ESL (Endorsement)

Application Deadlines

Concordia University Chicago's Bilingual and ESL Endorsement programs develop thoughtful practitioners and leaders equipped with strong theoretical and pedagogical knowledge to work with emergent bilingual students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. They achieve a balance between the practical, everyday needs of teachers in the classroom and the knowledge and understanding necessary for candidates to develop as teacher leaders who are culturally competent professionals. Educators develop integrity to actively respect the learning of all students, the understanding to recognize the importance and influence of culture in learning, the skills to individualize instruction using linguistically responsive methods for students and their families, and awareness to engage in advocacy for their communities.

This program prepares educators to be effective in improving student learning and development in the acquisition of English as an additional language. It is designed to help teachers:

• develop a multicultural perspective that fosters inclusive pedagogies
• understand the cultural, linguistic, and sociopolitical milieu and their contextual basis on the education and language acquisition of emergent bilingual learners
• demonstrate knowledge about the communicative and academic processes for language acquisition
• apply linguistically and culturally responsive strategies and equitable assessments within their pedagogy
• adopt a professional identity that is characterized by self-reflection, knowledge, skills, and leadership to effectively advocate for multilingual learners   

Program Objectives

CUC offers an articulated program of graduate courses in the Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with Bilingual and/or ESL endorsements and the stand-alone Bilingual and ESL endorsements. The program is designed to prepare graduates to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students in the PK-12 classroom. Coursework is oriented toward building competencies in praxis and pedagogy for teaching emergent bilingual learners as supported by research and theories. It aims to extend both theoretical and practical knowledge about teaching and learning English in order to meet the needs of teachers in diverse contexts and their students.

ESL Endorsement Program Requirements

You must hold or be pursuing a Professional Educator’s License and complete the following 18 hours of required coursework:

• ESL 6300  Foundations of Bilingual and Bicultural Education
• ESL 6610  Language and Linguistics
• ESL 6620 Teaching English as a Second Language
• ESL 6630  Methods and Materials for Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
• ESL 6027  Assessment of Language Minority Students
• ESL 6350 Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Bilingual Endorsement Program Requirements

In addition to passing the language proficiency test administered by ISBE, you must also hold or be pursuing a Professional Educator’s License, and complete the following 21 hours of required coursework:

• ESL 6300 Foundations of Bilingual and Bicultural Education
• ESL 6610 Language and Linguistics
• ESL 6620 Teaching English as a Second Language
• ESL 6630 Methods and Materials for Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
• ESL 6027 Assessment of Language Minority Students
• ESL 6350 Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
• EDU 6635 Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students

Candidates seeking the Bilingual endorsement in Illinois must achieve a passing score on the target language proficiency exam, administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Please refer to ISBE’s website for more information.

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Holly Kains

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