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.
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.
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 |
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 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 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 in 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