Yui sensei is a wonderful teacher and she makes learning Japanese fun. Her explanations are…read moreterrific and help you to understand some of the more difficult and idiomatic concepts in the Japanese language. You really learn how to speak Japanese as a native speaker. And sensei takes the time to give equal attention to everyone in class. I especially like the fact that the classes are recorded and the students have access to the lessons and can replay the recording to catch any material that they may have missed. I have attended both the in person lessons and the on-line zoom classes and both of those classes were helpful.

Highly Recommend Yui sensei to anyone looking to learn Japanese. Her classes are always fun and…read moreengaging, making learning a new language an enjoyable experience. Currently on Level 4 and looking forward to continuing on to the next levels.

The Hawaii school that is one of EF's language schools is not reliable. EF is a money-making…read moreoperation more than anything else.  I do not recommend this school. They Do NOT have a proven track record in the international student industry? They are NOT transparent about what they expect from you as a student Nor as a host family. The international student industry has grown exponentially in recent years, and there are more agencies than ever clamoring to find good host families. EF is not one of them because EF unfortunately is about taking shortcuts and operating inefficiently. At best, this can cause headaches and confusion for the students and host family when they are looking for answers or support, and at worst, it can mean an unsafe environment for either the student or the host family! EF gives conflicting information to host families and students just to get you interested. For instance, EF tells students that all meals will be provided for them by host family and they tell host families that EF will provide meals for students on Monday through Friday and expect host family to provide meals only on Saturday and Sundays. EF tell host family they provide bus passes for host student and tell host students that host family will provide the transportation for them. EF is far from transparent about what they expect from you as a host family and as a student which can mean an unsafe environment for both the student and the host family! If you are interested in becoming a student Do NOT waste your time and money with EF Hawaii. Do your due diligence and find a company that is reputable, honest, stable, & transparent. If you are interested in becoming a host family, there are other agencies looking for good host families that are honest, reliable, stable, well organized and transparent about the expectations you are agreeing to in order to receive the stipend, and that will actually pay you as promised! EF will promise to pay you $710.00 which is suppose to include a one time sign-up bonus of $150.00 for your first student but will instead pay you a total of $110.00 and tell you that you were misinformed. The best companies will also guarantee support and advice for when (not if) challenges arise with your student. Sincerely, Dr. Dee

EF really does help our tourism industry here in HI. They offer and promote having many students…read more(college age and up) come live and stay in Hawaii and do all of the tourist activities here in HI - especially Waikiki. The staff at EF joke that Starbucks could stay in business with just the income from the EF students- as there are many who go there daily or more often than that. Location- it is high enough over Waikiki to get a great sun set view over the ocean. The lounge is great to hang and not much studying goes on but it is a great meeting place. The classrooms are full on normal desk chair type classrooms that make you look and feel like you are in real school - even if it is English language class. Staff- helpful and know their stuff- willing to help students. EF also has a larger company network of schools basically all over.

I have such gratitude and appreciation for the MCC. As a child, I attended Japanese classes…read moreafterschool at the MCC. A bus would pick me up from school and my grandpa would wait for me out front and we'd walk home together. As I got older and my grandparents did too, my grandma began coming here for a sense of community. She was able to connect with other elders and have activities to participate in. The Mo'ili'ili Community Center has always been a staple in the community and my only hope is that it can get some much needed updates to be able to continue supporting this special community for the keiki and kupuna that live in it.

Nice community center for seniors with free parking in structure next door. Went to check out their…read moreTaichi class. Also checked out the Calligraphy, Okinawan dance and advanced line dancing classes. Need to be an annual member to take classes. Courteous and friendly staff and teachers.

If I could give this a lower rating I would. Leaders definitely do not know how to do anything but…read moreplay on their phones and let kids jump all over them. Simultaneously there are kids on the other end of the grass field playing and often times lying on top of each other. SAFETY is NOT a priority! Never heard of a school where everyone is expected to pack out what they bring in. This includes any sort of food item. YES, they are serious about this as there are no trash cans located anywhere except the bathrooms. Parking conditions at the conclusion of classes is a crash waiting to happen. No clue why they do not use the front of the campus when there is a LARGE CLEARLY MARKED area for loading during hours of operation. If this place does not ever get used for that purpose it should be turned into every day parking and not a NO PARKING location 24/7.

This place has been around for over 100 years. I'm not kidding. If you know anyone who grew up in…read moreManoa, chances are they went to this school. The school is one of the greatest bargains on island. I think it was $90 pay period... I started my daughter in the school when she was in first grade. If you don't know, it's an after-school program where your child goes and learns Japanese for an hour each day. My kiddo's mom is training to be a Japanese linguist for the Army, and knowing that they'd be moving to Japan, I wanted to make sure my daughter knew some basics. The teachers are very caring and very experienced. She speaks a ton of Japanese now and I've got the school to thank.

