Converse International School of Languages, San Diego

Intensive English Course [San Diego, CA]

HIGHLIGHTS

• Information
  • About the School
  • Founded in 1972, Converse International School of Languages (CISL) is a group of private language schools committed to providing the highest quality English language training experience. For over 40 years, CISL has specialized in teaching English to foreign students, professionals and visitors from all around the world and continues to significantly improve their English skills and prepare them for success, whether at an institution for higher learning, in a professional setting or for personal satisfaction.
    Operating under the experienced guidance, CISL offers quality academic curriculums among its two locations, San Diego and San Francisco in California. The rigorous curriculum focuses on developing students’ fundamental English skills in the areas of: Grammar, Writing, Conversation, Pronunciation, Listening, Reading and Vocabulary.
    The school offers independent students exposure to different cross-cultural ideas in a vibrant living environment that will deepen English communication skills and cultural understanding. Students enjoy a strong academic framework that helps them to learn quickly and efficiently. Each school offers a comfortable learning environment equipped to support students in their studies. The school is a friendly and inclusive place that encourages students during lessons and outside the classroom.
    Students also have opportunities to participate in activities arranged by school to enjoy different social and cultural experiences and practice their English in real-life situations. Students are also encouraged to independently explore their new city, attend professional sports games or experience some of the city’s vibrant, eclectic neighborhoods. The CISL is a proud member of AAIEP, the American Association of Intensive English Programs promoting professional standards and high-quality English programs, and also is accredited by CEA (Commission on English Language Program Accreditation).
  • Fast Facts
  • Affiliation : Private
    Establishment : 1972
    Membership/Accreditation : EnglishUSA, CEA
    Enrollment : 120
    Average Class Size : 8
    

    Airport Pickup : Yes
    Tuition : Medium
    Community Type : Urban
    Transportation : Train, bus, taxi
  • CONTACT INFORMATION
  • Converse International School of Languages, San Diego
    636 Broadway St., Suite 210
    San Diego, CA  92101  U.S.A.

    TEL: 619-239-3363
    FAX: 619-239-3778
    E-mail: info@cisl.edu
    Website: http://www.cisl.edu
  • 
• More Details
  • Housing
  • The school provides students with the opportunity to live in off-campus residences or enjoy a homestay experience. For students who prefer an independent lifestyle, off-campus residences provide more privacy and offer opportunities to interact with people in the community outside the school environment. The school also arranges homestays for those students who want to experience local culture first-hand as a member of a family and practice their conversational English. Students are encouraged to make their housing arrangements as early as possible due to the limited amount of space available. Private off-campus apartments are also available; however students must make their own arrangements. For more information, use the Contact Address to ask the school directly.
  • Surrounding Area
  • The school is conveniently located in the heart of the downtown San Diego, California. Situated in a state-of-the-art facility, the school provides its students with spacious, naturally-lit classrooms and a modern computer laboratory replete with computers and free internet access. The school is located in the historic district known as Gaslamp Quarter where history, fine dining and entertainment blend together in sights, sounds and tastes. The ideal location offers students easy access to San Diego's entertainment and surrounding shopping district, Horton Plaza, a neighborhood complete with fashionable boutiques, eclectic restaurants and movie theaters.
    As California's second largest city and the nation's seventh, San Diego is home to nearly 1.3 million residents within the metropolitan area and 2.8 million people within San Diego County. San Diego is most widely-recognized for its near-perfect climate, 70 miles of pristine beaches, and a vast assortment of family attractions, including the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, Legoland California and SeaWorld San Diego. The area's idyllic climate makes spending outdoors a daily pleasure. The 600,000-acre Anza Borrego Desert State Park is an outdoor enthusiast's paradise with endless opportunities available to go hiking and camping, fishing, and quietly observe wildlife among the regionally-famous spring wildflowers. For those that prefer water sports, miles of Pacific Ocean coastline readily offer year-round surfing, swimming, sailing, and boating opportunities. With San Diego being only a 30-minute drive from the U.S.-Mexico border, many visit Mexico's border town, Tijuana, for some duty-free shopping, sightseeing, and enjoying an authentic Mexican meal. For a weekend trip, the city of Los Angeles and its major attractions are a 180 km drive north of San Diego's downtown area.
• Study Options

  • Intensive English Course

  • Overview
  • The program is offered year-round. Students enrolled in the program receive 28 in-class lessons per week and classes are held Monday through Friday. The program is the most comprehensive and popular course at school and is ideal for those students who are looking to achieve maximum progress in their English skills using the time they have available.
    
    The program is offered with 10 levels of instruction from beginner to advanced. When students arrive at the school, they are given a comprehensive placement test to evaluate their grammar, listening, speaking and writing skills and guarantee their proper placement into an ability level.
    
    The purpose of the program is to enable students to obtain sufficient knowledge and become fluent in all areas of the English language. In order to achieve this end, the program’s rigorous curriculum focuses on developing students’ fundamental English skills in the areas of: Grammar, Writing, Conversation, Pronunciation, Listening, Reading and Vocabulary.
    Students study from the core curriculum that focuses on skill area development. In addition, students will study Social English to learn language useful for everyday social, study or work life ? including discussions, conversations, presenting information and telephoning. The student will use a text book, which forms the basis of the study, but which is augmented by a variety of other materials such as video and audio recordings, supplementary text books and authentic materials.
    
    Outside of the classroom, students are encouraged to independently explore the local areas of interest and experience the city’s vibrant, eclectic neighborhoods to gain real, practical insight into the culture of the city. Many students participate in school-organized events, as well, and enjoy the local entertainment and leisure activities.
    
    Classroom sizes range from 6 to 8 students per class. Every effort is made to keep classes at an ideal size for effective English language instruction.
  • Data

  • CLASS SIZE:	8 Students
    CLASS LEVELS:	10 Levels
    COURSE LENGTH:	2 - 52 Weeks
    MINIMUM AGE:	18 Years Old
    REQUIREMENT:	N/A
    VISA INFORMATION:	I-20 Issued Upon Request
    HOUSING:	Homestay Off-Campus Residence

  • Dates
  • Choose 2 - 52 Week Course from Starting Dates
    • 2024/04/22
    • 2024/04/29
    • 2024/05/06
    • 2024/05/13
    • 2024/05/20
    • 2024/05/27
    • 2024/06/03
    • 2024/06/10
    • 2024/06/17
    • 2024/06/24
    • 2024/07/01
    • 2024/07/08
    • 2024/07/15
    • 2024/07/22
    • 2024/07/29
    • 2024/08/05
    • 2024/08/12
    • 2024/08/19
    • 2024/08/26
    • 2024/09/02
    • 2024/09/09
    • 2024/09/16
    • 2024/09/23
    • 2024/09/30
    • 2024/10/07
    • 2024/10/14
    • 2024/10/21
    • 2024/10/28
    • 2024/11/04
    • 2024/11/11
    • 2024/11/18
    • 2024/11/25
    • 2024/12/02
    • 2024/12/09
    • 2024/12/16
  • Costs

  • APPLICATION FEE

    US$ 135

    TUITION FEE (2024)

    2 WEEKS	US $465 Per Week
    3 WEEKS	US $455 Per Week
    4-7 WEEKS	US $450 Per Week
    8-12 WEEKS	US $445 Per Week
    13-24 WEEKS	US $425 Per Week
    25+ WEEKS	US $420 Per Week

    HOUSING
    PLACEMENT FEE

    US $75

    HOUSING FEE

    LENGTH	HOMESTAY	DORMITORY / ON-CAMPUS APARTMENT	OFF-CAMPUS RESIDENCE
    2 WEEKS	US $795	N/A	Contact School
    3 WEEKS	US $1055	N/A	Contact School
    4+ WEEKS	US $400/wk	N/A	Contact School

    Airport Pickup Service

    US $80-130

  • Remarks / Other Information
  • Dates and fees are approximate and may change without prior notice.
    Application fee is non-refundable.
    Homestay fees include meals.
  • • FAVORITE
    • APPLY NOW
• Location
  • United States　San Diego, California
  • Location
    Converse International School of Languages, San Diego
    636 Broadway St., Suite 210 San Diego, CA  92101  U.S.A.
  • Getting To Your School
  • From San Diego International Airport:
    The school arranges airport pick-up service that costs US$80 and brings students directly to the school in approximately 30 minutes. Taxis are also available at the airport.
    
• Student Reviews

  • Academic Quality:	4.7
    School Environment:	4.2
    Helpfulness of Staff:	4.0
    Activities and Social Life:	3.3
    Accommodation:	3.4

    3.9

  • There are 6 reviews for this school

  • Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    Said Jarir
    [ Amsterdam, Netherlands, Male ]
    
    2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
    Passion of the Teachers
    

    I really enjoyed studying English in San Diego. CISL really helped me a lot with my Cambridge Exam preparation. I was impressed by the passion of the teachers. What I really liked, were the small classes. There are not more than 8 students in the English classes, so we had more time to focus on the speaking and listening skills. The teachers welcomed any questions and were open to discuss anything that would help us to make more progress in our Cambridge Exam preparation. Learning English with other students from many different countries gave me a lot of opportunity to improve my English. I made many new friends, who allowed me to learn English, because I only could communicate in English with them during and after classes. I would definitely recommend CISL as the best place to study and improve your English skills.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 

    ---

    Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    Hadeel
    [ Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Female ]
    
    Small Class Sizes
    

    I studied Nutrition in Saudi Arabia and came to the United States for my Master’s in Nutrition. I improved all parts of my English because I couldn’t speak English the first day. I think I made a lot of progress. I was Level 1 when I arrived, and now I am Level 7 after almost one year. My speaking and writing improved the most. I liked the class because it is small, makes me more comfortable, and I get to know everyone. It is easier for the teachers to focus on us and we have time for every person in the class. I preferred my Intensive class because it made me work hard and that’s what I needed. I came to study and not just take a vacation. The Intensive course gave us a lot of vocabulary and now I can read a book in English if I want. People are very, very friendly in San Francisco. The teachers are very good too. They are friendly and helpful not only about subjects in class, but everything. Even if I am in a high level class and have a question, they don’t make me feel like I’m not good at English, they explain it to me. I made a lot of friends because of school and I have friends from every country. Now it makes me think about visiting countries that I never thought about traveling to before.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 

    ---

    Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    Francesco
    [ Rome, Italy, Male ]
    
    My English Improved
    

    I am studying business back in Italy and I wanted to improve my speaking mainly. I write, read, and watch movies, but I don’t have the opportunity to speak often, so I came here. All of my English improved, especially vocabulary and grammar structures like Conditional and more advanced grammar. I improved my fluency since I spoke every day. I did not speak one word of Italian during my time here. It was a great thing that there are people from everywhere and it was a cool chance to try to understand the way people think and react to various issues. We were not only learning, but we also discussed many issues and read articles everyday. The class would be interesting even if it was in Italian! I liked the organized trips to know about the America. I had the opportunity to sightsee and meet people. In two weeks, I can say I lived in San Diego.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 

    ---

    Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    Paula
    [ Sao Paulo, Brazil, Female ]
    
    English Contributes to My Overall Life
    

    I work for the executive branch of the federal government evaluating public policies. I am planning to work more with international politics and Brazil’s position globally. I am passionate about social policies and social issues. I had lots of expectations for my trip to CISL. My two goals were to improve my English (after more than a decade without studying), and to live abroad in a different culture. I achieved both goals. I learned a lot about the English language as well as the American society and values. I am glad after five and a half months I achieved my main goals. I am updated with international politics. I enjoyed discussing local newspapers in class as well as the New York Times and The Economist. It was the actual news and contemporary issues. My vocabulary improved. The Economist was the hardest at first, but now when I pick up some news I think I can understand at least 80% of what I am reading. When I arrived at CISL, I could understand 60-70% of what people said in conversation, but now I have 80-90% comprehension! My listening improved. When people speak with me, I don’t have to think about it so much. Before I didn’t have enough practice writing, but now I really enjoy it. The last part of my improvement was my speaking, mainly because of my pronunciation. This was the most difficult for me, but I took the opportunity for private lessons and you can improve a lot. I like languages.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 

    ---

    Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    Kilian
    [ Bern, Switzerland, Male ]
    
    1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
    My Grammar Improved
    

    I am an ICT systems engineer. I wanted to learn English for myself and to understand it better. It fixed my problems with the grammar. I am a freelancer for Microsoft and a teacher for Microsoft so it is good to speak and understand both languages, English and German. My grammar improved the most in my 4 weeks here and I know more words. I hear the words and hear English everyday so I must not try so hard to think about what the words mean. It’s easier now.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 

    ---

    Academic Quality:
    School Environment:
    Helpfulness of Staff:
    Activities and Social Life:
    Accommodation:

    
    A Former Student
    [ Seoul, Korea, Age 21, Female ]
    
    8 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
    San Diego
    

    San Diego was a perfect city to live in.
    A warm climate, kind people, I liked everything.
    Converse also gave me great help and I met many foreigner friends. I can't forget them.
    I want to go back to SD again and again to Converse.
    Was this review helpful to you?Yes No 
• Video

Students Who Viewed This School Also Viewed