Certificate in Teaching
English as a Second Language
The Graduate TESL Certificate will be available
only through
Spring Semester, 2010.
Graduate students, please see our new SLAT Certificate Page
Overview
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers beginning professional development in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) through an undergraduate certificate program administered by Linguistics. This 18 credit-hour certificate is open to undergraduate students in any undergraduate program at UF. The TESL Certificate is designed for those who wish to teach in varied settings either overseas or in the US. This program should not be confused with the State Department of Education's endorsement in ESOL for teaching in Florida public schools. For this, please contact UF’s College of Education.
Requirements
- Admission
- Sign up
- Course Requirements
- Application for the Awarding of the Certificate
- Contact for more information
Admission
The program is open to students from any major at UF. You should have a desire to interact with students from different cultures and possibly travel abroad, learn about the English language, learn about curriculum development and teaching issues, and, ultimately, teach English.
Sign Up
During the semester when you sign up for the TESL Certificate you should print out the TESL Certificate Registration application, complete it, and submit it to the Undergraduate Coordinator, Dr. Edith Kaan, TUR 4127.
You MUST submit this application as a hard copy before the deadline dates as follows:
Fall Semester: September 15th
Spring Semester: February 1st
Summer Semester: August 1st
Course Requirements
To be granted a TESL certificate, a student must complete, with grades of ‘C’ or better 18 credits (6 courses) distributed as follows. You must also have maintained a 3.0 GPA in these courses. All course work must be completed at UF. If you are a Linguistics major, only 3010 and 4721 can overlap with the major. In order to graduate with the TESL certificate, you need to have (had) at least nine additional courses that are unique to the LIN major.
Required Courses (6 courses of 3 credits each)
LIN 3010--Introduction to Linguistics
LIN 4721--Second Language Acquisition
TSL 3360--Introduction to TESL
TSL 3378--Pronunciation for TESL (prereq: LIN3010)
LIN 3680--Modern English Structure (prereq: LIN3010)
TSL 4940--Internship for TSL: This is the capstone course of the certificate. You must have completed at least 4 of the required courses in order to do the internship. During the internship, you will observe experienced teachers, develop a course with a cohort of other novice teachers, and teach that course with your teaching cohort in a specific teaching context.
Application for the Awarding of the Certificate
When you have completed the requirements for the TESL Certificate, print out a copy of the TESL Certificate application for completion. You may also get a copy of the form in the Linguistics' office. Fill out the application and send it to the Linguistics Undergraduate Coordinator, Dr. Edith Kaan. 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 should submit the Awarding of Certificate form during the semester that you are graduating.
The following deadlines apply:
Graduating in Fall Semester: September 15th
Graduating in Spring Semester: February 1st
Graduating in Summer Semester: August 1st
Contact For More Information
For more information about the TESL certificate, please contact the TESL coordinator, Dr. Paula Golombek, or the Undergraduate coordinator, Dr. Edith Kaan
Have a Question? Contact us.
