Capstone English Center

School Introduction

Capstone is located in downtown Portland, Oregon, within 3 blocks of both bus and light rail mass transit convenient from throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area, and within 5 minutes' walk of the main branch of the public library, a major university library, and the largest bookstore in the Western United States. Portland is home to the largest park within the boundaries of a U.S. city, and tree-lined streets are common. Portland weather is moderate, neither going below freezing in winter nor above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in summer for more than a few days, yet within 90 minutes' drive of both ocean beaches and mountains offering world-class snow sports. High-desert volcanic areas are just another hour east, offering extrordinary glimpses of desert wildlife, small-town living, and white-water rafting and fishing. Home to the Portland Rose Festival, which runs for several weeks every summer, including fairs, community activities, motor sports, an airshow, and, of course, an international rose competition, the city hosts participants from all across the U.S.. The metro area is home to three community colleges and several universities ranging from the small and exclusive Reed College to Portland State University, the largest university in Oregon, as well as numerous high-tech companies such as Intel, Xerox, and InFocus, the world's largest manufacturer of LCD presentation projectors, and so many others that Portland became known as the Silicon Forest.

ESL Program Introduction

Capstone English Center offers unmatched flexibility, student acces to instructors, and low tuition. All teachers have lived overseas extensively (3 to 20 years), speak a foreign language, and have taught ESL for a minimum of 10 years. New students take a brief placement test before meeting privately with the teacher assigned to supervise their progress, who discusses their background and purpose for studying English, in the course of evaluating their speaking ability. The teacher then chooses the curriculum -- books, tapes, videos, computer software, conversation and study groups -- that will most benefit each student, and helps plan a general study plan. Students will have several private meetings scheduled with their supervising instructor every week, and will participate in small study groups for conversation, pronunciation and enunciation, idioms, grammar, and test preparation (TOEFL, TOEIC, GED, GRE, GMAT, etc.). For the remainder of their time in school students study independently -- much like doing their homework in a traditional school, except that whenever they have a question or a problem they can go speak with an instructor for assistance, which might mean a 15-second question and answer or a 15-minute mini-tutorial. That immediate access to instructors is very, very important, because it prevents the kind of confusion and frustration that can be common in traditional school environments, and these unscheduled contacts can often be more important than the scheduled meetings, because the students receive the help they need at the exact moment that they need it. Students have much, much more opportunity to work privately with teachers than in other schools, and teachers have the opportunity to learn more about the needs and abilities of each student, and the flexibility to change the curriculum, if necessary, in order to address new understanding of students' abilities and deficiencies.

Background Data

• Number of ESL Students: NA - Individualized - Open Entry 50 weeks per year
• Average Class Size: NA - Individualized - private tutorials - conversation & study group size less than 10 per teacher
• Hours per Week: 2 to 40 at student's choice, F-1 students at least 22 hours
• Minimum Age: Approximately 14 - dependent upon maturity of individual student
• Issue I-20: Yes
• Housing Options: Apartment
• School Setting:  Urban 

Schedule & Fees

Starting Dates: Any school day
Tuition: $580 per month
Registration Fee: $50
Housing: $600 - $800 per month

Special Courses & Features

• English for Business
• Accent Reduction Courses
• Conversation Partner Program
• GMAT/GRE Preparation Courses
• Pre-MBA Courses or Program
• Public Speaking Courses
• Internships or Work Experience
• TOEFL Preparation Courses
• Teacher Training Courses
• TOEIC Preparation Courses
• One-to-One Instruction / Private Lessons
• Courses for Juniors / Teenagers (12 - 16 yrs old)

Housing/Accommodation Info

Students seeking a host family should contact ANDEO (http://www.andeo.org/)

Contact Info

Capstone English Center
PO Box 8795
Portland OR 97207-8795

Tel 503.228.6346
Fax 503.228.3961
Website