The English Language Institute at UA

Established in 1979, the English Language Institute (ELI), part of UA's Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, offers two programs in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction:

• The English for Academic Purposes Program provides non-credit ESL courses to international students and nonnative residents who plan to pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree at The University of Akron or another U.S. university. The intensive, 20-hour per week program also serves individuals who wish to improve their English to meet their own professional and/or personal goals. ELI courses at four levels of English proficiency target language and academic skills needed for successful study at a U.S. university: reading efficiently, writing clearly, taking lecture notes, and communicating effectively in English. Students also study grammar and vocabulary and prepare for language proficiency tests to meet the University's English requirement. (The TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, or the ELI-ASSET, Academic Study Skills and English Test, along with ELI course grades may be used to successfully complete the ELI and begin academic coursework.) In addition, students receive a wide variety of support services to facilitate their transition to life and study in the United States.


• The Community and Corporate ESL Program, designed specifically for nonnative English speakers living and working in Northeast Ohio, offers a variety of small group, non-intensive courses (e.g., business writing, conversation, vocabulary development, and pronunciation); private tutoring; consulting (e.g., editing of documents, language assessment); and workplace ESL classes contracted through employers for job-related English instruction.

The ELI can also provide specialized courses for UA departments (e.g., thesis/dissertation writing, speaking for international graduate students).

In addition to these instructional programs, the ELI administers the University of Akron Developed English Proficiency Test (the U-ADEPT), which assesses the speaking ability of prospective international teaching assistants at UA and determines their readiness to provide classroom-related services in their graduate departments.

For more information, visit the ELI web site at www.uakron.edu/eli/ , e-mail ua-eli@uakron.edu , or call 330-972-7544.