賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)TESOL項(xiàng)目FAQs

FrequentlyAskedQuestionsbyTESOLStudents:

TESOLADVISING

Whoismyadvisor?

TheTESOLadvisorisassignedbeforestudentsarrive.Theletterofinvitationtotheprogramnotifiesstudentsoftheiradvisor’snameandcontactinformation.StudentsmeettheiradvisorsduringtherequiredTESOLorientationsession,whichisusuallyheldduringthesamedayastheLLEDorientation.Studentsareresponsibleforcontactingtheiradvisorandmakingappointmentstoapproveaplanofstudy.Studentswhodonotconsultwiththeiradvisorsrisktakingcoursesthatwillnotcounttowardtheirdegree.TESOLhasaseparateinternshipandseminaradvisorwhocanbeconsultedaboutmattersrelatedtotheseitems.

Whoelseshouldstudentsconsultbesidestheiradvisor?

QuestionsthattheTESOLadvisorscannotanswershouldbeaddressedtotheLLEDcoordinator,PennyCreedon(),ortheTESOLprogramdirector.

COURSES:

REQUIREDCOURSES

HowmanycoursesarerequiredfortheM.S.EdinTESOL?

Twelvegraduatelevelcoursesarerequired.Eachcoursecarriesaminimumofthirtyhoursandisworthonec.u.(creditunit).

Whataretherequiredcourses?

EDUC527:ApproachestoTeachingEnglishandOtherModernLanguages

EDUC537:EducationalLinguistics

EDUC546:SociolinguisticsinEducation

EDUC563:InternshipandSeminar:TESOL

Also,oneofthefollowingfieldworkcourses:

EDUC525.004:TESOLPractice

or

EDUC525.927:TESOLPractice/OverseasPlacements(SummerSessionIIonly)

Inaddition,

EDUC679:LanguageforSpecificPurposesisrequiredforinternationalstudents

Whenshouldstudentstaketherequiredcourses?

TheTESOLfacultyrecommendsthatfulltimestudentstaketherequiredcoursesduringtheirfirst2semestersofstudy.Part-timestudentsshouldtaketherequiredcoursesbeforetheybegintakingelectives.Thesecoursespresenttoolsandknowledgethatpreparestudentsformoreadvancedcoursesinthefield.

StudentsshouldtakeEDUC563:InternshipandSeminar:TESOLinthesemesterfollowingtwofullsemestersofcourses,e.g.,duringtheirsecondfallorsecondspringsemester,ortheirfirstsummersession.Studentswhobegintheirprogramofstudiesinthesummersessionshouldwaituntilthefollowingspringsemester,summersession,orlatertotakeEDUC525orEDUC563.

Howmanycoursescanbetakeneachsemester?

Full-timestudentsmustberegisteredforatleast3c.u.’s.StudentswhowouldliketotakeadifferentnumberofcoursesMUSTconsultwiththeiradvisor,firstthroughemail,andfollowupinperson,ifnecessary.

Whichcoursesshouldbetakeninthefirstsemester?

NewstudentswhoenterintheFallSemestershouldplantotakeEDUC527:ApproachestoTeachingEnglishandOtherModernLanguagesandEDUC537:EducationalLinguisticssincetheseareintendedtoprovideafoundationfortheirTESOLstudies.

InternationalstudentsmustregisterforEDUC679:LanguageforSpecificPurposes.

NewstudentswhoenterintheSpringsemesterorSummerSessionshouldconsultwiththeiradvisor,asthesecoursesmaynotbeofferedatthesetimes.

ELECTIVES

Whichelectivesarerecommended?

Togaindepthinthefield,studentsshouldtakemostoftheirelectivesinLLED.Togainbreadthinthefield,theyshouldtakeatleastoneelectivefromanotherGSEdivision.Electiveselectionwilldependonastudent’scareergoalsandinterests.StudentsshouldconsultwiththeiradvisorandotherTESOLstudentsforspecificrecommendations.Pleasenotethatallelectivecoursesmustbegraduatelevel(i.e.,500-levelorabove)andberelevanttothestudent’splanofstudy.

Maystudentscountlanguagecoursesaselectives?

Studentsmaytakeanygraduatelevel(500-levelorabove)languagecourseasanelective.However,theymayNOTtakeundergraduatelanguagecourses(below500-levelcourses)andhavethemcounttowardstheM.S.Eddegree.Thisusuallyprecludesstudentsfromtakingbeginninglanguagecoursesandcountingthecoursestowardstheirdegree.

Studentswhowouldliketolearnanewlanguageorcontinuetostudyapreviouslylearnedlanguagemightconsidercontactingtheappropriatedepartmenttoaskaboutsittinginonaclass,contactingInternationalHouse,orlookingforaprivatetutor.

HowdostudentsenrollinelectivecoursesoutsideofGSE?

EnrollmentinelectivecoursesoutsideofGSEdependsontheschoolofferingthecourses.StudentsmayenrollincoursesintheGraduateSchoolofArts&SciencesandtheLawSchoolastheydoforcoursesatGSE.StudentswhowishtoenrollincoursesatWhartonorinthePrograminOrganizationalDynamicsfirstmustconsultwiththeprofessorofthecourseinwhichtheywishtoenrollaswellastheappropriateadministratorateitherWhartonorinOrganizationalDynamics.Studentsshouldkeepinmindthatthenumberofcreditspercourseandthetuition/feecostofthesecoursesmaydifferfromthoseofferedbyGSEand/ortheGraduateSchoolofArts&Sciences.CoursestakenoutsideofGSEmaycountasanon-LLEDelectiveforthedegreeprogram.ElectivecoursestakenoutsideofGSEmustberelevanttoTESOLandapprovedinwritingbythestudent’sadvisorasanelective.

