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TESL at Kent State

Teaching English as a Second Language - B.A.

The Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language program equips you with the skills and knowledge to teach English to non-native speakers. With experienced faculty, hands-on teaching opportunities and a strong focus on language acquisition, this program prepares you for a career in teaching English abroad or at home.

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Bachelor's Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language

麻豆精选's Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) equips students with the skills and knowledge to teach English to non-native speakers in a variety of contexts. The program combines language acquisition theory, linguistics, and practical teaching methods, preparing students to design effective instructional strategies for diverse learners. With a focus on both classroom practice and cultural competency, the B.A. in TESL prepares graduates for careers in education, language instruction, and international teaching roles, as well as further studies in applied linguistics and TESL certification.

Program Information for Teaching English as a Second Language - B.A.

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second Language provides students with a broad understanding of both theory and practice in language studies, pedagogy and culture. Students gain mastery in implementing their skills in varied second-language teaching contexts; in addition, they can observe and participate with international learners in a state-of-the-art technology classroom.

Students who complete an optional practicum abroad may earn the . Students can additionally work toward state teacher licensure by completing the .

Teaching English as a Second Language students may apply early to the and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the policy in the University Catalog for more information.

Admissions for Teaching English as a Second Language - B.A.

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the .

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former 麻豆精选students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since 麻豆精选may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's .

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate their professional knowledge through projects and writing.
  2. Demonstrate learning and effective teaching practices that incorporate distance learning, computer-assisted learning and effective use of software.
  3. Engage with diversity by defining and identifying the English language learners they are likely to serve, and by developing effective teaching strategies to teach for diversity.
Coursework

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
ENG 31001FUNDAMENTAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR 3
ENG 31003LINGUISTICS 3
ENG 31005CHILD SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 13
or ENG 31009 ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
ENG 31007PEDAGOGY FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 3
ENG 31008GRAMMAR FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE 3
ENG 31010THE BILINGUAL MENTAL LEXICON 3
ENG 41003LANGUAGE CURRICULUM, MATERIALS AND ASSESSMENT 3
ENG 41092ESL PRACTICUM IN INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMS (ELR) 23
or ENG 41192 ESL PRACTICUM IN A P-12 SETTING (ELR)
or ENG 41292 TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRACTICUM (ELR)
ETEC 39525EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY 3
or ETEC 47400 TRENDS IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
or ETEC 47403 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Writing Elective, choose from the following:3
ENG 30050
WRITING AND RHETORIC IN A DIGITAL AGE
ENG 30051
WRITING, RHETORIC AND NEW MEDIA
ENG 30062
PRINCIPLES OF TECHNICAL WRITING
ENG 30063
PROFESSIONAL WRITING
ENG 30064
ARGUMENTATIVE PROSE WRITING
ENG 30066
WRITING IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE (ELR)
Language and Thought in World Perspective Electives, choose from the following:6
COMM 35852
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (DIVG)
ENG 31006
WORLD ENGLISHES (DIVG) (WIC) 3
ENG 41001
SOCIOLINGUISTICS IN SCHOOLING (DIVD) (WIC) 3
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Foreign Language (see Foreign Language College Requirement below)14-16
6
3
9
6
6-7
6
General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)33
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

Students declared in the Education minor should take ENG 31005. Students may take ENG 31009 as an elective.

2

Students declared in the Education minor should take ENG 41192. Students should take ENG 41292 toward the requirements for the Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate.

3

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
  • Students pursuing a B.A. degree in Teaching English as a Second Language must complete 14-16 credit hours of a foreign language through Intermediate II of the same language. Students should contact the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies for individualized placement and advising information prior to enrolling in their first foreign language course. Students entering the university with substantial knowledge of a language should consider taking the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP).

Foreign Language College Requirement, B.A.

