intensive ESL Program
Degree Programs | Intensive ESL Program | Testing and Placement | Transferring Credits
Welcome to intensive English study at Northern Virginia Community College. In the intensive English-language program, you will study twenty hours per week in classes that will help you improve your reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The college offers classes from beginning to advanced levels. The purpose of these classes will be to help you enter a degree program in the United States or to help you improve your English for professional use. While you will attend classes with other international students, some of your classmates will be immigrants to the United States who are preparing for college entrance or who need to improve their English for their careers.
You may enter the intensive English-language classes three times a year: in fall (late August or early September), in spring (January), or in summer (late May).
When you arrive at the college, you will be given a placement test. You should take the placement test on the campus where you plan to study because your teachers will want to get to know you before classes start. Be sure to visit the campus when you arrive in the country to make arrangements to take the test.
Classes meet either Monday through Thursday or Monday through Friday, in the morning and/or afternoon. You will have two or three teachers each semester.
Many students who complete the advanced level of English-language studies go on to enter academic degree programs at the college.
- Tuition is $2,300 per semester (effective Fall 2008)
- There is a one-time administrative fee of $10 to cover the cost of placement testing
- The cost for books and supplies is approximately $150 to $200 per semester
- Parking permits are $75 per semester (effective Fall 2008)
