10 Questions to Ask a Philippine English School
Most people leave a school consultation remembering one thing: the price. Price is the easiest item to compare, so it takes over the conversation. It is also rarely the thing that decides whether the course works out.
Below are ten questions that actually separate one school from another. Each comes with a note on how to read the answer — because a confident answer and a useful answer are not the same thing.
Before the call: three things only you can answer
Some of the most common regrets have nothing to do with the school itself.
Getting there. Clark has its own international airport (CRK), with direct flights from several Asian cities; from Europe, the Middle East, or Africa you will usually connect through Manila or another hub. Work out the real door-to-door time and cost from your city before you compare tuition. The flight can change which country makes sense.
Your passport. Visa-free entry to the Philippines is open to many nationalities, but how long you get depends on your passport, and it is often shorter than the course you have in mind. Check the rules for your own nationality with a Philippine embassy or consulate, not with a forum post. If your stay runs past 59 days, you will also need an ACR I-Card.
What you are giving up. A Philippine school usually gives you more one-to-one speaking time per week than a typical class in Canada, Ireland, or Australia, and the total cost is generally lower. What it does not give you is daily life in an English-speaking country, or classroom teachers who grew up speaking English. If your goal is an accent model or a work route afterwards, weigh that honestly. Clark compared with Canada sets the two side by side.
Questions 1–4: what happens in the classroom
1. How many lessons a day, and how are they split?
Do not accept a single total. Ask how many lessons are one-to-one, how many are group, and what the maximum group size is.
*How to read it.* A school that gives you a firm cap on group size is telling you it manages its timetable properly. "It depends on the season" is fair to say once, but ask for the upper limit anyway.
2. How do you hire and train teachers?
Teacher quality is a result of management, not luck. Ask about hiring standards, initial training, and ongoing observation.
*How to read it.* A clear answer separates the people who teach from the people who train them. At TALK, for example, classes are taught by Filipino teachers, and the native English speaker on staff trains those teachers rather than teaching students. That is worth knowing before you book, because some marketing implies otherwise. If a school hints that you will study with a native speaker, ask directly: how many hours a week, and with whom.
3. Can I change teachers, and how?
Ask how you make the request and how long it takes.
*How to read it.* "Yes, of course" is not an answer. What you want is a named person to go to and a number of days.
4. How is my level decided, and how often is it reviewed?
Ask what the first-day test measures and when you get reassessed.
*How to read it.* A fixed review cycle means someone is tracking progress. No cycle means you will have to ask for it yourself.
Questions 5–7: the money that is not on the tuition line
Tuition, flights, and spending money vary too much by school, season, and room type for any article to quote you a reliable figure. Ask for a written quote, and get a second one to compare. Government fees are different: they are fixed, and every student pays them.
| Item | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| SSP (Special Study Permit) | ₱7,800 per application | Required in order to study; the same amount for a first permit or a renewal |
| ACR I-Card | ₱4,500 | Stays longer than 59 days |
| Visa extension | ₱3,000–6,000 per extension | Every time you extend your stay |
5. What do I pay on arrival, item by item?
Ask for a list: registration, books, the fees above, and anything held as a deposit.
*How to read it.* A school that produces the list immediately has done it many times. Ask which date the amounts are based on, because rules and amounts change.
6. What happens to these fees if I extend my course?
This is the question most people miss. Some immigration offices issue the SSP only for the length of the course you registered for. Extend, and you may pay ₱7,800 again. Visa extensions repeat as well.
*How to read it.* If the answer is vague, treat an extension as a new cost, not a small top-up. The details are in SSP, ACR I-Card and visa extensions explained.
7. What is the refund and date-change policy?
Split it into three cases: canceling before you fly, going home early, and changing your dates.
*How to read it.* Ask to see it in writing. A spoken policy is not a policy.
Questions 8–10: the dorm, the support, and the people
8. What exactly is included in the dorm?
Room size, whether the bathroom is inside the room, laundry, cleaning, and how many meals a day.
*How to read it.* Itemized answers make two quotes comparable. Vague ones make a quote look cheaper than it is.
9. What happens if I get sick?
Ask about clinic hours on campus, who goes with you to a hospital, the contact system at night and on weekends, and what insurance is expected of you.
*How to read it.* Schools that answer this precisely tend to be well run in general.
10. Who else is studying there right now?
Nationalities, age range, and how the mix shifts between busy and quiet months.
*How to read it.* "We cannot give exact numbers" is an honest answer. Ask for the general pattern instead.
Before you end the call, check four things:
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Did you get the answers in writing? | Memory fades and conditions change |
| Did you ask which date the prices are based on? | Fees and packages get revised |
| Did you speak to a second school? | One consultation gives you no baseline |
| Did you say what your own goal is? | The recommendation changes with the goal |
Common questions
Can I book directly with the school? Not with TALK. TALK enrolls students through partner agencies rather than directly, so the agency is the one you will put these ten questions to. That adds a step, but it also gives you someone who has to answer in writing.
Will I have classes with a native speaker? At TALK, no. Filipino teachers take the classes; the native English speaker on staff trains teachers only. Any school that is unclear on this point deserves a follow-up question.
How many courses are there? TALK runs 13 programs, from general speaking to exam preparation and combined courses. Ask which ones match your level and how many one-to-one hours each one includes.
Can you just tell me the total cost? No article can do that honestly. Tuition, room type, season, and airfare move too much. Ask for a written quote, add the government fees in the table above, then add your own flights.
Is this a poor fit for anyone? Yes. If you want to live inside an English-speaking society, if you need a post-study work route, or if you dislike structured campus rules and hot, humid weather, another destination may suit you better. What to check when choosing a school works through the trade-offs.
In short
A good consultation is not the one where you hear the most; it is the one where you leave having asked everything on your list. Take these ten questions with you, write the answers down, and ask the same set at a second school. Half an hour is usually enough for the real differences to show.