Program Description
The 11-week English Conversation & American Culture program is a comprehensive program that provides international students an opportunity to improve their English conversation skills through content-focused classes, volunteer at PSU and in the Portland community and participate in small group conversation partner sessions with PSU students. Throughout classes students will further develop their reading, writing and pronunciation skills. Extracurricular activities and excursions around town and to iconic places in Oregon will allow students the opportunity to practice their English.
Students will be fully immersed in PSU campus and student life during the day while spending their evenings and weekends with their host families. Our homestay partner ACES (American Cultural Exchange Services) will provide adequate placement opportunities.
Students will have daily instruction, totaling 14 hours per week on average. The conversation-based classes will focus on current topics, such as sustainability at PSU and in Portland, poverty and homelessness in the U.S., social justice and gender identity issues, the Black Lives Matter movement, to name a few. To further increase students’ confidence in speaking English, they will participate in a Pronunciation & Public Speaking course supplemented with weekly group conversation sessions (2 hours per week).
Students will be able to choose between two content or "elective" courses, Tourism & Hospitality or Cross Cultural Leadership.
Tourism & Hospitality class
The focus of this class is on exploring topics relevant to the tourism and hospitality industry in Portland and around the world. Students engage in authentic, hands-on learning opportunities within Portland’s unique restaurants, hotels and attractions. Other topics include effective customer service, professional communication, and entrepreneurship in relation to Portland’s vibrant hospitality industry.
Cross-cultural Leadership class
In this class, students will learn about the skills needed to effectively lead and manage teams that are composed of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. These skills include cultural awareness, team building strategies, cross-cultural communication, emotional intelligence and global perspective.
Volunteer Activities
In order to provide meaning to some of the topics that are being covered, students will volunteer at PSU and in the Portland Community. These experiences are followed with guided reflections in class.
- Assist with the PSU Free Food Market
- Work in the PSU gardens
- Volunteer at the Oregon Food Bank
- Serve food to the homeless at Blanchet House
- Volunteer at the Children’s Book Bank
- Help at the PDX Restore
Conversation Practice Sessions
During the weekly small conversation partner sessions (totaling 20 hours), students will have an opportunity to speak to PSU students about their topics of interest or play interactive games. We have found that a more casual setting allows students to lose their inhibitions to speak in English.
Extracurricular Activities & Excursions
During extracurricular activities, students will explore the PSU Farmers Market (one of the largest farmers markets in the nation), Portland neighborhoods, with thrift stores, coffee shops, art galleries, Powell's Books (the largest bookstore in the Northwest), Made in Portland stores, restaurants, etc. We will take them to a shopping mall where they can enjoy tax-free shopping. A trip to our famous Columbia Gorge with Multnomah Falls and the Fish Hatchery are on the schedule as well and if weather permits, we will take students to the Oregon Coast.
All of our long-term students are invited to join PSU activities for international students and will be given access to that event schedule.
Tentative Weekly Schedule
Program Dates
Fall 2025 September 29 - December 10, 2025
Orientation and Farewell
- Orientation on September 29, 2025:
- Students will receive a PSU ID card and PSU computer account.
- Students will get a campus tour.
- Recognition ceremony on December 10, 2025:
- Students will receive a certificate of completion.
- Students will receive a grade report via email within 2 weeks after program completion.
Insurance
- Students are required to purchase their own health insurance in their home country.
- In case of illness or a medical emergency, students can use Zoom care and the nearby Oregon Health Science University Hospital (OHSU).
Program Dorm Fees and Homestay Information
In this program students will be able to stay both with a host family and in the PSU dorms. This will give students a well-rounded cultural experience.
Homestay dates: September 27 - November 9, 2025
Dormstay dates: November 9 - December 13, 2025
Please contact us at isp.programs@pdx.edu for more information about program fees.
Please contact ACES at aces.or@exploretheworld.org for more information about homestay fees.
Program Eligibility
- Participants must be 18 years of age or older
- Most participants are students at a university or college, but it is not a requirement
- There is no required English test score
- Anyone can attend the program on a visitor visa (ESTA)
Deadlines and Notifications
- You must complete both the application for the program and homestay by July 18, 2025.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
- The program fee includes a $120 non-refundable application fee.
- If you cancel 30+ days prior to the program start date, you will receive a full refund of the program fee minus the $120 non-refundable application fee.
- If you cancel between the 30 and 14 days prior to the start of the program, you will be refunded 50% of the program fee minus the $120 non-refundable application fee.
- If you cancel within 14 days prior to the program, you will be refunded 33% of the program fee minus the $120 non-refundable application fee.
- Once the program has started there will be no refunds.
- If PSU has to cancel the program for any reason before the start date you will receive a full refund.