Study English on the Campus of an American University

The English Language Institute is a well-established ESL program with experienced teachers holding advanced degrees, small classes of 3 to 15 students, and a modern computer laboratory.

The intensive English program features pre-academic ESL for students planning to attend university, and it also meets the needs of students improving their English for personal or business reasons.

Students at ELI benefit from being part of a global educational community on the East Coast of the United States, in historic New England.

Intensive English Program:
Students in the intensive English program are in class for 25 hours per week, Monday through Friday. All students take classes in Grammar, Composition, Reading, Listening, and Speaking. Classes include serious topics such as writing a research paper and listening to lectures, and also special learning activities such as writing & performing a skit, watching videos, & playing word games.

Small classes of 3 to 15 students allow ELI teachers to meet the individual needs of students and provide high-quality instruction.

New students are given placement tests on their first day at ELI and are placed in one of six levels of English ability. After completion of each session, a student is able to move up one level. Students who finish Level 6 receive a Certificate of Completion and meet the English language requirement for degree programs of the University of Bridgeport.

Students may join weekend trips to destinations such as New York City, Niagara Falls, and Washington, D.C., and may participate in beach outings, winter ski trips, and activities on campus that allow students to have fun while increasing their knowledge of American culture and language.

The English Language Institute is located on the 50-acre campus of the University of Bridgeport facing 300 acres of playing fields, beaches, and picnic areas of Seaside Park on Long Island Sound. Beautiful Victorian homes dot the campus, and many are used as offices or for student services. The University of Bridgeport is renowned for having the most international student body in the United States. Students here make friends with people from every part of the world.

The City of Bridgeport is on the eastern coast of the United States, an hour's train ride from New York City and three hours from Boston.

ELI students have access to University resources—Wahlstrom Library, Wheeler Recreation Center, Student Health Services, high-speed Internet connections—and activities such as the annual International Festival, movie nights, clubs, and trips.

The University of Bridgeport has been rated for two years as the safest residential campus in Connecticut, based on campus security statistics published by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2003, UB received a national award for campus safety, the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award.