F-1 Visa English Courses in Atlanta

The English Island International Student Program and Dental English Program are accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) for the period of December 2022 through December 2032 and agree to uphold the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions. CEA is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency for English language programs and institutions in the U.S.

Below you will find information and links to more detailed information about our International Student Program. Please contact us if you have any questions.

• Terms start every 10 weeks.
• Graduation is achieved upon completion of our highest level.
• Curriculum includes 9 hours per week of general English classes and three 3-hour specialty classes per week.
• One-on-one academic counseling provided
• Small classes and personal attention
• Student activities

Admissions

In order to enroll in our 18-hour per week international student program, a student must be age 18 or older and have graduated high school diploma in his/her country.

Students must be literate in their own languages and have the financial capability to undertake our program.

Attendance Policy

All ESL students must be in class every day on time. Attendance in all classes is required. Students must have a minimum of 80% attendance each term.

Grading Policy

The English Island uses the US system of grades A (100 percent) through F (69 percent or below.) To remain in good standing, students must maintain a 75 percent weighted average in their classes at all times.

Graduation

Students who complete the highest level at the school (Level 9) in our 18-hour program, have an average grade of 75 or higher, and have an attendance percentage of 80 percent or higher are eligible to graduate.

Academic Achievement Scale

Aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
The institution’s twelve-level ESL curriculum is systematically aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to ensure transparent proficiency benchmarks and coherent progression toward the program’s stated student learning outcomes. Each level corresponds to a defined range of linguistic competencies and reflects an incremental increase in communicative demand, instructional rigor, and performance expectations. Listed below are the learning outcomes, written as “can do” statements, that students are expected to achieve at each level.

Level 1 – CEFR A1 (Beginner):

• Speaking: Can interact in a simple way through asking and answering simple questions Can initiate and respond to simple statements in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics.
• Listening: Can recognize concrete information (e.g. places and times) on familiar topics encountered in everyday life. Can follow language which is very slowly and carefully articulated, with long pauses to assimilate meaning.
• Reading: Can understand very short, simple texts that use familiar names, words and basic phrases, rereading as required.
• Writing: Can determine a purpose for writing and can print numbers, letters, and basic sight words related to personal information and other familiar contexts. Can produce simple, isolated phrases and sentences.

Level 2 – CEFR A1/A2 (High Beginner):

• Speaking: Can organize and produce spoken language in routine and familiar situations with some control of grammar and intonation.
• Listening: Can understand phrases and expressions related to areas of most immediate priority (very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
• Reading: Can understand short, simple texts containing the highest frequency vocabulary, including a proportion of shared international vocabulary items.
• Writing: Can write short phrases about matters of personal relevance (e.g. likes and dislikes, family, pets) using simple words and basic expressions.

Level 3 – CEFR A2 (Low Elementary):

• Speaking: Can communicate about simple tasks requiring an exchange of information on familiar matters to do with work, routines, and free time.
• Listening: Can comprehend short, simple spoken texts on familiar topics by identifying main ideas, key details, and frequently used expressions when speech is articulated slowly and clearly.
• Reading: Can understand short, simple texts on familiar matters (routines, shopping, travel, work, and eating at a restaurant) which consist of high-frequency language.
• Writing: Can produce a series of simple phrases and sentences linked with simple connectors like “and,” “but” and “because.” Learners can produce simple written texts, notes, or messages that are organized and present information to serve the purpose/context, can use complete sentences with basic grammar structures (present and past tense), and can use correct punctuation.

Level 4 – CEFR A2/B1 (Elementary):

• Speaking: Can interact with increasing confidence in structured situations and short conversations. Can ask and answer questions and exchange ideas and information on familiar topics in predictable everyday situations.
• Listening: Can understand the main points made during short narratives in clear standard language of familiar matters regularly encountered at work, school, and during leisure activities.
• Reading: Can more independently use reading strategies that include previewing, viewing, and predicting, which are measured through assessments, and can read materials that use vocabulary related to school, health, friends and family, shopping, work, and leisure time.
• Writing: Can organize, convey, and revise ideas in simple paragraphs in familiar contexts with control of basic grammar structures, spelling and punctuation.

Level 5 – CEFR B1 (Low Intermediate):

• Speaking: Can use a wide range of simple language to deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling. Can enter unprepared into conversation on familiar topics, express personal opinions and exchange information on topics that are familiar, of personal interest, or pertinent to everyday life (family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).
• Listening: Can understand straightforward factual information about common or job-related topics, identifying both general messages and specific details.
• Reading: Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to their field of interest with an increased level of comprehension.
• Writing: Can produce personal letters, and short, simple essays on making recommendations and cause/effect.

