Undergraduate ESL Section 2
Program Summary

  1. Philosophy, rationale, and objectives of the program.

The TESOL group minor was originally put together in the Department of Foreign Languages and Bilingual Studies because of the need for ESL professional preparation at the undergraduate level.  The program was modeled on the Bilingual group minor in the Department.  When the State finally approved the ESL endorsement, the program was already in existence. 

The philosophy of the group minor is to prepare teachers to work with English as a second language (or English Language Learners) in primarily k-12 settings.  The objectives of the program are similar to those of the Graduate Certificate in TESL.  “The primary goal …is to provide teachers with skills to more effectively address the academic and social challenges presented by increasingly diverse students, and to appreciate those students as resources for instruction and classroom management.” 

Specific goals and objectives include, but are not limited to, the following:

¨       To familiarize public school teachers with the processes of first and second language acquisition and strategies for addressing the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs);

¨       To sensitive language teachers to cultural differences within, between, and among students of various language backgrounds;

¨       To familiarize public school teachers with various methods and techniques used to teach language components and skills;

¨       To familiarize public school teachers with 1) integration of classroom content materials with English language skills using various instructional models and aligning lessons with the ESL Standards promoted by the professional organization (TESOL); 2) background information and experience in assessing both language and content for ELLs; and 3) appropriate intake, placement and progress assessment for ELLs in k-12 settings.

The program fits within the Department Teaching Programs Mission.  “The program is committed to preparing skilled second/foreign language teachers for a variety of national and international education settings.  Graduates will possess appropriate language competency, cross-cultural awareness, and pedagogical skills and resources to provide effective instruction that meets US national standards.”  In the case of the TESOL group minor, the standards of the profession as stated by the international organization, TESOL,  are those that have been used.

b.  The sequence of courses is as follows: (how these match up with the competencies within the endorsement proposal).

LNGE 223 (or LING 201) is a pre-requisite for       

TSLN 410 and a pre-requisite for

LNGE 425;

TSLN 420 (TSLN 410 is a pre-requisite for TSLN 420)

c.   Within the methods course and the materials/testing course, students are engaged in viewing, observing, trying out a variety of techniques that will engage learners of different styles.  In the LNGE 425 course, the concept of multiple intelligences and different learning styles is introduced; in the TSLN 410 and TSLN 420 classes, the concept of multiple intelligences and differing cultural backgrounds and learning styles are addressed in a practical manner (grounded in theory).  Students are expected to demonstrate the use of techniques that will engage learners of English using all of the senses.  This is especially true when the concept of content-based and/or sheltered language instruction is practiced and developed.

d.   The differences for age and grade level is done on an individual basis with the students in these core classes.  The future language teachers are expected to develop appropriate lesson plans, teaching strategies, and materials for the age, grade and proficiency levels of their current or future ELLs.  

e.   While the program depends on other departments for the theoretical and relevant underpinning concerning gender equity and cross-cultural issues (CTAC and professional preparation courses in the college of education, the subject matter itself is highly dependent on emphasizing the importance of these issues.  Materials, for example, are evaluated in terms of gender equity, stereotypical gender roles, racial and ethnic stereotypes, and sensitivity to a variety of different language and cultural backgrounds.  The subject area itself is reflective of global perspectives.

f.    Students are assessed in a variety of ways in all of the Departmental courses.  Hands on projects; reports; demonstrations; tests; and if/when a student does the practicum in ESL a portfolio is also used as part of the assessment process. 

Return to Undergraduate ESL Index