ESL Minor / Certification ("Teacher of English Learners" or "Bilingual Teacher")
Objectives
This minor is designed to provide students expertise and training on the theory and practice of teaching English to non-native speakers of English and/or bilingual learners. The program provides students with the pedagogical and intellectual preparations necessary to teach non-native speakers of English. This minor is open to all students; however, educators majors who enroll in this minor also complete all requirements to teach in K-12 English Language Learner (ELL) or dual language immersion classrooms and obtain Delaware Department of Education secondary certification in either “1562 Teacher of English Learners” or “1561 Bilingual Teacher”.
Minor Requirements
The TELL minor requires the completion of 15 core course credits hours. The curriculum follows a praxis model in which students are expected to apply the learned theory and methods in the classroom. Accordingly, 20 hours of EFE (early field experience) are required as part of one of the core courses.
Students pursuing the bilingual education certification must evidence language proficiency in their target language. Proficiency is evidenced by 1) achieving a minimum level of Advance Mid (for tests using the Roman alphabet) or Advanced Low (for tests using a non-Roman alphabet) based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines on the ACTFL OPI in the target language, and 2) achieving a passing score on the ACTFL WPT in the target language.