Where to Take ESL Classes in San Francisco

If you are looking for English as a Second Language classes in San Francisco, the best place to start is at the City College of San Francisco. The college offers free Non-credit classes, which means that the classes are for learning the language only, you do not get college credits for taking them. If you want to get college credit to work your way up to a degree, you can take the Credit classes which have an affordable tuition of only twenty dollars per unit. Credit classes are usually for three units of credit each, so the total cost for each class is about sixty dollars. The Credit program has six levels of instruction, so if you need to start from the beginning it would take six semesters to complete the program, which is two years if you take classes in the summer as well as fall and spring semesters. If you are looking for classes for yourself and are able to read this article, however, likely you have enough skill with English already to skip at least the first two semesters of this program (which you do by taking a test.) The Non-credit classes are not graded and are offered in eight different levels from Beginner (Level 1) to High Intermediate (Level 8). You can also start with whatever class you want and take more than one at a time if you want. The college also offers non-credit classes in vocational ESL (specifically for getting a job and communicating at work) and preparation for the United States citizenship exam. All of these classes are offered morning, afternoon and night every day of the week except Sunday. Some of the classes can also be taken partially online. Please see the CCSF ESL Department Page for more information. Low-income students can qualify for something called the Board of Governors Waiver which makes all tuition at community colleges in California free, you can also apply for financial aid while attending this school.

Students who have mastered intermediate ESL can take more advanced classes at the University of San Francisco. You can take these classes without having to be admitted to USF. The classes offered here are at intermediate and advanced levels only. You do have to apply to the program, but it is not the same as applying to be a regular student at USF. The application fee is $100 and tuition for one regular semester is $16,400, or $6,500 for the summer, so it is pretty expensive. San Francisco State University also offers a similar program, called English for Professional Purposes. This is geared toward intermediate to advanced ESL students who want focus on training for a professional office career. Applying to this program is also not the same as applying to be a regular student at SFSU, and courses are conducted at the downtown satellite campus on Market Street above the Westfield Mall. You work through SFSU's "Open University" program which allows you to take classes and earn college credit without formally being admitted as a student. I cannot find a reference to the tuition, but SFSU tuition for regular students is just a little short of $4,000 per academic year, so it can't be more than that.

There are a lot of private schools that offer ESL instruction in San Francisco. Some have perks like setting international students up with a homestay family at a discounted price, or offering on-site housing. Some are just rip-offs. Most of these private schools are fairly expensive, costing $10,000 to $15,000 per year of instruction. If you can afford to spend that much money and already have somewhere to live you are probably better off hiring a one-on-one tutor.

One last option to consider is a private tutor who teaches lessons over the internet via webcam. Some also offer mixed courses with lessons both over the internet and in person, and these are usually much less expensive than hiring a personal tutor. An interesting example is the Effortless English system with instructor A.J. Hoge. It is focused on real English conversation as it is actually used in the United States, complete with slang and regional accents, to help aid in comprehension. A.J. offers a set of self-paced tutorials in video and mp3 form for a flat fee of $97, and has taught classes via webcam in the past (though I am not sure if that is still offered.) You can get more information by following this link. Also check community newspapers and sites like Craigslist for personal tutors, who often offer one-on-one lessons for an affordable fee.