four to five hours of sleep in Taiwan, find myself too exhausted here to stay up late or do anything else. I couldn't even finish a Korean drama in a month!

2. About English-only Language Classes

(Photo / My speaking teacher—a very goal-oriented person who makes me reconsider my life every morning discussion)

I want to discuss my English proficiency here. Although I'm a graduate from a national university's master's program in Taiwan, the Taiwanese education system from elementary through university basically relies on you being a diligent student. If you don't independently realize English is important and make extra effort to practice, Taiwanese education tends to be limited to reading and writing.

I haven't had major issues with reading and writing—I had to translate English academic papers weekly during my master's program. However, my first exposure to English listening was during my first-year high school midterm. Before that, my kindergarten, elementary school, and junior high had zero listening training. That exam was shocking. Of course, English teaching has changed since then.

In summary, my English problems stem from not committing seriously to learning English. During my growth, teachers, classes, and schools may have redirected English listening time to supplement other subjects. Beyond environmental education factors, because I lived in Korea for six months, even though I've been back in Taiwan for over four years, I developed a habit of wanting to speak Korean when encountering foreigners before coming to the Philippines. Although my Korean proficiency is only conversational, not advanced, I couldn't control myself from wanting to speak it to foreigners.

Over the years, I couldn't face English native speakers or became anxious and avoidant seeing English. I couldn't have fluent conversations with foreigners, which affected my professional confidence. After deep consideration, I decided to quit my job and come to the Philippines.

Back to the main topic.

Regarding the language school's English program, I'm taking "ESL4" for one month plus "EBC Business English" for two months. I chose this combination because I essentially stopped seriously learning English after graduating high school. While my high school English was decent, that was ten years ago. So I chose ESL4 to refresh my English memory before moving into workplace-applicable business English.

As shown in the schedule above, each day includes three group classes, four 1-on-1 classes, and one elective course. If energetic enough, you can take eight classes daily. I started adding a public speaking elective in the third week—I'm very interested in presentation skills, so it didn't feel like an extra burden.

[Level Placement]

My school is English Fella, which I chose based on my agency's recommendation. I told my agency I wanted to study business English, and Fella offered the best value for money considering price and environment. On the first day of classes, you take a Level test. I was completely unprepared. My scores were:

Listening 67 / Reading 37 / Grammar 55 / Speaking 28

My speaking was terrible—I only said three sentences during self-introduction (haha). I'm not sure what happened with my reading either. Anyway, I was placed in Level 3 (out of 9 levels).

The school groups people of similar proficiency in group classes and assigns textbooks according to individual levels, creating a customized schedule.

[Class Experience]

(Photo / 1-on-1 class is really just you and the teacher—this is my grammar teacher)

Once classes start, teachers have you introduce yourself since it's your first meeting. They chat with you, and since my speaking level wasn't great, I struggled to complete full sentences. But I tried hard to use body language to express myself, and teachers patiently waited. Some teachers directly correct your verb tenses, which I really appreciated. The correction isn't harsh—they have you repeat after them. More attentive teachers persistently help you practice "pronunciation" since everyone learning English in Taiwan gets a "Taiwanese accent." My situation is slightly better, but because I learned Korean and took French as a minor in university, my pronunciation for some words was wrong. Teachers weren't stingy with time, repeating constantly and exaggerating mouth shapes for me to imitate.

But I really must advise: if you want to go to the Philippines but your English foundation is so weak that you don't understand basic structures like S+V present tense or can't even spell the alphabet, absolutely don't study English abroad thinking it will improve rapidly just from being in an English environment. I completely didn't know Korean when I went to Korea, but Korean has simple vowel and consonant variations, simpler sentence structures and tenses, and teachers are used to teaching zero-Korean-proficiency students and know how. English teachers here generally assume students already have some proficiency, so they can't teach very basic material. Some older classmates with no foundation really struggle.

[Course Changes] Feel your level is too low? You can change anytime.

Around the second week, I found one grammar group class too easy. Plus it was 1-on-8, with wide proficiency gaps. I was bored and scrolling my phone during class. Since I didn't want to waste money, I applied online to switch to an American teacher's native speaker class. Things improved significantly, though scheduling was slightly tricky.

