American English Language School

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Phone Calls in English: Easy Phrases from AELS Los Angeles ESL Classes

Does your heart speed up when the phone rings and the screen says "Unknown"? For many adult English learners in Los Angeles, phone calls are the hardest part of speaking English. Without faces, gestures, or paper to point at, every word has to come through a small speaker, and many offices answer with a fast, memorized greeting. Use a Simple Script Most everyday calls follow the same pattern. Start with a greeting, your name, and your reason for calling: "Hi, my name is Maria Lopez. I am calling to schedule an appointment." Saying your reason early lets the other person guide the call, so you do not need to understand every word. Ask Without Embarrassment Native speakers ask these questions on the phone all the time: "Sorry, could you say that again, please?" "Could you speak a little more slowly?" "Just to confirm, you said Tuesday at 3:30, right?" Repeating dates, times, and numbers back catches mistakes before they beco...

Change of Status to F-1 in Fullerton: What Happens While You Wait

You filed Form I-539, the receipt notice arrived, and now months go by with no news. For students waiting in Fullerton, that quiet stretch is exactly where change of status applications go wrong. Here is the short version of what the rules allow. You cannot start class until USCIS approves On a B-2 visitor visa you may not enroll or begin studying until your change of status is approved. Enrolling while you are in a non-student status is a violation, no matter how informal the class feels. Your status keeps running while you wait If your status was valid the day you filed, F-1 applicants do not have to hold status continuously all the way up to 30 days before the program start date. And if USCIS is slow and the school defers you to the next term, no extra filing is needed as long as your original status had not expired. Do not leave the country Departing the United States while Form I-539 is pending is generally treated as abandoning it. You would have to apply for the F-1 visa ...

Change of Status to F-1 in Irvine: What the September 14 Court Order Means

If you have been counting down to September 15, you can stop. The deadline that international students across Orange County were racing toward did not arrive. One day before the new rule was set to take effect, a federal judge in the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction in Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS . The rule did not take effect on September 15, 2026, and no new effective date has been set. What this means for ESL classes in Irvine right now F-1 students remain on duration of status. Your admission is tied to the program on your Form I-20, not to a fixed calendar date. There is no four-year ceiling. English language programs are not capped at 24 months. And you do not need to file Form I-539 with a fee and biometrics simply to keep studying. This is a pause, not a cancellation. The case is still open and the rule could return in some form. If you were rushing to file, take a breath Many visitors on a B-2 visa spent A...

Small Talk Made Easy: English Conversation Tips from AELS Los Angeles ESL Classes

You are waiting in line for coffee and the person next to you says, "Crazy traffic today, huh?" You understand every word, but your mind goes blank. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone, and the fix is easier than you think. At our AELS Los Angeles English school, small talk is one of the first real-life skills we practice. Why Small Talk Matters Small talk is a short, friendly chat about easy topics like the weather, the weekend, or work. In the United States it happens everywhere, from elevators to coffee lines, and it is often how friendships and job opportunities begin. For adult English learners in Los Angeles, it is one of the fastest ways to feel at home. Three Safe Topics Weather: "It is so warm today!" Weekend: "Any plans for the weekend?" Work or school: "How long have you worked here?" The Answer + Detail + Question Formula One-word answers like "Fine" end conversations. Instead, answer the question, a...

TOEFL Scores for Fullerton Colleges in 2026: What Do You Actually Need?

If you are studying English in Fullerton with a college in mind, there is one number you should look up before you book another TOEFL test: the score the college itself actually requires. It is usually lower than students assume, and at some schools you do not need a TOEFL score at all. What Fullerton colleges ask for Cal State Fullerton asks international first-time freshmen for TOEFL iBT 61 or higher, IELTS 5.5 or higher, or PTE 43 or higher. Fullerton College accepts a wider range: TOEFL 61 for tests taken before January 2026 or a 4.0 band after, IELTS Band 5, Duolingo English Test 95, iTEP Level 3.5, or PTE Academic 44. If you cannot reach 61 on the TOEFL, you may already qualify on a different test. Check the admission page before you pay for another attempt. Your 2026 score report looks different Since January 21, 2026 the TOEFL reports scores on a 1 to 6 band scale in half-point increments, with a band for each section and an overall band that averages the four. That...

Sound Natural, Not Textbook: Pronunciation Tips from AELS Irvine ESL Classes

You have studied the grammar. You know the vocabulary. But when you speak, something still sounds off — and native speakers slow down or ask you to repeat. If that sounds familiar, the problem is probably not your English words. It is the sound layer underneath them. In our ESL classes in Irvine , this is one of the most common breakthroughs students have. Here are three of the fixes we work on every week at AELS Irvine. Link your words instead of separating them Learners tend to pronounce each word cleanly and separately: "an — apple." Native speakers glue them: "anapple." Same with "turn it off" (turn-i-toff). When a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, they connect. This single habit does more for how natural you sound than a hundred new vocabulary words. Ride the rhythm of the sentence English is stress-timed. Nouns, verbs and adjectives get length and volume; small words like of , to , the and a get squeezed almost to n...