Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language

Overview

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers TESL training through a certificate program administered by the Program in Linguistics.  This 15 credit-hour certificate is open to graduate students in any graduate program at UF.   The TESL Certificate is designed for those who wish to teach either overseas or in the US in universities and community colleges.  This program should not be confused with the State Department of Education's endorsement in ESOL for teaching in Florida public schools.  However, many courses may be applied to both programs.

Requirements

• Admission
• Course Requirements
• Cross-Cultural Experience
• Teaching Experience
• Contribution to the Profession
• Application for the Awarding of the Certificate

Admission

There is no special application.  The program is open to  native and non-native speakers of English who have completed their undergraduate studies at an accredited university and have been admitted into a graduate program at the University of Florida.  Those who complete the core courses are automatically part of the program.

English fluency:  No demonstration is needed by native speakers.  Non-native speakers of English may be asked to submit a score of 55 on the Test of Spoken English before they finish the program.

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Course Requirements

Those who enter the program with extensive TESL experience may be allowed to replace certain core courses with additional elective credit.  However, 15 credits must be complete at the University of Florida.  (15 credits are required; 9 credits core, 6 credits electives)

Required Core (9 credit hours-three courses)
TSL 6171     TESL I: Materials and Techniques 
LIN 5741      Applied English Grammar (also available through correspondence)
LIN 6720      Second Language Acquisition

Electives
TSL 6172   TESL II:  Materials for Special Purposes
LIN 6601    Sociolinguistics 
LIN 6622    Bilingualism
LIN 7641    Seminar in Language Variation
TSL 5143   Secondary ESOL Teaching Strategies 
TSL 6140   Curriculum and Materials Development  for ESOL K-12
TSL 6373   Methods of Teaching ESOL K-12 
TSL 6440   Testing and Evaluation of ESOl
FLE 6167   Cross Cultural Communication for Teachers
    others with advanced approval of TESL Coordinator

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Cross-Cultural Experience

Candidates may fulfill the cross cultural experience requirement by residing in a cultural setting not their own for at least 3 months while communication in a non-native language, or by studying one semester of a non-Romance or non-Germanic language.

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Teaching Experience

You must have gained at least three months ESL/EFL teaching experience in the United States or abroad before the TESL Certificate is awarded.  We encourage you to fulfill this requirement by teaching in one of the English language programs administered by Linguistics:  Academic Spoken English (an International Teaching Assistant program), the English Language Institute (an intensive English program for international students, or Scholarly Writing (a technical/academic writing program for international graduate students).    You may also fulfill this requirement by doing volunteer teaching in community education programs, by teaching overseas before beginning the program, or by enrolling in supervised teaching.

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Contribution to the Profession

Candidates will make a contribution to the profession by presenting a paper or leading a workshop at a professional meeting.

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Applying for the Certificate

When you have completed the requirements for the TESL Certificate, print out a copy of the TESL APPLICATION FORM.  You may also get a copy of the form in the Linguistics' office.  Fill out the application and send it to the TESL Coordinator.  The Coordinator will verify that you have met the requirements and request the printing of your Certificate, the signature by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Chair of the Program in Linguistics.  The Office Manager will then make sure that you receive your certificate by mail, approximately four weeks after the end of the term.  If there is a delay, contact the Coordinator.

Please note that you may apply for the certificate as soon as you have finished the requirements.  You do not have to wait until you have finished the graduate degree requirements.

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