ESL & Bilingual Education Concentration

Curriculum & Instruction

What schools provide
       and the mode of instruction teachers use
must now take into account
      the linguistic and cultural backgrounds
            of the students the schools serve.

                                    — Dr. Elliot Eisner, Stanford University

ESL / Bilingual Education
Concentration

Framework		Career Options
The number of students who are not native English speakers has been rapidly increasing in public and private schools in the United States. This steadily diversifying population poses the most vital educational challenge of the decade. Teachers, as well as parents, demand courses that bring sensitive knowledge along with effective approaches and strategies to the classroom. Today's teachers need to know how to communicate and promote intercultural respect and understanding of information, skills, and values to a child or to an adult who not only does not understand English, but who also has a different cultural frame of reference. The ESL/Bilingual Education concentration at National-Louis University focuses on the educational needs of teachers and the students they serve.		The curriculum meets the State of Illinois requirements for approval/ endorsement to teach in a Bilingual Education and/or English as a Second Language Program. The increasing numbers of non-native English speakers present other opportunities in adult programs, literacy programs for both children and adults, special programs in business or industry, and overseas programs in education and business. The program focuses on theories of language acquisition, strategies that promote cultural understanding, and teaching practices that meet the needs of English Language Learners. These provide excellent career skills regardless of your area of interest.

Program

As part of the Curriculum and Instruction Program, teachers and other educators interested in working with students who are non-native English speakers may specialize in Bilingual Education and/or English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.

The program leads to a Masters Degree in Education (M.Ed.) or, for those who already hold a Masters, a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS). Those who wish to complete a thesis may pursue a Masters of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.). Please see the Curriculum & Instruction homepage for a description of these options and their corresponding requirements.

The Courses
The ESL/Bilingual Education concentration offers varied curriculum options, depending on the intended area of specialization — Bilingual and/or ESL Education.
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) APPROVAL — 18 sh including:
CIL500	Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (3sh) (previously titled Foundations in Minority Language Education)
CIL505	Methods and Materials for TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) (3sh)
CIL510	Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students (3sh) (previously titled Assessment of Language Minority Students)
CIL531	Cross-Cultural Education (3sh)
CIL501	Linguistics for TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) (3sh)
or	CIL512 Reading in a New Language: Linguistic Considerations (3sh) (previously titled Bilingualism and Reading)
Elective:	CIL 501, CIL 512, or another approved elective offered at the IRC (3sh)
BILINGUAL APPROVAL — 18 sh including:
CIL500	Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (3sh) (previously titled Foundations in Minority Language Education)
CIL505	Methods and Materials for TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) (3sh)
CIL506	Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students (3sh)
CIL510	Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students (3sh) (previously titled Assessment of Language Minority Students)
CIL531	Cross-Cultural Education (3sh)
Elective:	CIL 501, CIL 512, or another approved elective offered at the IRC (3sh)
Students seeking Bilingual approval must also pass the ICTS Language Proficiency Test (details at http://www.isbe.net). ESL AND BILINGUAL APPROVALS — 18 sh*
For both ESL and Bilingual approvals, students complete CIL500, CIL512, CIL505, CIL506, CIL510, CIL531. *Students seeking Bilingual approval must also pass the ICTS Language Proficiency Test (details at http://www.isbe.net).
ELECTIVES In addition to CIL512 and CIL501, which are offered every term at NLU, other approved NLU electives are offered through the IRC. Students may consult the IRC website for its current elective offerings: http://www.thecenterweb.org.
CIC583	Peer Coaching for Teachers of Language Minority Students (2-4sh)
CIC585	Cooperative Learning for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students (3sh)
CIL532	Technology Applications for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students (3sh)
CIS591	Field Study / Social Science / Mexico (2sh)
CIL512	Reading in a New Language: Linguistic Considerations (3sh) (previously titled Bilingualism and Reading)
SPE570	Assessment and Intervention of Language Minority Students with Disabilities (3sh)
Other electives as approved by advisor ADDITIONAL APPROVAL / ENDORSEMENT REQUIREMENTS
The state approvals for ESL and Bilingual Education also require a valid Illinois teaching certificate, as well as 100 clock hours of clinical experience in order to teach in Kindergarten - Grade 12. The National College of Education (NCE) oversees the 100 clock hour process. These hours are folded into the NLU and IRC coursework and are part of the course requirements. To obtain an endorsement to teach at the middle school level, an endorsement in middle school is required in addition to the approval requirements indicated above. Middle school endorsement coursework includes MLE500 and MLE 502. For specific information regarding approvals/endorsements, please see the ESL / Bilingual Education Resource page (or follow the link in the blue box at the bottom of this page).
ADDITIONAL DEGREE REQUIREMENTS Students choosing to complete a graduate degree use their approval coursework toward the concentration requirement of the degree. Those seeking the M.Ed. also complete five additional courses that are carefully blended into the program to support and enrich the experience of participating teachers:
three courses in curriculum and instruction — CIC503 Curriculum Design and Evaluation; CIC504 Instructional Decision Making; and CIC592 Seminar: Educational Inquiries one course in cognitive psychology — EPS541 Cognition and Instruction an educational research course — ESR505 Educational Inquiry and Assessment. This 34-semester hour sequence leads to the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in ESL/Bilingual Education. Please see the Curriculum & Instruction homepage for a description of the requirements for the C.A.S. and M.S.Ed. options.

Schedule

Students may take ESL-Bilingual courses and/or the M.Ed. and C.A.S. requirements within the traditional or cluster options:

The traditional option is designed for students who desire the flexibility of attending classes on a variety of evenings and/or at a variety of locations. Course offerings are highlighted each quarter in The National College of Education Quarterly, in the Curriculum and Instruction section for each campus.

The ESL/Bilingual cluster option includes coursework required for ESL/Bilingual approval/endorsement. Clusters are offered periodically at various NCE Chicagoland locations. In addition, we can arrange a custom cluster just for teachers in a particular school or district. Students benefit from a fixed tuition rate, which is designated at the time of registration.

The mini-cluster option includes the Curriculum and Instruction required core courses and is for students who wish to attend class on the same evening throughout the academic year, with the same group of students, and at the same designated location. These students benefit from a fixed tuition rate, which is designated at the time of registration. This option is ideal for students who have already completed their ESL-Bilingual courses and want to apply that coursework to complete a degree.

Information about projected cluster groups throughout the Chicagoland area may be obtained from the Enrollment Office (800-443-5522 x4430/x3371/x2743/x8053).

For more information
about the ESL/Bilingual Education concentration
program, courses, and/or schedule,
contact Robyn Shulman
800-443-5522 ext 5147 or Robyn.Shulman@nl.edu
or Dr. Kristin Lems
800-443-5522 ext 2407 or klems@nl.edu
or Leah Miller
800-443-5522 ext 3555 or ldmiller@nl.edu
or Dr. Tim Collins
800-443-5522 ext 5021 or tcollins@nl.edu

For more information regarding
ESL / Bilingual approvals / endorsements
go to The ESL / Bilingual Resource Page.

C&I ESL-BILINGUAL page updated 6/2/06.