College of English Language of Los Angeles - Santa Monica, California

Lionel Giron

RUN AWAY !!!!! My daughter made a dreadful experience in CEL Santa Monica! The courses are just OK (not really dynamic, teachers keep changing and complain about their working conditions... They tend to slow students progresses and keep them in lower classes).
But the real concern is about what CEL offers besides the classes. and unlike what the website sells... THERE IS NOTHING !!! no excursion, no student life and accomodation is not in a student residence but an appartment in a random residence. This is all (poorly!!! no need to say) managed from San Diego resulting in cleaning team not bothering about doing their job and threatening the students if they complain (she arrived after more than 15 hours of travel and found a bed with her predecessor dirty bed sheets! what was the response: wash and dry you beds yourself, we'll compensate you with 100 USD!).
All the info on the website is terribly misleading (re. excursions, accomodation, etc.). They changed the flat of my daughter mid-way through her stay (their contracts mention they can) for a flat which is smaller, and in a room where the ceiling window would not even open and where the cleaning was even worse than in the other flat (the same story with the bed sheets again!!!)!
CEL is obviously not a reliable provider and my daughter moved to another school in LA where everything she got was simply matching what they promised! My advice: just make sure to not send your kid in there! What CEL provides is very very far from the promise on their fancy website! Just remember one thing: RUN AWAY FROM CEL !!!!
Photos below to illustrate what she found in the flat...

RESPONSE TO THE RESPONSE BY CEL BELOW:
"all flats have the same size" > TOTALLY FALSE: my daughter could see and feel the difference being in a room with no window !
"regular activities are proposed" > TOTALLY FALSE again as they even sold their bus after COVID !

Goeun Lee

I met many international students at CEL and hung out with my new foreign friends almost every day. I will never forget these memories. Also, the apartments at CEL are a great place to meet new people. Finally, the teachers are friendly and enthusiastic! I was able to make many good connections at CEL!

Heloisa Martins Ferreira

Foi um ótimo investimento eu ter realizado o curso de inglês principalmente desenvolvendo mais o meu listening para poder entender podcast, jornais na TV e rádio. Eu me sinto mais confiante em minhas viagens também. A unidade de Vancouver no Canadá me deu apoio inclusive para eu poder viajar pelas redondezas. Vancouver é lindo e vale explorá-la mais: tem ótimos passeios considerando litoral ou interior. É para todos os gostos. Acho até que para uma pessoa com mais de 60 anos, como eu, é a melhor opção.
"It was a great investment for me to take the English course, especially in developing my listening skills to understand podcasts, news on TV, and radio. I feel more confident in my travels as well. The Vancouver branch in Canada even supported me in traveling around the area. Vancouver is beautiful and worth exploring more: it has great outings, whether by the coast or inland. There’s something for everyone. I even think that for someone over 60, like me, it’s the best option."

Jieun Kim

I had a wonderful time here in CEL Santa Monica. I could not only learn how to express myself in English, but also I could have the best summer vacation. The class is small, so I had many chances to speak in English with classmates and teachers. Also, It was a great environment to be friends with classmates. I could travel all around LA with my friends, participating in CEL's activities, and it was the best part of the experience. Teachers are so passionate, and they are always eager to correct my mistakes while being supportive. This place is so close to the beautiful ocean and the main street. My friends and I went out every day to leverage the location of the school, and I fell in love with Santa Monica every time.

Robin Reckers

Had such an awesome 3 months!! Great teachers and lots of fun in California ☀️

Sara Andina

I had a really good time in this school every single day. Everybody is friendly and always available to help you. The teachers are doing very good job, the classes are super nice and small which is the best way to learn more. I enjoyed improving my English there and loved meeting a lot of students from every part of the world. It has been an incredible experience for my own.
The CEL school has also a great location in Downtown Santa Monica. In addition, you can find many eating places, clothing stores and supermarkets.
I would definitely recommend the school.

Maki Fukunishi

This school is great. Location is really good, 5 minutes from Santa Monica beach and 3 minutes from the 3rd street promenade. You can enjoy the beautiful ocean, weather and shopping after school every day. All of the teachers and staff are really kind and friendly. They always try to help students a lot. Each class has less than 10 students. You will be able to be close to your teacher and classmates. This situation helps your English ability better. And there are many kinds of school activities like beach activities, hiking, sports events and other trips. If you don't have any friends from the begining, you don't need to worry about it. You can make many new friends easily through school activities. I'm sure you will have good quality classes and precious experiences with new friends coming all over the world!

Francisco Bj

CEL Santa Monica is a really good school to improve your English. The classes were very interesting and the instructor was always looking for the improvement of the students. The staff was always polite and ready to help. The facility is located in the best place of Santa Monica, served with public transportation and close to public parking lots.