If you speak very little English, you may wonder whether you can keep up in class in the Philippines. This article does not say “you will be fine”. It sets out what six schools say they provide when you start, from their official pages. Checked on 31 October 2026.
In short
Of the six schools’ official pages, five say they give a level test at entry or before arrival. Some schools have named beginner courses or subjects, and Target and Curious World say they offer support in Japanese. Results differ from person to person, so decide what to ask each school.
Before you read
Whether you can manage with little spoken English depends on the person. This article does not say you will be fine. It sets out, from official pages, what a school has ready when you start.
For the whole process, see our guide to studying English in the Philippines. For how to choose the number of one-to-one lessons a day, see how many one-to-one lessons a day.
We cover six schools where we could confirm entry tests or beginner information on official pages. They are not every school listed on BLOOM ABROAD. If we found no mention of something, that does not mean the school lacks it.
Level tests at entry
Five of the six schools say they give a level test at entry or before arrival. Here is what each says.
HELP English Academy (Clark and Baguio)
Test and class placement: Students take an English test on their first Monday, and one-to-one lessons are set to that level. There are nine levels, and levels 1 to 3 are beginner
Notes: Says no official test score is needed to join
Curious World Academy (Cebu)
Test and class placement: Students who wish to can take a level test of about 60 minutes before arrival. It scores four skills on the CEFR scale
Notes: Says a study counsellor uses the result to help choose materials and teachers
CEGA
Test and class placement: A level check at entry covers speaking, listening, reading and writing, and the school then proposes lesson subjects
Notes: Group classes are also split by level
Merise English Academy
Test and class placement: A level check at entry is included in the enrollment fee
Notes: A pre-arrival interview is also included
B&D English School (Dumaguete)
Test and class placement: A level check on arrival, then follow-up tests every four weeks
Notes: Assesses seven subjects, such as listening, to choose materials
Target Global English Academy
Test and class placement: We could not find a mention of an entry test on its official pages
Notes: Says its group classes are finely split by level
Beginner courses and subjects
Some schools name courses or subjects for beginners. Here is what their official pages say.
- Merise English Academy: a “beginner course”. It centres on English sounds to build listening and speaking, and says students learn how sounds and letters relate, and read aloud repeatedly
- CEGA: a speaking subject called Survival English is for beginners. Its example for a beginner who wants travel English is the Light one-to-one course (four hours a day) with one hour of the DME method, two of Survival English and one of Essential Vocabulary
- HELP English Academy: says its ESL course is for people who want to rebuild basic English. Levels 1 to 3 focus on basic sentence patterns, common words and pronunciation
- B&D English School: recommends its Standard course (six lessons a day) for beginners
- Curious World Academy: says the Standard ESL course suits people from beginners to upper-intermediate learners, and that lessons are set from the level test result
- Target: says an orientation on the first day explains points where beginners often stumble
One-to-one and group lessons
How a day is built differs by school. Here is what each official page says. For choosing the number of lessons, see how many one-to-one lessons a day.
HELP English Academy
One-to-one: Four lessons in ESL, five in ESL Intensive
Group: One lesson (1:5)
Curious World Academy
One-to-one: Four in Standard, six in Intensive and seven in Super Intensive
Group: Two in Standard, one in Intensive, none in Super Intensive
CEGA
One-to-one: 2 to 8 hours a day, with a different teacher each hour
Group: 2 hours a day, none in the one-to-one-only courses
Target Global English Academy
One-to-one: Four in TARGET 4 and five in TARGET 5 (45 minutes each)
Group: Three in TARGET 4 and two in TARGET 5
Merise English Academy
One-to-one: 5 hours or more a day
Group: 2 hours a day
B&D English School
One-to-one: All courses are one-to-one: four lessons in Light, six in Standard, eight in Sparta
Group: None
Language support
Target says it has Japanese teachers of English and Japanese education staff. It says students can get study support in Japanese and that Japanese staff are on site.
Curious World says a Japanese study counsellor helps choose materials and teachers from the level test result. CEGA says it has a grammar textbook explained in Japanese.
In the English pages we checked, we found no mention of Japanese support at HELP or B&D. That does not mean none exists. Ask the school or your agent before you apply, including which languages staff speak.
What schools say about beginners
The official FAQs include schools’ own words about beginners.
Target says students can enter as complete beginners. Merise says most of its students start as beginners. CEGA says it holds an individual counselling session at entry and proposes lessons that suit levels from beginner to advanced.
CEGA also warns against materials that promise fluency in a short time and says steady accumulation of study time matters. These are the schools’ own statements and do not promise how much you will improve or how fast.
What to ask a school before you apply
If you are a beginner comparing schools, ask these five things.
- Whether there is a level test at entry, and what changes with the result
- The names of beginner courses or subjects, and how a day is built
- The number of one-to-one and group lessons, and whether you can skip group classes
- Whether anyone can help in a language you understand, and in which situations
- Whether you can change course or teacher if it does not suit you
Next step: compare schools in the list
In the list of schools in the Philippines, compare the schools that interest you with their official pages. For the whole process, see our guide to studying English in the Philippines.
Sources
Official information from each company
- HELP English Academy: ESL Program (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Curious World Academy: Pre-arrival level test (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Curious World Academy: ESL course (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- CEGA: Curriculum features (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- CEGA: Frequently asked questions (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Target Global English Academy: Courses (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Target Global English Academy: Study support (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Target Global English Academy: Frequently asked questions (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- B&D English School: Courses (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Merise English Academy: Courses (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Merise English Academy: Frequently asked questions (checked 31 Oct 2026)
