English as a Second Language Program

Although our international students are very bright students, they sometimes have difficulty showing how much they know because their English language skills hold them back. They may have difficulty in their academic and studio classes. Problems may occur in classes which rely on classroom participation, listening to long lectures, keeping up with reading assignments, and writing at an academic level. These students have already displayed a degree of competency in English language skills by submitting TOEFL scores. However, this competency may not be at a high enough level to meet the challenges of rigorous academic demands. Upon arrival at the School, international students are tested and placed in courses that are appropriate to their English skill levels. Depending on test scores, students may be placed in the regular academic courses or they may be required to complete studies in the ESL program before they can enter the regular academic courses.

The ESL program has two levels—a fluency level and a traditional ESL level. A student placed in the ESL level may take as long as two years before entering the regular academic program; a student placed in the fluency level may take as long as one year before entering the regular academic program.