Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Teaching English as a Second or Other Language program was originally established at UWP to internationalize the school. The program has provided students with the professional knowledge and skills to teach English to speakers of other languages in the United States or abroad since 1998, when the university began offering an English as a second language practicum to students from Nagasaki, Japan. During the 2008-2009 academic year, the TESOL program was revised and the improved program came into effect this fall.

"The new TESOL program now has more options for a broad range of students," said Yuanyuan Hu, UWP assistant professor of English, who proposed the changes to the program curriculum.

The program was renamed Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and now offers three tracks to accommodate students with differing educational needs: a TESOL licensure minor, a TESOL minor and a TESOL certificate.

The 24-credit TESOL licensure minor is designed to prepare pre-service teachers to work with English language learners in kindergarten through 12th grade who have limited English proficiency. Students must enroll in the UWP School of Education and must seek a regular Wisconsin teaching license. Completion of the licensure minor leads to a Wisconsin add-on license in English as a Second Language.

"The add-on license gives pre-service teachers a competitive edge in the workforce," said Hu.

The 24-credit TESOL minor is designed for students who are interested in teaching English as a second or foreign language or pursuing a higher degree in TESOL, linguistics, applied linguistics or a related field. The minor track is open to all UWP students regardless of their major.

The TESOL certificate requires 18 credit hours that prepare students to teach English abroad or in adult English as a second language programs in the United States. The certificate track is also open to all UWP students regardless of their major.

Changes to the TESOL program also included the revision of existing courses to make them more accessible to students, the addition of new required courses and more elective options.

Sociolinguistics and Language and Culture, two required TESOL courses, are now available to take for general education credit in international education, while Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language and Practicum of Teaching English as a Second Language can now be taken for both teaching and English credit.

Two new courses will also be available in the coming semesters. Introduction to Linguistics, a course that provides a general introduction to the study of human language, will be available beginning in the fall 2010 semester. Second Language Acquisition will be available beginning in the spring 2011 semester and will introduce students to the study of how people acquire a second language.

With these changes, Hu hopes that the TESOL program can benefit more studentts.

"English is now the most widely taught foreign language in the world. There are abundant opportunities for teaching English overseas," said Hu. "In the United States, the number of English language learners in kindergarten through 12th grade has been increasing. It is thus important that pre-service teachers are prepared for the growing linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom. Above all, the TESOL program aims to help students become global citizens with a better understanding of themselves and others."

For more information on the TESOL program, contact Hu at (608) 342-1929 or huy@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Yuanyuan Hu, assistant professor, UWP Department of Humanities, (608) 342-1929, huy@uwplatt.edu; Teresa Burns, associate professor, Department of Humanities (608) 342-1880, burnst@uwplatt.edu Written by: Morgan Spitzer, UWP Office of Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, spitzerm@uwplatt.edu