The English Language Academy is a full-time noncredit certificate program. We offer English-as-a-second-language (ESL) courses at five levels of English proficiency:
*Please Note: Our Foundations level (beginning) classes are for students who have studied some English. Before they begin our classes, these students can use or understand 200 - 400 words in English.
New students take placement exams given at the beginning of each term to determine their proficiency level. Currently these exams include:
a 35-minute writing sample, similar to the TOEFL iBT independent-task essay, and an institutional (paper-based) TOEFL test, which has sections on listening comprehension, structure and written expression, and reading.
In some cases, new student placement is adjusted on the basis of additional diagnostic testing given during the first week of the term.
TOEFL scores vary from term to term, but the average TOEFL score of foundations students tends to be around 350-375; the average of intermediate students, around 400; the average of high intermediate students, around 450; of advanced students, around 500; and of university bridge students, around 525. A TOEFL score of 500 is required for study in the ELA's TOEFL Intensive Program.
Continuing ELA students who pass their classes move to the next higher level of course work in the following term.
Full-time students take all 4 courses.
All of the English Language Academy courses are held during the day. Classes meet for 18 hours each week and are from 9:00 a.m. until 2:45 p.m., with a later start time on Monday mornings and an earlier end time on Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Here is an example of a class schedule for ELA students at all levels, Foundations through University Bridge:
| Writing | Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Reading | Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. |
| Grammar | Monday, Thursday, 10:45 - 12:15 p.m. and Wednesday 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. |
| Spoken | Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 1:15 – 2:45 p.m. |
In Fall Term 2003, the English Language Academy started a new TOEFL Intensive Program (TIP), fully revised and updated in 2005 to include changes in the "next generation" TOEFL. In our TOEFL Intensive Program, high intermediate and advanced English students can prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) full-time. TIP students work on TOEFL skills in classes and computer labs for 19.5 hours per week, and because of the intensity of this program it meets full requirements of F-1 non-immigrant visa status. In the first four years of this program, over 180 satisfied ELA students met their TOEFL goals by studying in TIP.
Applications for the next TIP session are now being accepted. Enrollment in TIP is limited, so we suggest that you apply soon. As a TIP student, you will work intensively on all of the skills that are measured on the TOEFL, whether you take the new TOEFL iBT or the traditional paper-based test: writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar; both independent and integrated tasks. You will also work on real-world, academic tasks, on developing your vocabulary, and take TOEFL practice tests.
Your four courses in the all-new TOEFL Intensive Program include:
If you have taken the TOEFL iBT and received a score of 61, the computer-based TOEFL (CBT) and scored 173 - or 500 on the paper-based test - you may apply directly to this program by downloading the application below. We will re-test you at the beginning of the term, to make sure that you are an appropriate student for TIP. If your score is below 500 upon re-testing at the English Language Academy, you will be placed in regular ELA classes during your first term of study here.
English Language Academy students who score higher than 500 and satisfactorily complete one term at the ELA are welcome to transfer to the TOEFL Intensive Program. And in many cases, students who complete TIP may wish to continue in regular ELA classes, which help them to build further language and academic skills.
Download the English Language Academy's TIP Application form.
For F-1 transfer students only - Please ask your current school to complete this form and send it to the English Language Academy.
While our curriculum is not designed to teach the TOEFL exam, all of the work in our intensive English courses prepares students to do very well on the TOEFL test. In fact, our students consistently make excellent improvement on the TOEFL in ten weeks of intensive study in the Academy.
In our experience as both ESL and college instructors, we are well aware of the skills needed to succeed in university courses and in professional careers involving English. These skills involve much more than the TOEFL test can measure. In other words, the TOEFL is not the only indication of academic or professional success.
However, because we are interested in how our students perform on the TOEFL, an Institutional TOEFL exam is given every term for students who wish to apply for admission to regular degree programs at DePaul University. Many students attend the Academy before entering regular university programs.
Our elective courses are offered in addition to the regular full time program and are not included in the tuition costs for the Academy. Students may enroll in these electives along with their regular ELA courses. You do not have to be a full time student in the Academy to register for the elective courses.
Contact the English Language Academy office for current information about these and other electives.
TOEFL Preparation and Pronunciation Workshop are offered every term.
The schedule for TOEFL Preparation is:
The schedule for TOEFL Intro is:
The schedule for Pronunciation Workshop is: