• Home
• ESL

Learn English (ESL)

Find your home at Harper College.

Learn English with people of all ages from around the world. Learn to speak fluently, understand more, and read and write with confidence. Achieve the language skills you need to succeed in college classes at Harper College, in the workplace, and in the community.

The Academic English as a Second Language (ESL) Program is a paid program offering classes for low intermediate to advanced English leaners.

Fall classes available with in-person and online options.

Placement testing is now available for the Fall 2025 semester, with the last class section beginning in October.

Harper's Academic ESL program offers

• A variety of courses (new tab)
  
  • Small class sizes
  • Independent study classes
  • Online or on campus classes
• A course series for high level students in our English Series for Professionals (new tab)
• Affordable cost. 9,700+ students of all ages and backgrounds were awarded $27 million in scholarships, grants and tuition waivers through Harper College (FY19). This may cover tuition/fees, living expenses, dependent care and more. Our experts are here to assist you (new tab)
• Dedicated ESL advising services - schedule an advisor appointment online (new tab)
• Experienced faculty and staff (new tab)
• State-of-the-art audio/video language lab (new tab)
• Free ESL tutoring (for currently enrolled ESL students) (new tab)                                    
• International Students Club (new tab)
• You can take English 101 (first year college English) after passing Level V Reading and Level V Writing. Advanced level students can take other college classes together with ESL classes.
• Read about our students and alumni (new tab) 

With online ESL, you get                                     

• Flexibility in your studies (most classes have no set schedule)                            
• Highly trained faculty working with you
• Online ESL Resources for home learning
• Conversation partners with native speakers
• To study anywhere in the world with Harper ESL     
• Here is more information about online classes (PDF file)                                                                                                                                         

Tuition and Fees                                         

Harper College offers affordable ESL classes. Our tuition rates depend on where you live. See this map (new tab) to know if you live in the Harper District.

To learn more about costs and fees, please visit the Tuition Rates (new tab) web page.

Find out which financial aid options and scholarships (new tab) are available to you.

Information for New ESL Students

If you will be applying to Harper for the first time,  here are the instructions on how to apply (new tab). Registration is open throughout the year.                                                           

Please consider making a donation (new tab) to support the Academic ESL program.