Mar 19, 2024  
2015-2017 Graduate Catalog 
    
2015-2017 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Teaching English as a Second Language Endorsement


 

Department of Linguistics
1024 Human Health Building   (map)
(248) 370-2175 • Fax (248) 370-3144
www.oakland.edu/linguistics

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Graduate Catalog Addendum  

Coordinator:
Samuel Rosenthall
1022 Human Health Building
(248) 364-8805
srosenth@oakland.edu     

 

The Oakland University Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Endorsement program is a joint effort between the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Linguistics and the School of Education and Human Services. The program has received approval from the State of Michigan Board of Education to offer a TESL Endorsement to teacher certification. The program consists of 20 credits taken in four successive semesters.

Program description

The purpose of the TESL Endorsement program is to prepare K-12 teachers to teach ESL classes and to better service LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students presently in K-12 classes. The program is designed for participants who have already obtained a State of Michigan teaching certificate and are interested in this additional endorsement. The courses in the TESL Endorsement program will help teachers understand the linguistic and cultural problems that students have when English is not their native language. With TESL background and training, educators will be able to deal with those problems effectively and help students who speak other languages become more integrated into classroom activities.

Admission terms and application deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

Application requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

  1.    
     
  2. Additional department application requirements
      
  • The department will consider applicants who hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution and whose credentials, including transcripts and two letters of recommendation, give evidence of academic distinction.
  • Applicants must explain, in a statement of purpose, their reasons for wishing to pursue the TESL Endorsement.
  • A grade-point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in undergraduate work is ordinarily the minimum standard for admission.

Admission review and assessment

Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.

Endorsement requirements


Satisfactory academic progress


Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good academic standing


All graduate students are expected to remain in good academic standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. The student must also maintain a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0.

Good academic standing is a requirement for:

  • Holding a Graduate Assistantship
  • Receiving a fellowship or scholarship
  • Advancing to candidacy for a graduate degree
  • Going on a leave of absence
  • Obtaining a graduate certificate or degree from Oakland University.

Additionally, graduate students must meet all department academic standards which may be more stringent than the minimum set forth by the University.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related program information


Plan of study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with their assigned faculty program adviser, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty program adviser and submitted by the student to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework.

Note:  Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.

Relationship to the Master of Arts in Linguistics


All courses listed under the requirements for the TESL Endorsement can be applied toward the Master of Arts degree in linguistics with a TESL specialization. It is anticipated that a graduate of the endorsement program who has all the prerequisites for the Master of Arts in linguistics can apply for admission to that program and complete the additional 16 credits needed for that degree in approximately four semesters as a part-time student or two semesters as a full-time student. The courses that make up the 16 credits of additional work for the M.A. degree are:

                 or

For students completing the endorsement program who have less than a 3.0 grade-point average in courses taken in that program, and who wish to apply for admission to the M.A. program, the Department of Linguistics will consider their applications on an individual basis.


All of the credits are subject to the six-year time limit.