Focus Areas

Soros English/Foreign Language schools seek to provide alternative high-quality foreign language instruction that complements rather than substitutes for foreign-language programs provided by existing state education. In addition to general English courses, these schools offer an array of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses to young professionals, tailor-made courses for the emerging local corporate world, and foreign-language courses for young learners (pre-school and elementary school level). Several of the schools also offer courses of local language(s). By and large, the target student population of these schools consists of secondary school and university students, and young professionals.

Download a chart that provides information on the schools in the Soros English/Foreign Language School Network.

Background and Mission

Since 1992, several foundations in the Soros foundations network have supported the establishment of schools for foreign languages. In general, the establishment of an English/foreign language school is requested by a Soros foundation on the grounds that there is no or not enough high-quality English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching available in a particular city and/or region. In addition to offering high-quality EFL teaching to the general public, these schools are intended to provide support to other foundation programs that have an international component, and, therefore, require that their participants have a fair command of English.

This venture has been overseen by OSI and respective national foundations. The policy for financial support is that a foundation establishing a school provides no more than three years of funding (i.e. budget) for this endeavor. If before three years' time a school "breaks even"—its revenue equals its expenses—the school is considered to be self-supporting and will not require further funding from the foundation. Furthermore, the network school establishment policy also requires that these English language schools foster social inclusion in order to be in agreement with OSI's mission. In no way should these schools be socially exclusive, which is why tuition fees need to be kept at affordable rates and partial scholarships are awarded to outstanding students.

The early Soros foundation–established schools were set up by the founder of International House World Organization (IHWO), Jonathan Haycraft, and are known as Soros International House (SIH) schools. Some schools established later by the national foundations also chose to affiliate with IHWO, which is a world-renowned network of private language schools whose mission is to raise the level of teaching in general as well as EFL teaching.

Schools that affiliate with IHWO secure a high profile reputation, maintain public visibility, are given guidance to keep things running smoothly and successfully, and are visited annually by IHWO inspectors and teacher trainers who make sure the school has a proper atmosphere and spirit, maintains high-quality classes and management, and displays positive, constructive energy.

IHWO affiliates are obligated by the affiliation agreement to pay an annual affiliation fee, to cover the expenses of the IH inspector, to send their directors and directors of studies to their respective annual conferences.

Soros International House (SIH) Schools
Currently, there are six Soros International House schools: in Belarus (Minsk), Lithuania (Vilnius), and Ukraine (Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, and Odessa).

Non-IHWO Soros Schools
In addition, there are eight non-IHWO schools: Soros Foreign Language School in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), English Language School in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Pro Didactica Educational Center in Chisinau (Moldova), EuroEd Foundation in Iasi (Romania), and ACCESS Language Center in Cluj (Romania).

Pro Didactica (formerly Open World House) was opened as a joint venture between the Soros Foundation-Moldova's national Soros English Language Program (SELP) and the Soros Professional English Language Teachers (SPELT). The school received its funding from SF-Moldova's SELP budget while SPELT rendered recruiting services and supplied the school with highly qualified American EFL teachers.

SFLS-Sarajevo was established when Sarajevo was under siege during the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s. Therefore, the development of SFLS schools has considerably differed from all other schools in the foundation network.