Depaul University, English Language Academy

The English Language Academy offers English courses and activities which meet the personal and professional goals of our international students. As a full time student, you will improve your command of English. Our classes focus on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The faculty and staff are committed to the possibility that all students acquire excellent and empowering language in an environment where self expression, collaboration, and an appreciation of diversity abound. We share this commitment so that our students may create extraordinary lives. You do not have to be a full time student in the Academy to register for our elective courses.

Chicago is located in the northern part of the mid-western United States about 800 miles due west of New York City and over 2000 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. It is usually considered the third great metropolis in the USA along with its East Coast and West Coast sister cities of New York and LA. The city is situated on the western shore of Lake Michigan, one of those five great inland seas known as the Great Lakes. To the west of Chicago, lies the Great Plains of the Midwest. Vast expanses of flat lands much of them covered with wheat and cornfields extend nearly a thousand miles to the feet of the Rocky Mountains. With no natural barriers such as mountains or hills to protect it, the city is subjected to the full onslaught of the winds and storms that blow across these "Prairies". Thus, Chicago deserves to be called the "windy city", although it really earned that nickname from its abundance of "windy" politicians. Lakeshore Drive Downtown Chicago stretches along the shoreline of Lake Michigan from north to south for approximately 5 miles. It offers an impressive skyline of high buildings including the 110-floors Sears Tower. To the north, south and west, a great expanse of low office buildings, industrial plants and residential neighborhoods sprawl along the shore and out across the plains for at least 30 miles. On the east, a beautiful lakefront park hugs the shore of Lake Michigan. This is a culturally diverse city For many centuries, Native Americans used the She-caw-gu portage as a convenient connection between the upper reaches of the Mississippi River and the vast waterways of the Great Lakes System. In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a fur trader of French-African descent, created the first settlement at this strategic location. Since then, Chicago has attracted immigrants from all over the world. Their ethnic enclaves are reflected in the many culturally distinct neighborhoods throughout the city. The major tourist attractions of Chicago include a trip to the observation deck at the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower and a tour along Lakeshore Drive with its beautiful parks, beaches and museums. Chicago offers visitors over a dozen major museums, two zoos, a large aquarium and a planetarium. It also offers lots of shopping opportunities and a variety of sports and entertainment. The downtown loop area has many stores and shops especially along State Street, but the real heart of the Chicago shopping district lies just north of the Chicago River. The section of North Michigan Avenue across the river from downtown is known as the Magnificent Mile and is lined with world-class department stores, vertical shopping malls and many fine restaurants. As in most US cities, many large shopping malls and outlet centers are located in the suburban communities. For discount shopping, the Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall is along I-94 about one hour north of Chicago. Wrigley Field Entertainment in Chicago Chicago has a world-class symphony, opera and ballet plus many other music and dance companies. It has a variety of theatrical companies. It is famous for its comedy clubs such as "Second City" where many famous stars began their careers. Chicago is also famous for its unique brand of Jazz music and "Chicago Style Blues". The area just north of downtown especially in the vicinity of Rush Street is an entertainment hot spot. It houses many famous establishments like Michael Jordan's club, the Excalibur Dance Club, the Rock and Roll McDonald's, The Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood. This is also the home for many blues clubs like Blue Chicago, B.L.U.E.S., the House of Blues and Buddy Guy's Legends.

The English Language Academy is a full-time noncredit certificate program. We offer English-as-a-second-language (ESL) courses at five levels of English proficiency. New students take a placement exam at the beginning of each term to determine their proficiency level. As students succeed at one level, they will move to the next level of course work for the following term.

DePaul offers on-campus housing for Academy students during the Summer term (June, July, August). During the Fall, Winter and Spring terms, students usually live in apartments.

DAB, is the premiere event-organizing body of DePaul University. Throughout the school year, members of DAB provide DePaul students with a wide variety of events, ranging from annual traditions, such as Homecoming and FEST (spring outdoor concert and festival), to music, movies, comedy, hypnotists, novelty acts, and much more.