Certificate Program in ESL Program Specialist and Leadership

Penn State Harrisburg offers the ESL Specialist and Leadership Certificate program online to PreK-12 educators and to candidates in the Master's in Teaching and Curriculum Program, who may be interested in obtaining the ESL certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). The focus of the program is on preparing educators to meet the needs of English language learners in the culturally and linguistically diverse PreK-12 classroom.

Application Process

1. Complete the Graduate School online application, choosing "Certificate Admission" for the application type. Next, select "Harrisburg" as the Campus, "ESL Program Specialist and Leadership" as the Certificate, and the semester you choose to begin.
2. Submit copies of your undergraduate transcripts to the Program Director (contact information listed below).
3. If you are requesting scholarship funding, also submit a Letter of Recommendation to the Program Director.
4. International applicants have additional requirements.

After Completing Your Application

1. After you complete your online graduate application, you will recieve a letter from Penn State University indicating whether or not you have been accepted to begin study in a graduate certificate program.
2. Once all of your application materials have been submitted to the ESL Program Director, your complete application will then be reviewed by the ESL Program.
3. If you meet the requirements for the program, you will recieve an admissions letter from the ESL Program.

Program Goals

The primary goals of the program are:

• To broaden PreK-12 educators' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of cultural and linguistic differences, language acquisition, literacy development, and reflective teaching practices within the ESL classroom
• To enhance PreK-12 educators' abilities to develop and use curricular, instructional, and assessment strategies and materials that raise the achievement levels and increase the academic success of English language learners

Candidate learning outcomes are aligned with PDE and TESOL standards, and fulfill the PDE academic requirements for the ESL Specialist and Leadership Certificate.

Who Should Enroll

Enrollment in the 15-credit, graduate-level ESL Specialist and Leadership Certificate program is open to all PreK-12 educators and to candidates in the Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum program. Candidates may choose to take only one or two courses for elective credit, or decide to complete the entire course sequence. Upon successful completion of the 15-credit sequence, candidates will be awarded the PSU post-baccalaureate certificate. Candidates with Level I or Level II teacher certification who wish to receive their ESL Program Specialist certificate from PDE must complete an additional 1-credit field experience internship in the final semester, for a total of 16 credit hours. Upon successful completion of the 16 credit hours, candidates are recommended by Penn State Harrisburg and, with the written approval of their school districts or intermediate units, may apply to PDE for the ESL Program Specialist endorsement.

Potential candidates must enroll online as a graduate student in the ESL post-baccalaureate program or be admitted as graduate students into the Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum Program at Penn State Harrisburg.

The ESL Specialist and Leadership Certificate Program, established in 2003, is funded by a $1.54 million, multi-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) National Professional Development Program. Partial tuition scholarships are available for the five courses for eligible teachers. Preference is given to teachers of science, technology, engineering, and math, and to teachers from school districts or intermediate units with low AYP as reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).

For students interested in receiving ACT 48 credit for your ESL coursework, please consult the Registrar’s Office  at Penn State University, University Park.

ESL Schedule of Courses

ESL PROGRAM COURSE SCHEDULE

Certificate Courses

EDUC 466 FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (3 credit hours)  - Foundations of Teaching English as a Second Language (3) An introduction to the legal, historical, and cultural implications of ESL, including the fundamentals of developing English language skills, an overview of second language acquisition, and multicultural education.

EDUC 467 ENGLISH LANGUAGE STRUCTURE FOR ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS (3 credit hours) - An in-depth study of general linguistic concepts and their application to ESL pedagogy. A review of the major ideas related to linguistic analysis of grammar and dialect with a focus on syntax and discourse, language and communication, and evaluative classroom instruments used to measure student progress.

EDUC 468 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION FOR ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS (3 credit hours) – In depth study of the process involved in the acquisition and development of first language interrelations between psycholinguistics and cognition. Development of an understanding of the process involved in the acquisition and development of language, including learning a second language, differences in how children, adolescents, and adults learn language, and evaluative classroom instruments to measure student progress.

EDUC 469 TEACHING METHODS AND ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (3 credit hours) – Preparation for ESL teaching through the study of: (1) trends, major theories, methodologies, and assessment in second language learning; (2) second language teaching approaches applicable to elementary, middle, and high school students; (3) materials development and evaluation, and (4) the exploration of teacher action research in the ESL classroom. Development of a broad base of knowledge and skills to increase teacher effectiveness in meeting the needs of diverse learners through appropriate instructional, curricular, and behavioral strategies.

EDUC 475 ESL LEADERSHIP, RESEARCH, AND ADVOCACY (3 credit hours) - ESL Leadership is the final capstone course for the ESL Specialist and Leadership Certification program for graduate and non-degree candidates in the ESL Program grant program. This hybrid course involves online readings and discussions about ESL and field-based action research in PreK-12 educational settings with English language learners (ELLs).

Please contact the program staff for additional information:
Karin Sprow Forte, D.Ed.
Project Director, ESL Program
School of Behavioral Sciences and Education
777 W Harrisburg Pike
Middletown, PA 17057
ESLquestions@psu.edu
kms588@psu.edu

Tel: (717) 948-6295
Fax: (717) 948-6209

This page is not a part of the official Penn State University Bulletin.

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