Download Proposal to Establish a TESOL Certification Program

Proposal to Establish a Graduate TESOL Certificate Program: Overview
Introduction
Creating a graduate TESOL Certificate program is one of the English Department’s efforts
responding to the Internationalization Initiative in the NMU Roadmap to 2015. We believe that
such a program would benefit not only students in the English Department but also the entire
NMU student body and the students of our partner institutions abroad, especially those whose
first language is not English. We envision TESOL certification as
 a separate M.A.-level certificate program available to graduate students in any discipline.
 an enhancement to the existing Pedagogy Track within the current English M.A.
program.
 deserving of a separate credential, since it requires an additional eight hours (including
an internship) beyond existing English M.A. tracks.
Because three courses that are either required or elective for the program are also being proposed
at the 400-level, along with the deletion of one 400-level course, a copy of this proposal is also
being submitted to CUP for their consideration of these undergraduate courses.
Definitions
CERTIFICATE = a credential granted to students who have satisfactorily completed a course of
study in a specific academic field or discipline, usually for the purpose of practical application of
the acquired knowledge and skills.
TESOL=Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. This is both the name for the field
of study itself, and the name of the main professional society in the United States that is devoted
to this field.
 TESL= Teaching English as a Second Language (i.e., within an English-speaking country)
 TEFL= Teaching English as a Foreign Language (i.e., within a non-English-speaking
country)
 ESL/EFL= English as a Second/Foreign Language (same distinction as for TESL/TEFL)
SLA = Second Language Acquisition (the subfield of linguistics devoted to theory and research
in the acquisition of second languages)
Why should we offer a TESOL Certificate?
 To enhance the employability of both our undergraduate and graduate students.
 To provide instructors for international partner institutions, English as a Second
Language Minor, Wildcat Prep program, and Pre-College ESL program (see Attachments)
 To help increase student enrollment
Is a TESOL Certificate program desirable?
 Yes: The English Department and the University should help increase the employability
of NMU graduates
 Yes: NMU should have instructors who are familiar with TESOL pedagogy to teach the
international students that NMU is trying to attract and to serve student populations at
NMU’s foreign partner institutions. (According to the International Programs Office,
international student enrollment is expected to increase at a 3.85% rate, from 65 in 2008,
to 114 in 2012, and 200 by 2015).

Yes: Our program would be nearly unique. Accoridng to the TESOL organization
website, there are only half a dozen TESOL Certificate programs in the Upper Midwest,
ranging from 8-24 credit hours. None are offered at institutions near NMU, and the only
one in Michigan (at Eastern Michigan University) focuses on k-12 education. Ours
would therefore become the only graduate TESOL Certificate program in Michigan
focusing on adult learners.
Are we qualified to administer a TESOL Certificate program?
 Yes. The English Department has instructors who possess certificates or M.A.s in
TESOL and are therefore qualified to teach courses in TESOL certification programs
 Yes. The English and Modern Languages Departments have instructors who have
extensive experience with TESOL, both professionally and personally.
 Yes. The English Department has instructors who are already offering courses that could
be incorporated into the TESOL program
What is our TESOL Certificate program?
Student Eligibility
 Any student with a Bachelor’s degree who has completed a modern foreign language
other than English at the 200 (sophomore) level for that degree; or
 Any student with a Bachelor’s degree who can demonstrate proficiency in a modern
foreign language other than English at the 200 level.
Requirements (20 credits)
Core courses: Four 4-credit courses. They are:
 EN 415/515 English Grammar and Usage (new course)
 EN 416/516 Second Language Acquisition (new course)
 EN 517 TESOL Methods and Materials (new course)
 EN 591: Internship (existing course). One 4-credit practicum, which should be taken
under supervision at the completion of the core courses, either on campus or at a
partner institution. The practicum must be a minimum of two weeks in duration (4
hours a day and 4 days a week). Students will be required to survey and employ ESL
textbooks and teaching methods to prepare and execute lesson plans in a TESOL
environment.
Electives: One 4-credit course from the following list. (EN 507, 510, 511, 514, and 595
already exist and the last five can include an ESL focus):
 EN 414 History of the English Language (new course, replacing the old EN 404 The
English Language, which will be deleted)
 EN 507 Advanced Writing Theory
 EN 510 Teaching Composition
 EN 511 Teaching Reading in the English Classroom
 EN 514 Seminar in the English Language
 EN 595 Special Topics (when on a TESL/TEFL topic such as Sociolinguistics,
Second Language Assessment and Evaluation, Pronunciation, Intercultural
Communication, English for Specific Purposes)
Note: 20 credits are equivalent to the minimum twelve credits required for the current
M.A. track, plus eight credits of electives (or one four-credit elective plus a four-credit
capstone project).
Why are undergraduate-level courses included in the program’s core and electives?
 The Department believes that existing English Major and Minor programs will benefit
from these courses as electives. The resulting increase in the course enrollments will also
raise their efficiency in terms of Full Time Faculty Equivalents (FTFE).