I wanted to do this program…read more I interviewed with Judie Hudson. She was inappropriate throughout the course of the Skype interview Judie: What are you wearing? Me: Is the camera working ok? Can you see me alright? Judie You're wearing a T-Shirt, aren't you? Me: Ah, good; glad the camera's working. Judie: We have a dress code... Judie: How do you get money? Judie: What kind of medication are you on? Judie: Are you taking any medication? Me: [silence] Judie: Are you taking any medication or anything else? ... It's not her business what personal medical conditions I might or might not have! What does this have to do with the interview! Judie's corrections for the entry quiz | "She managed to do it". Judie: "Manage" implies struggle. Me: I don't infer that from the context of this sentence. Where are you getting that meaning? Judie: [Provided a new, completely different sentence: "She managed to unlock the door".] Me: In that example, OK, but in the original, I don't see how struggle is implied. Can we look it up on... Judie, interrupting loudly: Anyone can put up anything on the internet. Look, you need to know who to listen to. I've been doing this a long time and I learned from books. -- I never say such things to a student! I don't "teach" like this. I always encourage students to look things up online. If they have questions in class, great! If there's no time, we can talk after class. If there's something they know that I don't, great -- let's learn! While Judie was interrupting, I was looking up on etymonline and learned that "Manage" comes from latin and has to do with horsemanship, from the mane. I told Judie, who was not amused. Judie concluded the interview with a long monologue that can be summarized as: I have to state this now: If you're going to disrupt class with questions, you will be asked to leave. If this becomes a problem, you won't complete the program. The preemptive threat to remove me, should I challenge her authority, was unacceptable. I asked to talk to Joel Weaver about this and he refused. Joel suggested I take the CELTA program in Thailand. Why wouldn't he recommend the other CELTA program in Hawaii, at ICC? I don't know. Maybe they badmouthed me behind my back and let Judie know how bad I was so that they would then sabotage the interview thereby guaranteeing that I would not apply. I believe Judie's threats to remove/expel me or anyone for asking questions. I believe she is sincere and would not care or even hesitate to remove anyone she dislikes (me). I'm very disappointed by the way that I was prevented from taking this course. If I am not qualified, then I understand. But if I am not liked, I should not be talked down in the interview. Judie may try to respond to this comment to say that I am not qualified but it is not true. I meet the CELTA qualifications.

The Hawaii English Language Program (HELP) is a wonderful program for foreign people who are…read moreinterested in learning English! The Director of the school is Joel and he's awesome! The teachers love their job and their students! This school is small, but you feel like an ohana here!

I want to do the CELTA language program but I was discriminated against and banned!…read more I am smart and a good teacher! First, Betty Compton said I could not start the CELTA program because I had not completed a four year degree. But this is not correct, the requirements state:-- | Do you have a standard of education equivalent to that | required for entry into higher education? https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/about-the-celta-course/ Betty was wrong; I don't need to have completed a four year degree; I need to be eligible to enter into a four year degree. Maybe I can still try with her. I emailed back to Ms. Compton but Ms. Compton did not reply. Several months later, I called in to try to talk to someone. The lady answering the phone (Yuko? Yuki?) said someone would call back. Her English was very bad and so I was very slow with her and she thanked me for being patient. I waited and nobody called. Then, I called back maybe one week later and tried again. Yuko answered. She said she had given my message to "people working there". I asked whom and she wouldn't say, only "people working here". I figured something was wrong if she doesn't even know who she gave my message to. I asked to be transferred to leave voice mail. Yuko refused. So I left a message with Yuko again. I called back a few days later again and left another message. Each time, I'm speaking slowly and patiently with Yuko. But nobody called back. Today, I called because nobody had called me back. The call was hung up immediately with no "hello" from anyone. So I tried again and same thing. Then, one more time, and Yuko, with bad English, answered and told me that she has my number and not to call again; that she was calling the police. I asked whom I was speaking to and she replied "uh uh". It was totally uncanny -- we went from "someone will call you back" and "I gave the message to people working here" to "we're calling the police! This is harassment" and refusing to self-identify. No doubt she'd been instructed to do so, perhaps by Betty Compton, the one who made the wrong decision and misstated the CELTA requirements. Maybe Betty hates me or I don't know what. I sense they have been saying bad things about me to each other. Most likely, they've badmouthed me to the University of Manoa folks Joel Weaver and possibly Judie Hudson, too, as Judie was inappropriate and even threatened me during the interview and Joel refused to discuss with me when I said that Judie had been inappropriate. I did nothing wrong! I want to teach English. I like to teach. Everybody knows I am very good at teaching and communicating. I can hardly believe how mean these people are. Why do they hate me so much when I just want to teach? If I did something wrong, OK, but I didn't -- it's discrimination. I thought people in Hawaii are so happy but these people are mean for no reason. I want to get certified to teach English! I am hurt and disappointed that I was rejected with anger and flagrant disrespect.

A perfect place to learn English in Hawaii. It is near of many touristic attractions. The teachers…read moreare so friendly.

Excellent English school! Great location (across from Ala Moana shopping center), wonderful…read moreteachers and very friendly staff .

Global focuses on English. Location is great as it is near…read morethe Ala Moana Mall. Classrooms are full of tech, and normal desk type tables and chairs. Great for college age students learning English. There is a great open window for the view over the ocean side of Ala Moana. Great couch and place to chill. High enough up on building to look over the new goings on at Ala Moana mall. Staff are helpful and want the students to enjoy living in Hawaii. Bathrooms are oddly placed in the building on the floor- just odd. Many of the students are Asian or European and many just come to the school to go to language school.