By Brianna Burrows

Houston, Texas is a popular destination for international students to study English. Houston is the fourth largest city and hosts a range of booming industries. The large city has over 35 colleges and universities in the area. With nearly 40% of the population in Harris County speaking languages other than English, it’s an attractive city for international students to learn English. Here is a list programs where you can study English in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas.

ELS Language Centers

ELS Language Centers owns numerous language centers across the United States. The ELS Houston campus is next to University of St. Thomas, and ELS students have complete access to the university’s campus and facilities. ELS provides English language programs for youth, adults and executives. In addition, they also provide test-prep courses.

Rice University

Rice University offers an Intensive English Program (IEP) and ESL Communication Skills Program. Rice University's IEP is a full-time time program with classes during the day, totalling 20 hours a week. The IEP sessions are seven weeks long and offered multiple times throughout the year. The ESL Communication Skills Program is a part-time program in which classes take place during the evening, totalling three hours a week.

Sam Houston State University

Sam Houston State University’s English Language Institute offers students various sessions. Their summer session is four weeks long and includes learning listening, speaking, comprehension, pronunciation, and more.  They also offer two different fall sessions.

Texas Intensive English Program

Texas Intensive English Program (TIEP) is located on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont which is an hour outside of Houston and near Galveston. TIEP offers courses to help students transition to college or universities. In addition, they offer English courses for professionals or educators. They offer different sessions with various lengths from four weeks to eight weeks.

University of Houston - Language and Culture Center

The University of Houston Language and Culture Center offers three sessions to learn English during the fall, winter, and summer.  Each session is 13 or 14 weeks long and provides 20 hours of classroom instruction per week.

University of Houston Downtown - English Language Institute

The University of Houston Downtown’s English Language Institute offers an Intensive English Language Program to improve all levels of English language skills. Each session is six and a half weeks long and includes 20 hours a week of instruction plus 20 hours a week of free lab. The program has eight different levels and can cater to any level of student.