Courses & Course Descriptions:

Full-time students study 20 daytime hours each week, Monday through Thursday. They take four ESL core courses plus two electives. The core courses meet twice a week for two hours a day. Together, they make up 16 of the 20 hours that full-time ESL students must take to maintain their student status.

The ESL core courses at the Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced level of ESL study are Grammar, Reading and Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Pronunciation. The core courses at the College Preparatory level are Reading and Writing, Listening and Speaking, College Preparatory Skills, and TOEFL Preparation. Full-time ESL students take two two-hour ESL elective courses each week. These courses appeal to a broad range of interests. They vary from semester to semester but may include studies in current events, journalism, business English, American culture, vocabulary development, and dramatics.

Students in VIU's ESL program learn how to interact with different teachers, read different texts, and manage multiple assignments just as they would in other American institutions of higher learning. As well, students in VIU's ESL program enjoy guest speakers, field trips, and projects and homework assignments outside of class that are designed to increase their language and study skills and their knowledge of U.S. culture.