TESOL Certificate Program

The mission of the graduate certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language is to train future teachers of non-native speakers of English by providing a foundation grounded in linguistic theory paired with education and practical experience in sound pedagogical practice.

There are two tracks: EFL (English as a Foreign Language), primarily for post-secondary settings, and K-12 ESOL. Students may enroll in the graduate certificate program concurrently with another graduate degree program, such as linguistics, foreign languages, and English.

The Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is a one year course of study, primarily designed to supplement other degree programs in Linguistics, Foreign Language and Literature, or English. The TESOL certificate by itself can sometimes lead to employment as an ESL teacher, but more often than not, it must be combined with another degree. Because the TESOL Certificate is a 6 course program and because up to 3 graduate courses from this certificate may apply towards an M.A., a student can usually earn a TESOL Certificate in conjunction with an M.A. in Linguistics with just one additional semester's coursework.

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Certificate Requirements

The ESOL Certificate requires 18 credit hours of coursework. The maximum time permitted to complete the ESOL Certificate is 4 years.

A. EFL Track (primarily for post-secondary ESOL and EFL teaching)

I. Required courses:
LING 600 Survey of Linguistics (3)
LING 790 Second Language Acquisition (3)
LING 795 Principles and Strategies for Teaching ESOL(3)
LING 698 Practicum in Teaching ESOL (3)*
*Practicum may be waived based on one year’s experience teaching ESOL, and replaced with an elective course.

II. Elective courses
(a) One of the following courses:
LING 715 Applied English Phonetics (3)
LING 725 Applied English Syntax (3)
LING 791 Theory and Methodology in Second Language Acquisition (3)
LING 796 Teaching Reading and Writing to ESOL Learners: Theory and Methodology (3)
LING 797 Technology in Foreign Language Education (3)
LING 890 Seminar in Language Acquisition (3)
LING 891 Seminar in English for Speakers of Other Languages (3)
EDRD 746 Foundations in Reading and Writing for the New Language Learner (3)
EDTE 779 Multicultural Issues of Education. (3)
EDRD 811 Sociocultural Perspectives on Literacy Learning. (3)
EDRM 723 Classroom Assessment Methods. (3)
ENGL 790 Survey of Composition
* or any other course in English as a second language or in second language acquisition.

(b) One additional LING course, selected in consultation with the academic advisor.

B. K-12 ESOL Track (for primary and secondary ESOL teaching)
I. Required courses:
LING 600 Survey of Linguistics (3)
LING 795Principles and Strategies for Teaching ESOL(3)
LING 796 Teaching Reading and Writing to ESOL Learners: Theory and Methodology (3)
LING 698 Practicum in Teaching ESOL (3)*
*Practicum may be waived based on one year’s experience teaching ESOL, and replaced with an elective course.

II. Elective courses
Two of the following courses:
LING 725 Applied English Syntax (3)
LING 790 Second Language Acquisition (3)
LING 791 Theory and Methodology in Second Language Acquisition (3)
LING 797 Technology in Foreign Language Education (3)
LING 891 Seminar in English for Speakers of Other Languages (3)
EDRD 746 Foundations in Reading and Writing for the New Language Learner (3)
EDTE 779 Multicultural Issues of Education. (3)
EDRD 811 Sociocultural Perspectives on Literacy Learning. (3)
EDRM 723 Classroom Assessment Methods. (3)

Time to completion: For full time students, the certificate course work can be completed in one academic year, with the practicum extending through first summer session. The maximum time permitted to complete a Certificate is 4 years. For a detailed timetable for Certificate completion, click here.

Special note on grades: Students who receive grades below B on 9 or more graduate credit hours are consequently suspended from degree candidacy status in the Linguistics Program and are not permitted to enroll for further courses even as nondegree students without the specific approval of the Linguistics Program and the Graduate School.

For this program no courses may be transferred from another university, although up to 9 semester hours of overlapping course work from another program at the University of South Carolina may count toward completion of the certificate.

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