Graduate Certificate in TESOL
1. A statement of the educational objectives of the program
The Graduate Certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in ECU’s English
Department will prepare professionals for career opportunities teaching English as a Second Language
(ESL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and English for Specific
Purposes (ESP) in both public and private sectors. These include (1) teaching ESL and EAP in junior and
four‐year colleges in the US; teaching EFL and EAP overseas; (3) ESP training (e.g. business English) for
foreign-born employees in the US; and (4) ESP training for native-born employees in businesses
overseas. For those interested in teaching overseas, the Certificate will provide the necessary minimum
qualifications required by many of the world’s language schools; as such, the Certificate will add an
attractive option to the existing language teacher preparation programs in North Carolina.
2. A statement of the admission standards for the certificate program and a statement of the
academic retention standards for the successful completion of the program
The Graduate Certificate in TESOL will be available to qualified candidates with an interest in furthering
their education in the area of teaching English to speakers of other languages. Successful applicants will
hold a BA or BS or its equivalent from an accredited college or university in the US or overseas and have
some academic or practical experience in any area of English studies, linguistics, or applied linguistics
which may or may not include TESOL. Nonnative speakers of English will be required to submit a TOEFL
(Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 or higher. No other admission requirements will
apply. Students seeking the certificate must be admitted to the ECU Graduate School as either degreeseeking or non-degree students. They may be, but do not have to be, concurrently enrolled in an ECU
graduate degree program. In the case of concurrent enrollment, students must obtain approval of the
director of the degree program in which they are enrolled. All students must remain in compliance with
all Graduate School policies and procedures. Students interested in continuing their graduate level
education in this field beyond the Certificate, if admittedi, will be able to submit a request for the three
courses to be transferred toward their MA-English with a concentration in Linguistics or in TESOL.
3. A statement of the proposed course sequence associated with the certificate, including titles
and course descriptions both for existing courses and any new courses that may be developed
This Certificate will consist of 3 courses (9 sh). It will not require development of any new courses. The
courses included in the Certificate will not have to be taken in a sequence. As proposed, the Certificate
can be completed entirely online or as a combination of online and campus-based courses. The
following online courses are required:
ENGL 6528
TESL: Theories and Principles (3 sh) Current theories and principles of teaching English
to nonnative speakers of English.
ENGL 6531
TESL: Methods and Practicum (3 sh) Approaches and methods in ESL teaching. Provides
ESL teaching and classroom experience.
The third course can be selected from the following (online or campus-based) courses:
ENGL 6009
Research Methods in Language Study (3 sh) Research methods in the study of
language.
ENGL 6526
The Structure of English: Phonology and Morphology (3 sh) Contemporary linguistic
theory and its practical application to teaching phonological and morphological
components of English language.
ENGL 6527
The Structure of English: Syntax and Semantics (3 sh) Contemporary linguistic theory
and its practical application to teaching syntactic and semantic components of English
language.
ENGL 6529
Applied Linguistics for ESL Teachers (3 sh) Pedagogical applications of linguistic theory.
Emphasis on teaching English as a second language
ENGL 7525
Language and Society (3 sh) The study of language in relation to culture and society.
ENGL 7530
Descriptive Linguistics (3 sh) Contemporary models employed in linguistic analysis at all
levels. Practical applications of models to wide diversity of natural languages, and
evaluation of models with respect to their descriptive and explanatory adequacy and
their universal and cross-cultural application.
ENGL 7535
Principles of Language Testing (3 sh) Principles and methods of performance and
standardized language test design, implementation, and interpretation.
ENGL 7605
Discourse Analysis (3 sh). Principles governing human communicative interaction in
written and oral modalities.
ENGL 7680
Writing Systems of the World (3 sh) Examines writing systems and their relationship to
larger human phenomenon o f spoken language.
4. The catalogue copy for the certificate program
CERTIFICATE IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (TESOL)
The graduate certificate in TESOL is designed for qualified candidates who wish to further their
education in the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages. The program helps prepare
professionals planning to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in public/private sectors in the US or
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in such contexts overseas.
Applicants seeking admission to this program must hold a BA, BS or an equivalent degree from an
accredited college or university in the US or overseas. Nonnative speakers of English are required to
submit a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 or higher. Students interested in
pursuing the certificate can enroll as non-degree seeking students or pursue the certificate concurrently
while enrolled in an ECU graduate program. Admission is based on completion of the ECU certificate
application and approval by the program coordinator.
