It has never been more important for educators and other professionals engaged in the field of education to be globally conscious and equipped to instill global competency in their own students. Through engagement with international students, institutional partnerships, on-campus international programming, study abroad opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students, and research with visiting scholars, we prepare globally conscious citizens, teachers, administrators, researchers, and policymakers who are ready to confront the global challenges and embrace the worldwide possibilities of our time.
by Tom Hanlon / Oct 14, 2020
The need for a bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement has never been greater in the state of Illinois, and the College of Education is helping to fulfill that need through a fully online endorsement program for practicing teachers.
“The state of Illinois is seeing a number of emergent bilinguals,” says Sarah McCarthey, department head and professor in Curriculum & Instruction. “We feel it’s important to train, develop, and support as many teachers as we can.”
The growing need, coupled with the program’s high quality, has resulted in the number of students surging from 15 to 60 in the program’s first 12 months.
The College also offers a face-to-face endorsement program for preservice teachers, because “principals who are hiring our graduating students to teach more and more want this endorsement,” McCarthey adds.
The courses for the online endorsement are offered in eight-week primarily synchronous sessions, McCarthey says. Practicing teachers can earn the endorsement separately or as part of any degree program they are pursuing and add the endorsement to their Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL).
There are a number of advantages to earning the endorsement through the University of Illinois, McCarthey notes. She specifically points out three.
“Our underlying philosophy, which all of our instructors share, is we see emergent bilinguals as assets,” McCarthey says. “We think about what they are bringing to the classroom, what we can learn from them. We want to build on what they bring from their home culture, their home language that we can capitalize on their assets.”
Go here to learn how to apply for the bilingual and ESL endorsement, as well as other College of Education programs.
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