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 where ever 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. We have been teaching American English now for 12 years!
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.
Our English program has two study options. You can study face-to-face classes in our school facilities here in Cebu City, or you can study online.
We can accept students of all English levels. We assess students and then place them in LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH level groupings. Our teachers work with the students of each level to help them improve.
We have a FREE ONLINE ASSESSMENT TEST. Anyone is welcome to take it and we will send an evaluation. Either click the link or scan the QR code to go to the site.
We always recommend GROUP classes because our students make better improvement when they have classmates. However, it is possible to have MAN-TO-MAN classes, but only if there is space and teachers available. This usually only happens during the lean-season time of year. We will always offer a MAN-TO-MAN study option in our online program.
Group classes are available for BOTH classroom and online study options, and the maximum size of any group class will be six (6) students.
If you would like a MAN-TO-MAN study, contact us and we will see what we can do. (Just remember that MAN-TO-MAN classes cost more than GROUP classes.)
Even though you will enroll in GROUP classes, we offer free MAN-TO-MAN tutoring after school each weekday. During the morning class sessions, students can sign up for a FREE 15-minute MAN-TO-MAN session with an American teacher after school. During these FREE 15-minute sessions, students can study anything they want.
Yes you can. When you arrive, we will give an assessment and then place you into a study group that will help you improve your English no matter how low your starting level might be.
If you have a low level, we recommend that you study at least 4 months.
If you arrive before our requested Saturday arrival day, or if you are still here after our requested Sunday departure day, you certainly may attend classes on those days.
To do so, you will simply need to pay a daily study rate for the classes you attend.
Each housing options has a different cost. The cheapest is our DORMITORY apartment, the next cheapest is HOME STAY, and the most expensive is OUTSIDE STAY.
Staying in private rooms in ETHOS housing is similar to having man-to-man classes. During PEAK SEASON, we are fully booked with shared rooms, however, during the LEAN SEASON, private rooms might be possible. If you want a private room in the dormitory or in home stay, ask us and we will be happy to check the availability.
If you must have a private room, we can book one for you in one of our OUTSIDE STAY facilities. We have good relationships with several local hostels and pension houses that are only a few minutes away from our school.
We are a family business, and deeply respect the marriage relationship between a man and a woman. While we respect your rights to freedom of choice and privacy, we also ask that you respect our core family values at ETHOS.
Therefore, while we respect your right to be together as a couple, we do not accept unmarried or same-sex couples staying in the same room in ETHOS HOME STAY or DORMITORY housing. If you wish to stay in our ETHOS housing, then you must accept our policy, and stay in different rooms.
Males and females can share a room if they are married, or are close relatives, such as brother and sister, parents and children, or cousins. However, if you are not married or are a same-sex couple, and wish to stay together, we can help you book housing at one of the nearby hostels or pension houses.
Please note that our dormitories allow for males and females to stay in the same apartment. However, there are separate rooms for males and females. We also have an ETHOS staff manager who lives in and manages the dormitory.
Yes, we do have a curfew. We are responsible to the Philippine government for the actions and the safety of our students. Since students of ETHOS need to be ready for classes each day, we impose a curfew of MIDNIGHT (00:00 AM) on school nights (which are Sunday through Thursday).
No ETHOS student should be out after the midnight curfew on school nights without permission. For students who violate the curfew, we reserve the right to expel them from the program and send them home. In addition, they will lose the remaining tuition fee they paid. As long as students remember that they are at ETHOS to study, and NOT to cause trouble, they will be fine.
HOME STAY houses, are the personal homes of our American teachers. As a guest, you are entitled to use the bedroom in which you are assigned, the bathroom, as well as have access to all common areas of the house. Most host families do not allow students to use their kitchens, but some are more flexible than others. Therefore, do not assume anything, but ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FIRST before using anything in the house!