 The Department therefore requests CUP approval for the three new undergraduate
courses proposed for this program, and the deletion of EN 404.
 The Department also requests GPC approval of graduate credit for the 400-numbered as
well as the 500-numbered courses so that students who take the 400-level courses can
apply them to the Certificate program, when admitted as NMU graduate students.
What is the cost of our TESOL Certificate program?
 The English Department will need to assign at least one faculty member whose specialty
is TESOL to administer, teach, and create courses for the program.
 The English Department will need to pay faculty to teach courses in the summer for the
TESOL certificate, following existing summer school procedures.
 The graduate tuition generated by the program would cover instructors’ pay for teaching
the core courses at NMU, and international partner institutions would provide
compensation for instructors abroad
 The graduate tuition cost for the Internship would be defrayed by compensation received
for teaching during the internship.
 The out-of-state tuition generated by the international students in any pre-college ESL
program offered by NMU would help cover expenses for the program.
Conclusion
We believe that the many benefits of the TESOL Certificate program outweigh its cost; however,
we do realize that the success of the program is somewhat contingent upon NMU’s continued
effectiveness in establishing MOUs with international partners, and recruiting international
students who would provide internship and employment options, making the program real for
our students. Having a TESOL Certificate program would enable NMU graduates to become
even more competitive in the global economy. Further, it would ensure that the international
students at NMU and at partner institutions – as well as non-native English speakers moving into
the Upper Peninsula region -- would receive proper language preparation for their academic
studies. Finally, it would help to increase NMU student enrollment both at the undergraduate
and graduate levels.
Proposal to Establish a TESOL Certificate Program: CUP and GPC Questions
What are the rationale, goals and objectives, competencies expected of graduating students, and
relation to the department mission? The program is needed to support the English department
and University efforts to increase international student enrollment and develop partnerships with
international partner institutions, in accordance with the Roadmap to 2015. It will prepare
graduate students to help teach the international students that NMU is trying to attract and to
serve student populations at NMU’s foreign partner institutions. Graduating students are
expected to be competent in the fundamental knowledge and methodologies for teaching English
as a Second Language to adult learners. They are also expected to become competent in a
modern language other than English: this is because fluency in another language helps one to
better understand and articulate the structure of English, anticipate and address the problems a
non-native English learner is likely to have, and understand or function in a foreign culture.
The program is congruent with the other tracks in the English M.A. program (some M.F.A.
students may also wish to seek TESOL certification), and it strengthens other English
Department program responsibilities such as the Liberal Studies Composition program as well as
English program initiatives currently under development, such as the Wildcat Prep program and
the Minor in English as a Second Language. According to the International Programs Office,
international student enrollment is expected to increase at a 3.85% rate, from 65 in 2008 to 200
by 2015, with 114 projected for 2012, when we expect to offer our first practica. Not all of these
students would need special instruction: some would come to NMU already very proficient in
English. However, some of them would need an ESL course leading to the TOEFL (Test of
English as a Foreign Language), which is a basic requirement for enrollment in most North
American university programs, and many more will enroll in tutoring workshops required for EN
109. Without a TESOL Certificate program, it is unlikely that internationalization at NMU could
proceed as rapidly and successfully as it would with the program.
What are the job opportunities? TESOL is a growing area of opportunity, with employment
options in a variety of academic and nonacademic settings worldwide – and especially in
developing nations where the acquisition of English is seen as a precondition for access to the
world economy and TESOL certification a more-than-sufficient credential for employment
teaching English. Several recent NMU graduates are currently employed in this field, in Korea
and China. In addition to serving as tutors of international students and their families in
Marquette, graduates would find ready-made placements in TESOL programs at partner
institutions abroad such as the NMU Wildcat Prep program for the Gateway English Language
Village in China, and in an active market for qualified TESOL instructors in college, corporate,
and government settings. The option of a TESOL Certificate will definitely improve the
employability of NMU graduates in the global marketplace.
Are there related programs? TESOL Certificate programs of widely varying length and rigor are
offered by many colleges, universities, and private entities in North America. Many such
programs are housed by semiautonomous institutes within larger academic organizations. While
some TESOL organizations have formulated standards for the discipline, there is no widely
acknowledged accrediting agency to ensure academic quality. There exist few TESOL
Certificate programs within our region, and those that do exist (at Eastern, Central, and Western
Michigan Universities, for example) are linked to M.A. programs leading to state certification in
primary and secondary education. Our program’s focus on the adult learner and the support of
international students at NMU and its affiliated partner institutions, combined with its
availability to NMU graduate students in any discipline, makes it unique in Michigan. Moreover,
its 20 credit hours and foreign language requirement – nearly two-thirds of a standard masters
degree program -- ensure higher quality than many existing TESOL Certificate programs (which
vary between a bare 8 hours and 24 hours nationwide, and do not always require competence in a
language other than English). For these reasons, it will increase the attractiveness and utility of
our current M.A. and M.F.A. programs, and the marketability of our program graduates to
potential employers. Indeed, it adds a further dimension and enhancement to all NMU graduate
programs, since all NMU graduate students would have the option to enroll.
