Int'l Center for Language Studies

ICLS is a woman-owned, independent language school based in Washington, DC that was founded in 1966 to provide English as a Second Language (ESL) and foreign language training. We also offer high-quality internships at US companies and organizations through our “WIN in the USA” Program.

Our relationships with government agencies and international organizations such as the Department of Defense, US Agency for International Development and the World Bank have been long standing; most have been our clients for over 20 years. Our relationships with individuals who have made language learning a life-long commitment have been just as long.

We are much more than a language school, though. We are a community of teachers, students, and staff who believe in life-long language learning, and we foster a strong student-centered and communicative approach to teaching. Our unique programs, such as our full-service Washington International Internship Network (WIN in the USA) Program and High-Intensity Language Training (HILT), were designed to meet the needs of the international, national, and local communities.

Because we are a boutique language school, our staff provides a high level of personal service and attention to meet the needs of our foreign language and English language students as well as our internship program participants. We place students quickly in a program that is tailored to fit their needs and with a teacher who will ensure they meet their personal and/or professional goals. Our instructors believe in the active use of authentic language and view grammatical knowledge not as an end in itself, but as a tool to convey and comprehend intended meaning in the target language.