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The TESL program in the Department of Linguistics has offered ESL Endorsement course work and clinical experiences to Illinois teachers since the endorsement was established in the State of Illinois in the early 1970s. In those early years, our faculty pioneered an innovative multilingual-multicultural public school program that became a model for school systems across the U.S. Since then we have continued to work with public school ESL teachers in the local area.

Purpose: 

The ESL Endorsement is the minimal professional credential required by the State of Illinois of those teachers who hold (or are earning) an Illinois teaching certificate (Types 03, 04, 09, 10) and who wish to teach ESL in the public school system to students whose native language is not English. The endorsement program provides the course work and clinical experience that meet State of Illinois ESL Endorsement requirements.

The ENL Endorsement is an advanced credential for secondary school that includes satisfying all the requirements of ESL Endorsement and meeting two further requirements: completing two additional TESL or bilingual education courses and a State-administered TESL proficiency test. Those who do not wish to take the TESL proficiency test can take 14 credit hours beyond the 18 required for the ESL Endorsement instead. According to the No-Child-Left-Behind legislation, a teacher must be designated as Highly Qualified in order to carry full responsibility for a public school ESL class. The ESL Endorsement alone does not satisfy this federal requirement; the ENL Endorsement does. The content of the Teacher Education Minor in ESL can be a guide for those seeking the ENL Endorsement. See here.

Programs:

(a) Undergraduate students who are earning a teaching certificate for public school teaching may wish to meet the requirements for the ESL Endorsement by completing the Teacher Education Minor in TESL. See Minors in TESL. The Teacher Education Minor in TESL allows the candidate to apply for both the ESL Endorsement and the ENL Endorsement. (b) Undergraduate students who want to earn the ESL Endorsement alone, but do not wish to do the Teacher Education Minor in TESL, and graduate students, may earn the ESL Endorsement as described below. They may also wish to take two extra TESL or bilingual education courses and sit for the State-administered TESL proficiency test in order to qualify for the ENL Endorsement. 

Requirements for the ESL Endorsement:

The State of Illinois specifies two types of requirements for the ESL Endorsement: (a) 18 credit hours of course work in specific content areas, and (b) 100 clock-hours of clinical experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program or 3 months of teaching experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program.

The following table lists the State of Illinois content area and clinical requirements for the ESL Endorsement and Department of Linguistics courses that meet these requirements.

Content Area Requirements: ESL Endorsement

STATE OF ILLINOIS REQUIRED CONTENT AREAS UIUC COURSES MEETING REQUIREMENTS
A. Linguistics A. LING 100 Intro to Language Science, OR
LING 400 Intro to Linguistic Structure, OR
EIL 486 Linguistics for Language Teachers, OR
EIL 422 Engl Grammar for ESL Teachers, OR
EIL 488 English Phon & Morph for TESL
B. Theoretical foundations of teaching ESL B. LING 489 Theoretical Foundations of SLA (Second Language Acquisition)
C. Assessment of the bilingual student C. EIL 460 Principles of Language Testing
D. Methods and materials for teaching ESL D. EIL 411 Intro to TESL Methodology
E. Cross-cultural studies for teaching limited-English-proficiency students E. EIL 456 Language in Social Interaction I

Clinical Experience Requirement: ESL Endorsement

STATE OF ILLINOIS REQUIRED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE UIUC COURSES MEETING THE REQUIREMENT
100 clock-hours of clinical experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program EIL 214 TESL in the Elementary School, OR
EIL 215 TESL in the Secondary School

 

Requirements for the ENL Endorsement:

The State of Illinois specifies four types of requirements for the ENL Endorsement: (a) 18 credit hours of course work in specific content areas, (b) two additional courses in TESL or bilingual education, (c) 100 clock-hours of clinical experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program or 3 months of teaching experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program, and (d) a State-administered TESL proficiency test.

The following table lists the State of Illinois content area and clinical requirements for the ENL Endorsement and Department of Linguistics courses that meet these requirements.

Content Area Requirements: ENL Endorsement

STATE OF ILLINOIS REQUIRED CONTENT AREAS UIUC COURSES MEETING REQUIREMENTS
A. Linguistics A. LING 100 Intro to Language Science, OR
LING 400 Intro to Linguistic Structure, OR
EIL 486 Linguistics for Language Teachers, OR
EIL 422 Engl Grammar for ESL Teachers, OR
EIL 488 English Phon & Morph for TESL
B. Theoretical foundations of teaching ESL B. LING 489 Theoretical Foundations of SLA (Second Language Acquisition)
C. Assessment of the bilingual student C. EIL 460 Principles of Language Testing
D. Methods and materials for teaching ESL D. EIL 411 Intro to TESL Methodology
E. Cross-cultural studies for teaching limited-English-proficiency students E. EIL 456 Language in Social Interaction I
F. Elective TESL coursework (6 hours or 2 courses)

F. Recommended

EIL 422 English Grammar for ESL Teachers
EIL 488 Engl Phonology & Morphology for TESL
(pronunciation)

Clinical Experience Requirement: ESL Endorsement

STATE OF ILLINOIS REQUIRED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE UIUC COURSES MEETING THE REQUIREMENT
100 clock-hours of clinical experience in a public school ESL or bilingual education program EIL 214 TESL in the Elementary School, OR
EIL 215 TESL in the Secondary School

 

Special Instructions for EIL 460: 

Students taking EIL 460 must inform the instructor that she/he is taking the course to satisfy Illinois State Board of Education requirements for an ESL or ENL Endorsement. The instructor will adapt the curriculum for public school work. When the course is complete, the student must ask the instructor to write the Council on Teacher Education, stating that the course satisfies the public school assessment component.

Special Instructions for EIL 214, EIL 215:

Although listed as 200-level courses, the courses that provide the required clinical experience must be taken after completing foundational requirements A, B, and D. (See the first table above.)

Availability of Courses:

All required courses are available on-campus each fall and spring semester. In addition, most of the EIL courses that meet content area requirements are available online. For information about meeting ESL endorsement course requirements online see this page. For general information about online course offerings, please see this listing.

Applying for the Endorsement:

On-campus students who complete ESL Endorsement requirements while in a degree program can apply for the endorsement through UIUC’s Council on Teacher Education. They are also eligible to apply for a Certificate ini TESL. See information here for On-Campus Certificate in TESL.

Program Contact:

Randall Sadler 
On-Campus ESL Endorsement Supervisor
Department of Linguistics
3054 Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building
707 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 244-2734
E-mail: rsadler@illinois.edu