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 14-16 credit hours of foreign language.1
To complete the requirement, students need the equivalent of Elementary I and II in any language, plus one of the following options2:

  1. Intermediate I and II of the same language
  2. Elementary I and II of a second language
  3. Any combination of two courses from the following list:
  • Intermediate I of the same language
  • ARAB 21401
  • ASL 19401
  • CHIN 25421
  • MCLS 10001
  • MCLS 20001
  • MCLS 20091
  • MCLS 21417
  • MCLS 21420
  • MCLS 22217
  • MCLS 28403
  • MCLS 28404
1

All students with prior foreign language experience should take the foreign language placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to start. Some students may start beyond the Elementary I level and will complete the requirement with fewer credit hours and fewer courses. This may be accomplished by (1) passing a course beyond Elementary I through Intermediate II level; (2) receiving credit through one of the programs offered by 麻豆精选; or (3) demonstrating comparable to Elementary II of a foreign language. When students complete the requirement with fewer than 14 credit hours and four courses, they will complete remaining credit hours with general electives.

2

Certain majors, concentrations and minors may require specific languages, limit the languages from which a student may choose or require coursework through Intermediate II. Students who plan to pursue graduate study may need particular language coursework.

Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Foreign Language 4
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours14
Semester Two
Foreign Language 4
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Three
ENG 31001 FUNDAMENTAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR 3
Foreign Language 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
ENG 31003 LINGUISTICS 3
Foreign Language 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Five
ENG 31005
or ENG 31009
CHILD SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
or ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
3
ENG 31008 GRAMMAR FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE 3
ENG 31010 THE BILINGUAL MENTAL LEXICON 3
Language and Thought in World Perspective Elective 3
Writing Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Six
ENG 31007 PEDAGOGY FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 3
ENG 41092
or ENG 41192
or ENG 41292
ESL PRACTICUM IN INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAMS (ELR)
or ESL PRACTICUM IN A P-12 SETTING (ELR)
or TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRACTICUM (ELR)
3
ETEC 39525
or ETEC 47400
or ETEC 47403
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
or TRENDS IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
or INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
3
General Electives 6
 Credit Hours15
Semester Seven
ENG 41003 LANGUAGE CURRICULUM, MATERIALS AND ASSESSMENT 3
or Language and Thought in World Perspective Elective
 
General Electives 12
 Credit Hours15
Semester Eight
ENG 41003 LANGUAGE CURRICULUM, MATERIALS AND ASSESSMENT 3
or Language and Thought in World Perspective Elective
 
General Electives 12
 Credit Hours15
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus
Professional Licensure Disclosure

This program is not designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you wish to become licensed in Ohio, you must also register for and complete all requirements for the Minor in Education and sit for licensing exams. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure or certification and contact information for state licensing boards at Kent State's website for professional licensure disclosure.  

If you are interested in the Minor in Education, please contact Jessy Hendrickx (jahendri@kent.edu) and watch this video: 

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Teaching English as a Second Language - B.A.

Graduates of Kent State鈥檚 B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language are well-prepared for careers in language education, both domestically and internationally. The program鈥檚 comprehensive curriculum, which includes language acquisition, linguistics, and teaching methodologies, equips students with the skills to effectively teach English to non-native speakers. Graduates often pursue roles as ESL teachers, language specialists, and curriculum developers, contributing to educational institutions, language programs, and multicultural communities.

Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and English as a Second Language instructors

-10.4%

decline

59,300

number of jobs

$55,350

potential earnings

Elementary school teachers, except special education

3.5%

about as fast as the average

1,452,100

number of jobs

$60,940

potential earnings

Kindergarten teachers, except special education

3.7%

about as fast as the average

127,700

number of jobs

$57,860

potential earnings

Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education

3.6%

about as fast as the average

627,100

number of jobs

$60,810

potential earnings

Preschool teachers, except special education

2.5%

slower than the average

540,400

number of jobs

$31,930

potential earnings

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

3.8%

about as fast as the average

1,050,800

number of jobs

$62,870

potential earnings

Tutors and teachers and instructors, all other

7.4%

faster than the average

406,200

number of jobs

$40,590

potential earnings

Additional Careers
  • Teacher of English as a foreign language
  • Language school instructor (in the U.S. or abroad)
  • Assistant language teacher
  • Educational materials writer/editor
  • Language assessment writer/editor
  • Curriculum designer
  • Educational consultant
Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' . Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.