VIU’s student body represents 50 different countries. Some students know very little English, others are at higher levels. The students come from all walks of life – young and old, college students and professionals. Everyone is welcome!

VIU’s ESL program offers courses in reading & writing, listening & speaking, grammar, pronunciation, TOEFL preparation, business English, American culture, vocabulary, and more.

The average class size in the ESL program is 15 students. Elementary-level classes are usually much smaller, with about 5 students per class.

Yes. All new students are required to take a three-part English proficiency test to determine the most appropriate level of ESL instruction. Click here for more information about the placement test.

Yes. Students who have demonstrated outstanding progress over the course of a semester may request permission from the program director to take the placement test at the end of the term. If a student achieves scores that are in the appropriate range of the level they wish to move to, and the instructors recommend that the student is ready to move forward, permission may be granted to skip a level.

Yes, VIU does offer TOEFL preparation courses. We also offer courses in academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills at all levels of instruction to help students prepare for the TOEFL examination.

Four semesters are offered each year. Please review our application guidelines for specific dates and deadlines.

Yes, we offer two ESL semesters during the summer. The first semester runs from May to July and the second semester begins in July and extends through August.

Yes, non-intensive ESL classes as well as TOEFL preparation courses are offered in the evenings.