Rationale for the English as a Second Language Minor
Statewide Perspective
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district was recently named the school district
with the second fastest growing Latino population in the nation with a recent growth rate
of over 1100%. North Carolina, as a state, has seen its K-12 population grow over 370%
since 1994, and that growth continues to be felt in our schools rural and urban
communities. According to NC Tomorrow, our overall Latino population, including our
K-12 population has grown by almost 600%. Yet, our White and African American
populations have only grown by about 20%. There can be no doubt that we must be
prepared to meet the needs of these students in our schools.
Need for an ESL Minor
Currently, English as a Second Language (ESL) does not exist as a major on the
UNCW campus either at the undergraduate or graduate level. By creating an ESL minor,
students who earn 21 credit hours in the study of ESL would be able to receive official
credit for this concentration of study on their transcripts.
This official recognition of this concentrated study would make our students more
marketable after graduation in the field of education of English language learners both
here in the United States and abroad. Especially because K-12 teacher certification is not
recognized in many countries outside the United States, the official documentation that a
minor would place on a student’s transcript would afford him/her recognition of a certain
level of expertise in the field of ESL when and if that graduate seeks employment as an
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher outside the United States.