Each of our DORMITORIES has a complete kitchen and our HOME STAY students are welcome to cook in a dormitory kitchen. However, they must coordinate with the ETHOS dormitory manager, andmust clean and return all dishes and utencils, and, clean the kitchen area after each use!
We ask all our students to arrange your flight schedules so that they arrive at ETHOS on the Sunday before classes start, and leave ETHOS on the Saturday, after the final classes are done. However, we understand that scheduling flights can be difficult and sometimes, a student might need to arrive a day or two early or stay an extra day or two after your study is finished. We understand this and want to help.
Therefore, if you need to come early or stay longer, then please check with us to make sure that we have space for you in our housing. If we have the available space, we can accept you and you will simply pay a daily rate for any extra days that you stay in our housing. Please understand that if we do NOT have space, then you will have to make your own housing arrangements for those extra days in outside housing.
In conclusion, IF YOU NEED EXTRA DAYS OF HOUSING, PLEASE CHECK WITH US FIRST BEFORE YOU BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS!
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. Plerase check the "About Immigration" tab on our English page for the most current details and requirements for immigratrion.
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.
There are a number of fastfood restaurants (McDonalds 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. We have a local caterer who prepares fresh home-cooked Filipino dishes that are safe and delicious. Her meal program is available on school days and she offers a "lunch-only" and a "lunch and dinner" option. She provides a balance of meat and vegtables together with fresh cooked rice with every meal.
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 serve 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 utencils 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 stduents living in the dormitory.) However, we have nearby supermarkets where daily meal ingredients can be purchased before cooking.
Home Stay students my 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, utencils, 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.
All foreign nationals must have a visa to enter the Philippines. Most countries are given FREE 30-day visas upon arrival at the airport. Please check with the Philippine Embassy in your home country for details.
You can click here to go to the Philippine Government Visa website and check your country.
All foreign travelers coming to the Philippines must register with the government's
In addition to having a visa, all foreign nationals who want to study English here must get a Special Study Permit (SSP) from the Bureau of Immigration. The school will process this after the student arrives in the Philippines. The SSP costs about US$ 120.00 and is valid for a period of up to six (6) months.
In addition, the SSP is school-specific. Therefore, if you get an SSP from one school, and you want to transfer to a different school, you will have to get a new SSP through the new school.
Finally, since the SSP is only valid for six (6)months, if you plan to study longer than that, we will be required to get another SSP for you, which will allow you to have an additional six (6) months of study.
In addition to having a visa, and an SSP, all foreign nationals who want to study English here must get an ACR-ICARD. The ICARD is a special Alien Certificare of Registration from the Bureau of Immigration. Like the SSP, the school will process this after the student arrives in the Philippines. The ICARD costs about US$50.00 and is valid for the duration of the stay of the stduent.
Current policies require English students to pay the ICARD fee twice. The first is when they apply for the SSP. The second is to be paid with the second visa extension.
Yes, of course you can. You can extend your visa at our local immigration office, and each month of extension costs about US$75.00.
In addition, we will do all your immigration work for you. Other schools often charge a service fee for this, but at ETHOS you will only pay whatever the Immigration receipt indicates, plus the transportation for our school immigration officer.
Also, if you want to stay for 6 months or more, you are required to get an Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC) before you leave the country, and this costs about US$17.00.
VERY IMPORTANT: Please plan your trip carefully because even if your visa expires 1 day before you leave the country, you will still have to pay for another month extension just for that one day!
Currently, there is no airport tax to pay, either for domestic or international flights out of Cebu. However, before the pandemic, here in the Cebu there was an airport tax of 850.00 Pesos, which is about US$17.00. All departing international air travelers leaving out of Cebu had to pay this. (We will update this if there are any changes to the airport policy.)
According to Immigration, even if you are here for a day or two, you must get the SSP and an ICARD. All family members, regardless of age must have an ICARD.
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© 2012-2024 - Ethics To Help Others Succeed (E-T-H-O-S) Corp., Corner Eucalyptus Street and Cebu South Road, Basak San Nicolas, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines.
