ESL ENDORSEMENT AND BILINGUAL TEACHER CERTIFICATION
Bilingual teachers and teachers with ESL endorsements are in high demand in today's schools. If you are interested in earning an ESL teaching certificate or a bilingual teaching certification, NTEC can help you accomplish your goal.
Whether you want a Wisconsin or Illinois ESL endorsement, NTEC offers several teacher certification programs leading to a teaching license and either a Bilingual or an ESL endorsement, including:
• Master of Science in Education Traditional Track
• Master of Science in Education Alternative Teacher Certification
Most bilingual graduate students participate in the Alternative Certification Track because students in that track are able to work as full-time, paid teachers beginning in the second semester of the program.
While related, bilingual and teachers with an ESL endorsement provide different services to English Language Learners (ELLs) in K-12 schools.
THE ROLE OF A BILINGUAL TEACHER
Many students either begin school with limited English or transfer into schools from other countries. Like any other student, these students need to learn Math, Science, History, English, Reading, and a range of other subjects; however, if they cannot understand their teachers, they are not able to learn.
Bilingual teachers work with ELLs using a combination of English and the students' native language to ensure that these students do not fall behind in content-area instruction while they are learning English.
In many schools, there are levels of bilingual instruction designed to meet the needs of students. For example, first-year bilingual students might receive the majority of their instruction in their native language, while third-year bilingual students receive the majority of their instruction in English from a teacher who can reinforce instruction in the students' native language, if necessary.
THE ROLE OF A TEACHER WITH AN ESL ENDORSEMENT
While teachers who have their bilingual teaching certification can help ensure that ELLs do not fall behind in content-area instruction, teachers with ESL teaching certificates can work with these students to help them learn English. As such, an ESL teacher does not need to speak the native languages of his or her students. Rather, the ESL teacher needs a repertoire of instructional strategies designed to help students transition from their native languages to English. For example, an ESL teacher understands the differences between the grammatical structure of students' native languages and English, and he or she uses strategies designed to help students recognize those differences.
If you are interested in earning your Wisconsin or Illinois ESL endorsement, contact NTEC today to learn more!
