American Language Institute

About US

Mission

The American Language Institute (ALI) at The University of Toledo provides students, scholars, and area residents of international origin with the academic language skills and the American cultural background to foster meaningful engagement with the university and the community. Through the coursework and extra-curricular offerings, ALI assists students in gaining cross-cultural skills.

History

The American Language Institute has been welcoming the world to Toledo, Ohio, since the fall of 1977.  The Institute was originally founded as a branch of The University of Toledo Continuing Education program with original director Pam Sharpe, instructors Richard Tucker and Patricia Russell, and seventeen dedicated students.

The Institute grew very rapidly in the early years, and by 1979, the ALI had expanded to over 100 students and a faculty of sixteen.  In the early years, the majority of students at the Institute hailed from the Gulf Nations and Venezuela, but as the ALI continued to evolve over the next three decades, there were influxes of students from countries such as Malaysia, Kuwait, South Korea, Japan, The People's Republic of China, and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In all, the American Language Institute has offered ESL instruction to students from over sixty different nations, with enrollments as high as 300 students per semester and a student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 15:1. Since the first years of the 21st century, the ALI has expanded its approaches and now employs a variety of instructional methods, including the latest in technologically advanced Computer Assisted Language Learning in fully mediated classrooms as well as experiential and project-based learning that takes English as a Second Language Instruction beyond the confines of the traditional classroom setting.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 3/21/23