Graduate-Level Certificate in TESL (Available On-Campus and Online)
PURPOSE:
The Certificate in TESL is a professional credential intended to provide a foundation for teaching English as a second or foreign language in non-public school settings. It is designed for undergraduate students and graduate students in UIUC degree programs.
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:
The candidate must be either a native speaker of English, or an English language learner who has taken the Illinois English Placement Test and completed all language courses required by the test. See Illinois English Placement Test (EPT) .
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
The certificate consists of six course, three of which are required, and three of which are elective, chosen from a pool of EIL options. Except for the introduction to linguistics, only EIL courses satisfy course requirements; no equivalencies with other courses will be considered. Students must maintain a B average or better (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) for all UIUC courses in order to receive the certificate.WARD CONFERRED:
Certificate candidates are awarded a certificate from the Department of Linguistics, signed by the Department Head and the Program Director.
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS:
20-24 hours. Students who have completed an introduction to linguistics course before starting the Certificate program may offer that course to satisfy the introduction to linguistics requirement. A transcript showing the course (completed within five years of starting the certificate) and a syllabus of the course must be submitted to the Program Director for consideration. If the course is accepted, five courses (20 credit hours) remain to be completed. Otherwise, students may take either LING 400 on campus or EIL 486 - Linguistics for Language Teachers, offered online during Summer 2 session, to satisfy the introduction to linguistics requirement.
COURSE AVAILABILITY:
Required and elective courses listed above are available each long semester on campus. Many of these courses are also available online. For information about online course offerings, please see this listing.
PROGRAM LENGTH:
Students can finish the certificate in ten months by taking courses on the UIUC campus in Fall and Spring semesters.
Most UIUC EIL and LING courses completed as part of the certificate (and not used for another degree) may be applied to meet course requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language in the Department of Linguistics at UIUC. Contact the Program Director for details.
APPLYING FOR THE CERTIFICATE:
The candidate must submit the following to the Program Director (contact information below):
a. An official UIUC transcript showing completion of all requirements for the Certificate in TESL
b. E-mail address
c. Phone number
d. Name as the candidate wishes it to appear on the certificate
e. Address to which the certificate and letter of completion will be mailed
PROGRAM CONTACT:
Randall Sadler
Program Director
Department of Linguistics
3054 Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building
707 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 244-2734
E-mail: rsadler@illinois.edu