Summer Possibilities

ISS programs range from the end of August through May. During the summer months, faculty members often facilitate workshops or retreats in other Salesian centers across the USA and elsewhere. However, a variety of theological and academic courses are available at the GTU and at the University of California at Berkeley. Programs in English-as-a-Second-Language are offered in a variety of schools and academies in Berkeley, including the UC Extension School and the Berkeley English Academy. These programs begin in early June and end in mid-August. ISS students engaged in summer programs live in community at Don Bosco Hall and walk to their classes.

English classes

Don Bosco Hall and the ISS arrange for summer courses with Berkeley English Academy for those who need to learn or improve their skills in the English language.

Berkeley English Academy (BEA) is located in downtown Berkeley (2161 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 313) – a 10-minute walk from Don Bosco Hall. Classes are offered from Monday through Thursday, beginning at 9:00a.m. and lasting until 2:30p.m.

BEA structures its courses along 7 levels of instruction: low beginning; high beginning; low intermediate; middle intermediate; high intermediate; low advanced; high advanced. The emphasis of the English program is on comprehension and conversational skills. For this reason, the working groups are kept small: 14 is the maximum number of students in each class. Progress in comprehension and speaking skills are evaluated daily, and classes are reconfigured every Monday in response to the needs and progress of each student.

Students who enroll in BEA pay a one-time registration fee, and a monthly tuition. Depending on one’s entry-level competence in English, normally 6 to 8 weeks of instruction are adequate to give students a good working knowledge of the language for class work at the GTU.

TOEFL: Preparation and Testing

BEA also offers special classes for those who need to prepare for The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL®). Most people who take the TOEFL test are planning to study at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, however, in recent years the test has been used by institutions in other countries where English is the language of instruction. In addition, government agencies, scholarship programs, and licensing/certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.

GTU Cooperative Summer Session

Courses offered during the summer at GTU are part of a cooperative venture of GTU member schools. These summer classes are designed as one-week sessions, beginning in mid-June and ending in mid-August, and include offerings in the arts, biblical studies, ethics, history, pastoral theology, preaching, spirituality, and theology.