Is the program affected by accreditation? It would be subject to the same accreditation
requirements as the other English M.A. tracks. Since it is not intended for K-12 instruction, it
would be subject neither to Michigan Department of Education certification nor NMU School of
Education accreditation requirements.
Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletin Listings: See attached listings.
What are the admission requirements? For English majors, the admission requirements would be
those of the English M.A. program. For other NMU graduate students wishing the TESOL
Certificate, they would be the same as for their graduate programs. For continuing education
students not planning to enroll in a graduate degree program at NMU, they would be a B.A. or
B.S. degree from an accredited institution with a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.5 or better and an
English G.P.A. of 3.0 or better.
What are the completion requirements? Twenty credit hours, consisting of sixteen credit hours
of required courses plus a four credit-hour internship with a cumulative 3.0 grade point average
or better, for twenty credit hours total. Students must also demonstrate competency in a foreign
language through the 200 level to receive the TESOL Certificate.
New or revised courses: See attached syllabi. In courses with both 400- and 500- numbers, a
differentiation is made between the respective levels of work required from undergraduate and
graduate students.
What is the projected enrollment for years one, two, and five? A poll of current graduate
students and of NMU graduate program heads indicates that a demand already exists for this
program. Once the track is advertised as part of the English M.A. program, demand is likely to
grow. We currently estimate 10 in the first year, 15 in the second, and 20 in five years.
What are the anticipated costs over the next three years?
Cost of offering one additional course each semester.
Can current faculty deliver the program? Yes. Qualified English Department faculty are Dr.
David Boe and Dr. Z.Z. Lehmberg. Their credentials follow.
David Boe, Associate Professor in the Department of English, has been teaching at Northern
Michigan University since 2001. Prior to joining the NMU faculty, he was a postdoctoral fellow
in Linguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno (1999-2001), and before that he was a Fulbright
Lecturer in Linguistics and EFL at Vilnius University and Vilnius Pedagogical University in
Lithuania (1996-1998). He completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics (with concentrations in syntax
and second language acquisition) at Indiana University in 1996, where he also taught ESL in
IU’s Intensive English Program (1990-1993; 1995-1996). From 1993-1995, he served as
Assistant to the Editor for the research journal Studies in Second Language Acquisition
(Cambridge University Press), which is based in Bloomington, Indiana. He earned his M.A. in
Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Northern Arizona University in 1990,
where he also taught in NAU’s Program in Intensive English (1989-1990). During the summer
of 1990, he gained further teaching experience in the Program in English as a Second Language
at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Prior to his graduate studies, he spent four years
teaching EFL in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan (1983-1987). He received his B.A. in English in
1983, from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, which is his hometown. He currently
serves as the Secretary of the North American Association for the History of the Language
Sciences (NAAHoLS), and he is a regular presenter at the annual meeting of the Linguistic
Society of America (LSA). He has traveled extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia,
and has visited more than 50 countries worldwide.
Z. Z. Lehmberg, Associate Professor in the Department of English, has been associated with
Northern Michigan University for a long time, first as an ESL student in Winter 1983 and then as
a faculty member since Fall 2000. Prior to coming to the U.S., she was a high school teacher in
China (1980-1982), teaching English as a foreign language. She completed her Ph.D. in
Composition (with coursework emphasis in Applied Linguistics) at Wayne State University in
1995, where she also taught Freshman Composition and served in the university’s writing center
helping ESL students. She earned her M.A. in Writing from Northern Michigan University in
1987, where she completed her creative nonfiction writing thesis about her life in China,
including her struggles and triumphs of learning and teaching English as a foreign
language. Two of her thesis chapters were published in the U.S.-China Review ( 1985 and
1986). Dr. Lehmberg has ample experience with second language acquisition and teaching. In
Fall 2009, she taught a graduate course on TESOL, and in 1997, she created an introductory
course to the Chinese language for the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, and
she has been teaching the course at NMU once a semester ever since. Besides having first-hand
experience learning and teaching English as a second/foreign language, Dr. Lehmberg is also a
regular presenter at the Conference of College Composition and Communication and the
Conference of the International Writing Centers Association, where she presents on issues
concerning writing in English for both native and non-native English speakers.
What equipment is required? None beyond current instructional technology: NMU resources are
sufficient.
Are library facilities adequate? Yes; we have conferred with the Olson Library Acquisitions
coordinator.
Does the program relate to the training of teachers at the K-12 level? No: the program is directed
towards post-secondary or adult learners.
When will the program be taught? Regular academic year: courses will be offered as part of the
regular graduate course rotation in the English Department.
What is the planned implementation date? January 2011.