The certificate program requires 9 s. h. of graduate-level course work, including ENGL 6528 and 6531
(required), and 3 s.h. to be selected from ENGL 6009. 6526, 6527, 6529, 7525, 7530, 7535, 7605, and
7680.
5. A statement of how the proposed course sequence associated with the certificate will meet
the stated educational objectives
The proposed courses will provide graduate level instruction in the fundamentals of teaching English
to speakers of other languages. The training is designed to cover the following three components:
(1) second language acquisition (SLA) theories and their intersection with TESOL practice; (2)
methods, materials, and assessment in TESOL; (3) fundamentals of linguistic knowledge with
practical applications to language teaching.
6. A statement of the need for the proposed program and the basis for such a need supported by
either externally or internally derived data
It is estimated that over 1 billion people are currently learning English worldwide. According to the
British council, as of the year 2000 there were 750 million speakers of English as a foreign language,
and 375 million speakers of English as a Second Language (About.Com: English as 2nd Language).
According to the book English Next published by the British Council, at least “three-quarters of all
[world] travel is between non-English speaking countries,” suggesting “a large demand for either
foreign language learning or the increasing use of English as a lingua franca (Graddol, 2006). It
follows that the already strong demand for English language teachers is highly unlikely to decrease
in the foreseeable future.
Having a TESOL concentration in the English Department, we often receive requests for
information about short-term TESOL preparation programs available in our state. This Certificate
responds to this need. In addition, the Linguistics and TESOL concentrations in the English
Department have been actively seeking opportunities that would increase our international student
population, a move to benefit both our domestic and international students. Recently, we have
signed Memorandums of Understanding with three South Korean Universities: Pusan, Kwandong,
and Kosin. A more involved type of agreement, with University American College Skopje in
Macedonia, is currently under review. Furthermore, two other universities, FON University in
Macedonia and Palacky University in the Czech Republic, have expressed serious interest in a shortterm TESOL certificate program as it would provide an attractive and affordable option for their
students interested in earning a TESOL certificate at a US university. Last but not least, this
Certificate has a potential to serve as an effective recruitment tool for our MA-English degree with
the Linguistics and TESOL concentrations. As we have seen with our former ESL add-on licensure
program, some students wish to continue beyond the basic certificate toward earning a master’s
degree. This step-up model has worked quite well for us as it has for many other US universities
(e.g., several of California State Universities, American University, Fresno Pacific College,
Georgetown University, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Portland State University, San
Jose State University, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Utah, and many more).
7. The names of the faculty associated with or contributing to the certificate program, either by
teaching one of more of the courses associated with the program or participating in the design
of the course sequence. Adjunct faculty associated with the program should also include upto-date curriculum vitae.
The English Department’s Interim Chair is Dr. Ron Mitchelson. Faculty associated with the program
or participating in the design of this Certificate include:
Dr. Michael Aceto
Dr. Lida Cope
Dr. Slobodanka Dimova
Dr. Donna Lillian
8. The name and curriculum vita of the faculty member who will be designated as the
coordinator of the program for purposes of communication with the Graduate School. Dr.
Slobodanka Dimova, the incoming Linguistics/TESOL area coordinator, will coordinate the
proposed certificate. She may be reached at East Carolina University, Department of English,
Bate Building #2201, Greenville, NC 27858. Email: dimovas@ecu.edu. This document was
prepared by Lida Cope, the outgoing Linguistics/TESOL lead faculty. Email: copel@ecu.edu.
9. If the proposed graduate certificate program contains no new courses, no new faculty, no
additional costs, and maintains the admissions and academic standing requirements of a
related degree program, the proposal will be given expedited review in the approval process.
The Graduate Certificate in TESOL contains no new courses, and requires no new faculty, no
additional costs, and maintains the admissions and academic standing requirements of the MAEnglish program with a concentration in TESOL.
10. The unit offering the certificate program must specify what professional license, if any, for
which the certificate qualifies.
The Graduate Certificate in TESOL will be awarded by the Department of English. The certificate
does not automatically qualify students for any professional licenses at the state or national level.
The courses will assist interested candidates to successfully pass the Praxis test (ESL portion) and
thus receive the add-on ESL certification awarded by the NC Department of Public Instruction.
11. The Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) title and six-digit code
13.1401 Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
i
Not required for Certificate seekers, the GRE or MAT scores will be part of the requirement for admission to a
degree graduate program.