The Pioneer Academy Intensive English Language Learning (IELL) Department was developed to assist students in their journey from low-intermediate English proficiency to the proficiency level necessary to succeed in regular college-preparatory classes. Students study Reading & Literature, Academic Vocabulary, Listening & Speaking, Grammar & Writing, and other primary subject courses, with the inclusion of TOEFL Jr test preparation. All courses are designed to prepare students for the rigorous coursework of college preparatory classes they will encounter after graduating from the Pioneer Academy IELL Program. While in the IELL program, students are expected to learn and embrace the North American-style school system as well as the language and culture of the English-speaking United States. Students will be held to high standards in both behavior and academics and, as always, are expected to perform at a level of excellence.

International students wishing to enter Pioneer Academy must take a TOEFL Junior placement test to determine their English proficiency level.  Students who score below the required English proficiency level for regular college-preparatory classes are recommended for ELL classes.  During the Intensive ELL Program, students are given three more TOEFL Junior tests: one at the end of the first, second, and fourth quarter.  Passing any of these tests is a prerequisite, but it is not limited to allowing students to graduate from the ELL program and enter the regular college-preparatory curriculum.

All prospective students with a native or first language other than English are required to take the placement test.  Students who score below the predetermined range for the IELL Program are not recommended for the program, as it is unlikely that the one-year duration of the IELL Program will provide the necessary amount of time to reach the required proficiency level.  Prospective students wishing to enter the program against the recommendations of the ELL Department may be admitted into a two-year IELL Program if possible.

The Intensive ELL Program at Pioneer Academy is a rigorous, practicality-based, one-year English Language Learning program.  Students in the program are enrolled in classes taught by professional ELL instructors and are immersed in an all-English curriculum covering information and content most immediately useful both in a student’s academics and daily life. Instructors conduct engaging, highly interactive, and efficient classes focused on providing the vocabulary, phraseology, and cultural understanding necessary for students to understand, communicate, and become independent learners.  For motivated students, this can be a life-changing experience that provides them with the tools they need to achieve excellence in their pursuit to become great scholars, professionals, and individuals. Students learn the most common vocabulary and communicative language patterns, which they can apply to almost every situation they encounter in their lives.  The curriculum model is based on a combination of the NJ Student Learning Standards (SLS) for World Languages and the thorough NY English as a Second Language Standards.  The research, resources, and experience of traditional programs are combined with the results-based focus of ELL programs for professionals.

The Pioneer Academy Intensive ELL Department is dedicated to providing ELL students with the knowledge, resources, techniques, and confidence to enter regular college-preparatory classes with the full potential to succeed.  We believe that anyone can master a language, and our ELL/ESL staff has decades of experience helping thousands of students achieve mastery.  Graduating from the Intensive ELL Program at Pioneer Academy means that the ELL Department is confident in the students' ability to succeed in our college–preparatory program; nevertheless, it will be the student’s duty to apply what they have learned and persist in their pursuit of excellence to graduate from Pioneer Academy ready to enter the college or university of their choice.  If students are willing to invest in hard work along with the motivation and discipline to do their very best consistently, then they have the potential to succeed at Pioneer Academy!