TESL/TEFL Certificates | Advanced TESL/TEFL Certificate

Benefits | FAQ | Courses & Requirements

Benefits

Prerequisite: Basic Certificate (or equivalent).

Who can benefit from earning the Advanced Certificate?
The Advanced Certificate in Teaching English as a Second and Foreign Language is directed at individuals in the following groups with an interest in ESL/EFL teaching, provided they have the required background:

• Graduate students from any major
• Community members with an interest in advanced study of applied linguistics
• In-service ESL/EFL teachers interested in advancing their understanding of teaching methodologies, language acquisition, and curriculum design
• Subject-matter teachers of students who speak languages other than English interested in advanced study of applied linguistics
• ESL/EFL program administrators interested in advanced study of curriculum design and teaching methodology

Individuals who hold the Advanced Certificate are qualified to teach ESL/EFL in a variety of situations:

• in community college ESL/EFL programs
• in adult schools
• in private ESL/EFL schools
• in university ESL/EFL institutes
• in business
• in a wide range of overseas locations

Advanced Certificate holders may also be qualified to administer ESL/EFL programs.
The Advanced Certificate is not a master's degree. However, the required coursework can be part of a master's program in linguistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the program accept transfer students?
Transfer credit may, in special cases, be possible for an equivalent course taken elsewhere. All applications for transfer credit are evaluated individually by the Certificate Program. No academic credit for coursework is granted for work experience.

Does it matter in what order I take the Certificate courses?
No. However, normally Ling 795 (Seminar in Linguistics) is taken after several courses in linguistics have been completed.

Is there a time limit for completion of Certificate course work?
No.

How long does the Advanced Certificate program take?
Normally it will be possible to complete the Advanced Certificate program within two semesters. However, more time may be needed if you lack a necessary prerequisite for one or more Certificate courses.

How can I sign up for the Certificate?
Fill out a Certificate Enrollment Form and return it to Certificate in TESL/TEFL, Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-7727.

You must also be admitted to San Diego State University through the regular application process. You can register, and pay for, courses for the Advanced Certificate in two ways:

1. as a graduate candidate for a master's degree, taking the courses as electives, or
2. as an unclassified graduate student (that is, one not pursuing a degree) seeking the Certificate only.
   

Courses & Requirements

The Advanced Certificate requires 12 units--four 3-unit courses.

Second language acquisition: Ling 652
Ling. 652 (Second Language Acquisition): Prerequisites: Linguistics 452 or 552; and 550. Analyses of theories of second language acquisition; theoretical and empirical bases of current second language teaching methodologies.

Applied linguistics: Two courses chosen from Ling 650, Ling 653, Ling 655, Ling 795

Ling 650 (Materials Development in ESL/EFL): Prerequisite: Linguistics 550. Materials development and adaptation for teaching English as a second language and foreign language.

Ling 653 (ESL/EFL Reading and Writing): Prerequisite: Linguistics 550. Application of discourse and reading theory to the teaching and testing of TESL/TEFL reading and writing. Issues of coherence, process-product, genre studies.

Ling 655 (English for Specific Purposes and Content-Based Instruction): Prerequisite: Ling 420 or 501 and 550. Introduction to the theory, practice, and history of two related international approaches to ESL/EFL: English for Specific Purposes and Content-Based Instruction.

Ling 795 (Seminar in Linguistics): Prerequisite: Completion of three units of 600- and 700-numbered courses in the master's program for linguistics. Research in linguistics, course content varying according to instructor. Note: Ling 795 may be used for the Applied Linguistics category only when it focuses on an applied linguistics topic.

Elective: One chosen from
Ling 530 (English Grammar) (if not used for Basic Certificate)
Ling 622 (Advanced Syntax),
Ling 623 (Immigrant Languages)
Ling 651 (Sociology of Language)
Ling 654 (Language and Cognition)
Ling 795 (Seminar in Linguistics)