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TESOL

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Minor in TESOL (18 hours)

BYU's Department of Linguistics and English Lanaguage offers a minor and a certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Students may earn a minor, or a certificate and a minor as completion of the minor occurs in the process of completing the certificate.

Note: For education majors, the TESOL K-12 minor is available to those earning a teaching major and leads to an ESL Endorsement. It is offered through the School of Education. More information can be found here.

Career Opportunities

TESOL minor students are qualified for many overseas positions teaching English as a foreign language. They may also work in various ESL programs in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Possible teaching settings include adult education classes, intensive English programs, and English language learning programs around the world. Students in any major may apply for the TESOL minor.

Difference between the TESOL certificate and the TESOL minor

The TESOL minor will be indicated on a student's official transcript, whereas the TESOL certificate will not. Students should apply to the minor program by going to their college advisement center. Requirements will be tracked by the MyMap system and the student's progress report. If all requirements are met, the minor will be awarded at the time of graduation. Students who also want to complete the TESOL certificate must provide evidence to the Linguistics and English Language Department that requirements have been met. Once the certificate requirements have been met, the department will prepare and mail the certificate to the student.

Choosing whether or not to complete the certificate depends largely on the student's career goals. A TESOL certificate is a term that is recognized around the world. It is viewed as more applied and usable in the professional world. A certificate may be particularly useful if a student plans to teach abroad.

Students may choose to complete either a minor only or a minor and a certificate.

Program Requirements

  1. Complete the following:
      ELANG 223 : Introduction to the English Language.
      LING 441 : Language Acquisition in TESOL.
      LING 461 : Language Assessment in TESOL.
      LING 473 : Literacy Development in TESOL.
      LING 477 : Methods and Strategies in TESOL.

  2. Complete one course from the following:
      CHUM 210 : Instructional Applications Programming 1.
      ELANG 325 : The Grammar of English.

  3. Complete 3 hours of the following:
      LING 496R : Academic Internship: TESOL.

For more information, please visit http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2011-2012ucat/departments/Linguistics/TESOLMinor.php