(Photo / My American teacher speaks like a recording. He says "cheers" as "6" for "enjoy your life")

3. A Good Agency is Like Having Parents Abroad

Everyone studying at language schools in the Philippines must go through an agency because Philippine schools have contracts with Taiwanese agencies offering cheaper prices than direct enrollment. For example, my Japanese classmate wanting one more week of classes locally had to pay about 23,000 pesos (approximately 13,800 TWD), but my agency quote averaged just over 10,000 TWD per week. So it's definitely more economical through an agency.

But why is a good agency like having parents abroad? Let me explain across registration, pre-departure, and post-arrival stages:

[Registration]

I enrolled with Waegu Study Abroad. Since I was lazy about research, I messaged my agent whenever I had questions. He usually replied within an hour. My situation was special—I changed my departure date twice. I originally planned to leave in September, but due to work, changed to April next year. Around May, I decided to quit and leave earlier, so I changed back to September (I'm indecisive!)

Changing plans and enrollment require agency coordination with the school since it affects room and course arrangements. My indecisiveness naturally increased my agent's workload, but he quickly handled everything, including my Philippine visa. I only provided my passport and some documents—completed in three days.

[Before Departure]

Before departure, Waegu held orientation sessions in batches. I expected a typical large-scale briefing that would be rushed, but each person got a personalized folder and seat. Staff meticulously explained everything: airport pickup, living environment, dietary considerations, phone card top-ups, etc. Since agency staff visit schools or attend classes, they filmed the pickup process. When I arrived in Cebu, I didn't need to figure out the airport exit or find school staff. Walking out the airport doors, I immediately saw the school manager (reassuring!).

If departing the same batch to the same school, the agency helps classify students so classmates can meet beforehand in Taiwan. I left alone but happened to share a flight with a couple. We met at Taoyuan Airport and became close friends. After arriving, we often moved around as a group. I really felt lucky not to be alone—they always took care of me when we went out. This arrangement was truly thoughtful. Additionally, since students depart gradually (about 100 per week), they have 24-hour rotating group chat coverage. If any student has odd class schedules or issues, someone's always available.

[After Arrival]

As mentioned, when I had course change issues, I was initially somewhat unsatisfied. Since I paid a lot to come to the Philippines, I wanted beneficial courses. After my first change, I messaged my agent privately, asking him to coordinate with the school directly. My courses were then switched to more satisfying options. Even during level assessments, my agent was very concerned. It's so warm to have support abroad!

4. Overall Impressions

(Photo / Publicly sharing grades—the school auto-uploads them. Pretty good!)

First, let me mention the monthly level exam. The upgrade exam is genuinely difficult—if placement is kindergarten level, upgrade would match university level. Some students actually declined on these exams.

Upgrade Exam Results (09/25)

Listening 50 / Reading 70 / Grammar 55 / Speaking 37

Placement Exam (09/02)

Listening 67 / Reading 37 / Grammar 55 / Speaking 28

7% improvement in 23 days. Overall, the improvement looks modest, and there are teacher-standard variations in speaking exams. But personally, progressing from three-sentence self-introductions to two-minute speeches is a breakthrough. Although studying daily is exhausting (QQ), living abroad builds confidence.

Regarding actual English ability, I should emphasize that despite rigorous all-day studying, I personally need time to absorb properly. I constantly reflect on what needs improvement. Just listening to teachers without self-reflection won't guarantee progress. I actively review grammar, identify listening problems, and note content needing retention. I personally watch TED talks on YouTube while transcribing (shadowing) for listening practice, combined with grammar resources from A-Drop English or Chinese versions to confirm my teacher's meaning, absorbing multiply. Never just collapse in your room—over time, you'll fall behind classmates.

One thing I felt deeply: "Learning English through English is truly important." Only this way can you understand English usage context and meaning rather than memorizing words and grammar without knowing application. This is why most Taiwanese people's speaking and listening abilities are limited.

Past education made us fear mistakes too much. These textbooks have no single correct answers—there are three or four possibilities. Teachers don't say you're wrong; they say "that's a great thought, let's think from another angle" or "are there other possibilities you think of?" This open-ended thinking truly suits me.

Has my English actually improved? Of course, but I'm still restructuring my brain. I won't claim dramatic improvement, but at least when words fail, I can find alternative ways to explain my thoughts. English requires continuous practice to improve.

As this speaker says, English is just a communication tool; the point is solving problems.

Just focus on your audience not yourself then you will conquer the fear.

[TED Talks] Want to learn a language? Speak it like playing a video game