Level 6 – CEFR B1/B2 (Intermediate):

• Speaking: Can communicate with increasing confidence, per self-reflection and formal assessment, on familiar routine and non-routine matters related to their interests and professional field. Can exchange, check and confirm information, deal with less routine situations and explain why something is a problem.
• Listening: Can understand the main points from a short narrative made in standard language and familiar matters regularly encountered at work, school, and during leisure activities, demonstrated through answering questions about details and producing short summaries.
• Reading: Can read narrative prose and descriptive essays if the topic or context is familiar and analyze the meaning or purpose as demonstrated by identifying main ideas, supporting details, and writing brief analyses.
• Writing: Can produce and edit well-developed descriptive and narrative short essays using basic punctuation and basic and complex grammar structures.

Level 7A – CEFR B2 (High Intermediate):

• Speaking: Can interact with an increasing degree of fluency and spontaneity with users of the target language. Can highlight the personal significance of events and experiences, and account for and sustain views clearly by providing relevant explanations and arguments as demonstrated through formal presentations and informal conversations with other students.
• Listening: Can follow extended discourse and complex lines of argument, provided the topic is reasonably familiar, and the direction of the argument is signposted by explicit markers. Can use the language fluently, accurately and effectively on a wide range of general, academic, vocational or leisure topics.
• Reading: Can read B2 level texts, adapting style and speed of reading to different texts and purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively. Can recognize and understand high-frequency idioms.
• Writing: Can produce clear, detailed summaries and essays on a variety of subjects related to their field of interest, synthesizing and evaluating information and arguments from a number of sources.

Level 7B – CEFR B2 (High Intermediate):

• Speaking: Can communicate spontaneously with increasing grammatical control, adopting a level of formality to address academic topics.
• Listening: Can understand the main ideas of complex discourse on both concrete and abstract topics delivered in standard language. Can understand standard language or a familiar variety, live or broadcast, on both familiar and unfamiliar topics normally encountered in personal, social, academic or vocational life.
• Reading: Can read and analyze narrative prose and descriptive essays applying appropriate reading strategies, comprehension strategies and prior knowledge.
• Writing: Can produce well-developed descriptive and narrative essays that include the mastery of punctuation and grammar structures and can edit and revise to improve communication.

Level 8A– CEFR C1 (Advanced):

• Speaking: Can express themselves fluently and spontaneously, demonstrating an advanced command of a broad lexical repertoire. There is little obvious searching for expressions or avoidance strategies.
• Listening: Can recognize a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. Can follow extended discourse even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signaled explicitly.
• Reading: Can understand literary writings, newspaper or magazine articles, and specialized academic or professional publications, provided there are opportunities for rereading and access to reference tools.
• Writing: Can produce an introduction and conclusion to a longer report, article or dissertation on a complex academic or professional topic, provided there are opportunities for redrafting and revision.

Level 8B – CEFR C1 (Advanced):

• Speaking: Can, with relative ease, follow and contribute to complex interactions between third parties in group discussion even on abstract, complex unfamiliar topics. Learner demonstrates a command of a broad lexical repertoire including use of idiomatic expressions as well as joking and allusive language.
• Listening: Can demonstrate understanding of extended discourse on abstract and complex topics, though they may need to confirm occasional details, through answering questions and producing summaries.
• Reading: Can read lengthy, complex texts (such as scientific, business, psychology, globalization, and leadership articles), and provide an oral and/or written analysis of the texts, provided they can reread difficult sections.
• Writing: Can produce clear, well-structured texts of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues, expanding and supporting points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples, and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.

Level 9A – CEFR C2 (Proficient):

• Speaking: Can wield a proficient command of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms with awareness of connotative levels of meaning. Can convey finer shades of meaning precisely by using, with proficiency, a wide range of modification devices.
• Listening: Learners can follow specialized lectures (such as TED Talks) and presentations employing a high degree of colloquialism, regional usage or unfamiliar terminology.
• Reading: Can understand a wide range of long and complex texts, appreciating subtle distinctions of style and implicit as well as explicit meaning.
• Writing: Can produce clear, smoothly flowing, complex reports, articles or essays which present a case or demonstrate critical appreciation of proposals or literary works.

Level 9B – CEFR C2 (Proficient):

• Speaking: Can demonstrate a mastery of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms with awareness of connotative levels of meaning through formal presentations and informal conversations classmates. Learners can convey finer shades of meaning precisely by using a wide range of modification devices.
• Listening: Can understand a variety of English accents, whether live or broadcast, delivered at fast natural speed, as demonstrated through answering questions and identifying main ideas and key details.
• Reading: Can read virtually all types of texts including abstract, structurally complex, or highly colloquial literary and non-literary writings, and demonstrate understanding through writing or speaking responses to questions.
• Writing: Can produce a well-organized research essay, with a clearly identifiable thesis statement, significant points, and citations to support the thesis and topic sentences.

This CEFR-aligned structure substantiates the appropriateness of the program length and level sequencing, validates the rigor of instructional expectations, and ensures that learners advance through internationally recognized proficiency stages in a coherent and measurable manner.