Western Illinois University

• Your potential. Our purpose.
• Macomb
• Quad Cities
• Online
• APPLY NOW

WIU Home > COEHS > School of Education > Licenses

Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Location: online

The School of Education offers a certificate program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which is designed to meet the needs of students desiring to teach English in a variety of settings throughout the world. Specialized coursework in the certificate program focuses on theories and methodologies of TESOL while providing practical classroom experience. This coursework may also be used to satisfy the 18 s.h of elective credit for the (M.S. Ed.) in Education program, and for licensed teachers, the English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education endorsements¹ .

[Note ¹- Teachers: EDS 427G, EDS 435G, EDS 457G, EDS 458G, and EDS 453G are state approved courses for both the ESL and the Bilingual Education endorsements. As a 6th course, choose EDS 430G if you want both the ESL and the Bilingual endorsement. Teachers who only want the ESL endorsement have the option of taking EDS 440G as a 6th course.]

Admission Requirements

Applicants for admission to post-baccalaureate certificate programs must hold a bachelor’s degree from an institution that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency. Application for admission must be made on-line at the Graduate Studies' website.

TESOL Certificate Requirements

The TESOL certificate requires 18 semester hours (s.h.) that must be completed within three calendar years. The required courses are as follows.

• EDS 427G Foundations of Education for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations (3 s.h.)
• EDS 435G Cultural Studies of Second Language Learners in the Classroom (3 s.h.)
• EDS 457G Methods and Materials of Teaching ESL (3 s.h.)
• EDS 458G Linguistics for the Teacher of English Language Learners (3 s.h.)
• EDS 458G Linguistics for the Teacher of English Language Learners (3 s.h.)
  • EDS 440G Sociolinguistics (3 s.h.)
  • EDS 430G Methods and Materials for Teaching in Multilingual Programs (3 s.h.)
  • EDS 453G Assessment of Multilingual Students (3 s.h.)
  • EDS 430G Methods and Materials for Teaching in Multilingual Programs (3 s.h.)
  • EDS 547 TESOL Listening, Speaking and Pronunciation Methodologies (2 s.h.) and EDS 548 Computer Assisted Language Learning for TESOL (1 s.h.)

Academic Requirements

Students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA for all course work required for completion of the certificate. A post-baccalaureate certificate will not be awarded to a student who earns more than three semester hours of C, D, F, FN, FW, or U grades in the graduate level courses required for the completion of the certificate. No course for which a student has received a grade of D or less may be used to satisfy certificate requirements. Transfer work or course substitutions are not allowed in certificate programs.

The work required for the certificate must be completed within three calendar years. Students may petition the Graduate Council for an extension of time for outdated courses. Evidence must show that such courses have been revalidated by examination or some other means as determined by the department.

If approved by the specific academic department, courses taken to satisfy certificate requirements may be used to satisfy post-baccalaureate degree requirements at the University (such as the M.S. Ed. in Education).

All students must file a formal application for graduation for post-baccalaureate certificate completion. Deadlines for submitting the application for graduation are as follows: spring semester, March 10; summer session, June 10; and fall semester, October 10. Applications received after these dates will be automatically moved to the next semester. Application forms can be found at the Graduate Studies Website.

Course Descriptions

EDS 427G Foundations of Education for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations. (3) An introduction to the historical, philosophical, political, social, and educational issues that have contributed to policy regarding public school services for language minority populations. Clinical experience-15 hours required.

EDS 430G Methods and Materials for Teaching in Multilingual Programs (3) Acquaints students with methodology and materials, preparation of content-based language instruction, lesson plans, behavioral, language and content objectives, and inquiry teaching for the multilingual/ ESL classroom. Portion of content presented in Spanish. All methods sections are for k-12 unless otherwise specified. Clinical experience-15 hours required.

EDS 435G Cultural Studies of Second Language Learners in the Classroom. (3) The study of historical and contemporary social and cultural issues affecting selected ethnic groups, with particular emphasis on the impact of culture, learning, and schooling on second language learners in US schools. Field experience-15 hours required.

EDS 440G Sociolinguistics. (3) Exploration of foundational work in the field of sociolinguistics and current issues in the field. This course will emphasize the culture-language interface at the level of social relationships with special emphasis on educational settings.

EDS 453G Assessment of Multilingual Students. (3) Selection, administration, and interpretation of measurement instruments. Description of testing: multicultural, bilingual, ESL, language competency tests; language proficiency/ achievement testing; linguistic/cultural aspects of assessment; assessment in classroom. Clinical experience-20 hours required.

EDS 457G Methods and Materials of Teaching English Language Learners. (3) Analysis of language learning processes of bilingual children. The appropriate order for learning basic skills in two languages will be discussed and techniques of teaching English as a second language will be introduced and practiced. Clinical experience-15 hours required.

EDS 458G Linguistics for the Teacher of English Language Learners. (3) The study of linguistics applied to teaching limited-English-speaking students. Includes English and non-English phonology, syntax, analysis, and application of linguistic theory. Clinical experience-20 hours required.

EDS 547 TESOL Listening, Speaking and Pronunciation Methodologies. (2) Designed to allow students to examine the articulation of English sounds, the rules that govern their use in speech, and explore ways of applying this knowledge to the teaching of pronunciation. Additional emphasis will be placed on teaching listening/speaking strategies in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) environment.

EDS 548 Computer Assisted Language Learning for TESOL. (1) Students explore how the use of technology can enhance language learning and use online tools to design language learning lessons in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Prerequisite or corequisite: EDS 547. Prerequisite or corequisite: EDS 547.

Connect with us: