The article presents the principles of ESL course design at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Saint-Petersburg State University (SPbSU). The program unites both the requirements of SPbSU standards and the principles of liberal arts education. ESL course design focuses on English for general academic purposes (EGAP) aimed to prepare students to take academic courses taught in English at the faculty as well as to study abroad. The paper examines the results of surveying students in their first year which led to a redesign of the ESL program covering the following aspects: Critical Reading and Writing, Oral Academic Discourse (uniting academic listening and speaking skills), and EGAP Language Development and Effective Learner Strategies. In addition to a redesign of the program, students’ academic and personal development is taken into consideration to foster basic skills, which are necessary for their entire college career i.e. motivation and time management. As a result of reviewing the ESL program, it has been suggested that ESL teachers should run a needs based analysis, and that includes teachers of academic classes taught in English (EMI), to better prepare students for the types of tasks they will encounter further.