American Language Institute Blog

Andrew Toledo had always wanted to teach abroad, so after he graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in psychology, he did a Google search and found that his alma mater had the very thing he was looking for — a TESL/TEFL Certificate program, through the American Language Institute.

In preparation for a study abroad program in her senior year at San Diego State University, Chandler Marshall made a few visits to SDSU Global Campus, through which the program is administered.

“Despite being successful in school and at work, and even attaining significant financial security, I never hit upon a career that seemed to fit me,” said Susan Zyphur, a 2006 graduate of UCSD. All that changed when she decided to teach English abroad.

The most perfectly located grocery store in America opened on May 19. At the intersection of College Avenue and Lindo Paseo, in the southeast corner of South Campus Plaza, is a gleaming new Trader Joe’s.

When Saad Alajmi graduated from Al Jahra High School in June 2016, he decided to study in the United States and, after extensive googling, chose San Diego.

There are always many activities in Downtown San Diego and its famous Gaslamp Quarter.

San Diego State University has one of the top athletic programs in America and all SDSU students, including ALI students, get free admission to the football and basketball games, as well as all other athletic events on campus.

There is a lot to do in Del Mar, such as going to the San Diego County Fair, summer horse races, and the beach.

“What did I get myself into?!” was Carissa Baird’s first impression upon arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2013 to teach English as a second language.

Located in the South Bay area of San Diego County, Chula Vista is the second largest city in the county and the 14th largest in California. The U.S. Olympic Training more »

Students from an oral communications class at SDSU’s American Language Institute took a project one step further by making it literal rather than theoretical. The group of four students, from more »

La Jolla is one of the most popular beach locations in California because of its beautiful coastline and spectacular views. It’s surrounded by the ocean with the slopes of picturesque more »

Nestled in a forest, the beautiful mountain town of Julian is about a one-hour drive from San Diego. Among other things, it is famous for its apple pie, gold mining, more »

Editor’s note: The ALI will be updating its student profiles to let you know what some of our former students are doing today. Here is the original blog on Joe more »

Serving the local community is an important part of life for many international students at San Diego State University’s American Language Institute (ALI). To acknowledge those who are volunteering regularly, more »

Chinese native Yanying “Toto” Deng came to SDSU’s American Language Institute to improve her English through the Intensive English for Communication (IEC) and International Business English (IBE) programs. Little did more »

When students attend the American Language Institute (ALI) at San Diego State University, they are going to school at a beautiful location in California with many fun places nearby to more »

Balboa Park is celebrating the 100th anniversary of hosting the 1915 Panama-California Exhibition by upgrading exhibits and having special events throughout the year. Upgrades include expanding the Japanese Friendship Garden more »