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ESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) refers to the professional organization of teachers of English as a second or foreign language. The skills of an ESOL teacher allow teachers to embark on a rewarding career path helping students improve their language abilities. If you are interested in taking the journey towards TESOL, your first step should be obtaining a Certificate in TESL - a globally recognized credential of TESOL training.
The University of Illinois Department of Linguistics offers Graduate Level Certificates in Teaching English as a Second Language both on campus or fully online. The details of the Certificate and how to apply may be found below. We welcome your application to this program!
Note: The content, length, and instructors for a certificate are not regulated in the field of Teaching English as a second or foreign language. For this reason, certificates are distinguished by the institution awarding them and by the number of contact hours involved in earning the certificate. The Certificate in TESL from the Department of Linguistics at UIUC is a 300 contact-hour credential. Those wishing to teach ESL in a U.S. public school setting should see ESL Endorsement.
The following information describes the Certificate in TESL offered by the oldest TESL MA program in the United States and presented by TESL specialists of international stature. This Certificate in TESL for graduate students provides a solid foundation for teaching English as a second or foreign language in the U.S. or abroad.
If your questions are not adequately addressed in the following information, please contact Randall Sadler, Program Director, at TESLcertificate@illinois.edu.
Purpose of the certificate
The Certificate in TESL is a professional credential intended to provide a foundation for teaching English as a second or foreign language in non-public school settings. It is designed for undergraduate students and graduate students in UIUC degree programs.
Language requirements
The candidate must be either a native speaker of English, or an English language learner who has taken the Illinois English Placement Test and completed all language courses required by the test. See Illinois English Placement Test (EPT) .
Coursework and Program Details
The Certificate consists of six courses, three of which are required, and three of which are elective, chosen from a pool of EIL options. Except for the introduction to linguistics, only EIL courses satisfy course requirements; no equivalencies with other courses will be considered. Students must maintain a B average or better (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) for all UIUC courses in order to receive the certificate.
Students can take courses in-person, online, or a mix of both. The entire set of required and elective courses are offered online and on campus at UIUC. On-campus graduate students will pay campus tuition and fees which are different from the cost of online courses taken by off-campus graduate students.
While credit can be transferred from another institution for an Introduction to Linguistics Course (LING 400 or EIL 486), the other required courses and all of the elective courses must be those offered by the TESL faculty in the Department of Linguistics. Contact the program director for more details.
While courses can be taken in any order, it is recommended that the required courses are taken first to provide a firm background in the relevant concepts.
Required Courses
- LING 400 (undergraduates or graduates), or EIL 486
- LING 489 Theoretical Foundations of SLA
- EIL 411 Intro to TESL Methodology
Elective Courses (choose 3)
- EIL 422 English Grammar for ESL Teachers
- EIL 445 Second Lang Reading & Writing (on-campus only)
- EIL 456 Language in Social Interaction (on-campus only)
- EIL 460 Principles of Language Testing
- EIL 487 Technology for Language Teaching
- EIL 488 English Phonology & Morphology for TESL
(Pronunciation)
Total Credit Hours
The Certificate requires 24 hours. Each course above provides 4 hours of graduate credit. Students who have completed an introduction to linguistics course before starting the Certificate program may offer that course to satisfy the introduction to linguistics requirement.
Course availability
Required and elective courses listed above are available each long semester on campus. For information about online course offerings, please see this listing.
Program length
Students can finish the certificate in ten months by taking courses on the UIUC campus in Fall and Spring semesters.
A graduate student accepted into the MATESL degree program in the Department of Linguistics at UIUC may apply courses completed as part of the Certificate (and not used for another degree) to meet course requirements for the MATESL degree.
Admission Requirements
Application documents should be uploaded to the online application form for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Linguistics’ Online Certificate in TESL Non-Degree Program on the Illinois Graduate Admissions Application.
Application documents should include:
- Statement of Purpose
- Resume
- Three letters of recommendation
- Baccalaureate degree – please upload transcript and diploma with English translations where applicable
- For English language learners, a TOEFL iBT score report released to institution code #1836, dept. #00, with a total score of 100 or higher
An applicant who is an English language learner will be contacted in order to arrange a virtual interview with the Admissions Committee as the last step in the admissions process.
For fall courses, the deadline for full consideration is July 1. For spring courses, the deadline for full consideration is November 1. For Summer 2 courses, the deadline for full consideration is April 15. We will continue to accept applications until courses are filled.
Tuition
You can find the current tuition rates for the online program on the Illinois Online Student Services Page. Current tuition rates for the in-person program are found with the Office of the Registrar. Financial aid from the Department of Linguistics is not available.