TRANSFEROFCOURSES:

Howmanycoursesmaystudentstransferfromanotherinstitution?

Studentsmaytransfertwograduate-levelcoursesfromanotherinstitutionaslongastheyarerelevanttotheplanofstudy.Thesecoursesarecountedaselectives.Thecoursesmustbegraduatelevel,degree-orientedcourses,notgraduatelevel,continuingeducationcourses.Thisinformationisindicatedonthetranscriptfromtheinstitutionwherethecoursewastaken.

Whenandhowdostudentstransfercoursesfromanotherinstitution?

FollowingthecompletionofonesemesteratGSE,studentsmayapplytotransferuptotwograduate-levelcoursesfromanotherinstitution.StudentsshouldfirstconsultwiththeirTESOLadvisor,bringingwiththemthesyllabusforthecoursetobetransferred,alongwithatranscriptshowingthegradethatwasreceivedforthecourse.IftheTESOLadvisorapproves,thestudentmustthencompletethe“TransferofCredit”formfoundat,andsubmitittoPennyCreedon,alongwiththeofficialtranscriptfromtheinstitutionwherethecoursewastaken.PennyCreedonwillhavetheTESOLDirectorsigntheform,andforwardthematerialstotheGSEregistrar.

INTERNSHIPANDSEMINARCOURSE

IfEDUC563:InternshipandSeminar:TESOListheonlyremainingrequirement,maystudentsenrollinthiscoursewhileresidingoutoftown?Yes.

IfEDUC563:InternshipandSeminar:TESOListheonlyremainingrequirement,doesitcounttowardfull-timestatus(forvisaorstudentloanpurposes)?Yes.Studentsshouldrequesttoenrollin563asfull-timewithPennyCreedon.Internationalstudentscanalsowaivethefull-timerequirementintheirfirstandlastsemestersforvisapurposes;theyshouldfillouttheappropriateformwiththeInternationalStudentServicesofficeatPenn’sOfficeofInternationalPrograms.

HowdostudentsobtainaninternshipforEDUC563?

Studentsareresponsibleforobtainingtheirowninternships.However,theinternshipadvisorcanprovideassistance.ThePennTellsDirectory,availablethroughthePennTellsDirector(currentlyVioletQinxuJiang),listslocalsites.ThePennTellsDirectorvisitsclassesinthefall,andhostsafollowupactivityinfallandspring.TheCareerServicesCenteratPenncanalsobehelpful.

MaystudentspursueinternshipsoutsideofPhiladelphia?

Yes.

Whenistheinternshipproposaldue?

TheEDUC563instructornotifiesstudentsaboutduedates.Studentsmaybeaskedtorevisetheproposalbeforeitisapproved.Theproposalmustbeapprovedbeforestudentscan:beginworkontheinternship,andbepermittedtoenrollinEDUC563.Studentswhowishtopursueaninternshipinthesummerorduringthesecondfallsemester,mustsubmitaproposalintheprecedingspringsemester.Studentswhowishtopursueaninternshipinthesecondspringsemestermustsubmitaproposalduringthesecondfallsemester.

Whenistheinternshipandseminarpaperdue?

InthefallsemestertheseminarpaperisdueinNovember.InthespringsemesteritisdueinApril,andintheSummerSession,itisdueinJune.TheinstructorofEDUC563notifiesstudentsofspecificdatesanddeadlines.

COURSEREGISTRATIONANDCOURSEPERMITS

Whendostudentsregisterforcourses?Studentsregisterfortheirfirstsemesterofcoursesduringthefirst2weeksofthesemester.Studentsthenpre-registerforsubsequentsemestersmidwaythrougheachsemester.

Howdostudentsobtainacoursepermit?StudentsshouldcontactPennyCreedon()forcoursepermitsforcoursesofferedbyLLED.ForcoursesofferedbyotherdivisionsinGSE,studentsshouldcontacttheappropriatedivisionorprogramcoordinator.TheGSEwebsiteprovidesinformationonwhichdivisionoffersaparticularcourse.

CERTIFICATES

WhatisanESLSpecialistCertificate?

EveryonewhograduateswithanM.S.Ed.inTESOLiseligibleforaspecialistcertificatefromthePennsylvaniaDepartmentofEducation.Itisanextracredentialthatstudentscanreceiveinadditiontotheirdegree.MoststatesrecognizetheM.S.Ed.inTESOLandtheTESOLprogramastheappropriatetrainingforateachingpositionintheK-12schoolsystem.However,thestateofPennsylvaniarequiresanElementaryEducationorSecondaryEducationdegreeandanESLSpecialistCertificate.EvenstudentswhodonotplantoworkinPennsylvaniafinditusefultohavethiscredential.RequestsshouldbedirectedtoPennyCreedon.

WhatisaBusinessCommunicationCertificate?

EachJune,theTESOLandPenn’sLauder/Whartonprogramsofferaone-weekinstituteforteachingasecondorforeignlanguageforbusinesscommunication,akaPennLauderCIBER/GSESummerInstituteinBusinessCommunication,WhartonSchoolofBusinessStudentsareawardedacertificateofparticipationattheendoftheinstitute.

StudentscanalsoobtainaspecialistcertificateinBusinessCommunication.Toqualify,theymusttakethefollowing:EDUC641.911LanguageandtheProfessions,EDUC674.002CurriculumandMaterialsDevelopment

inBusinessCommunication,andPennLauderCIBER/GSESummerInstituteinBusinessCommunication,WhartonSchoolofBusiness

RECOMMENDATIONLETTERS

Whataretheproceduresforrequestingaletterofrecommendation?

StudentsmustfirstregisterwiththeUniversityofPennsylvaniaCareerPlacementOfficeanditsInterfolioService,sothattheletterofrecommendationwillremainonfileandbeavailableforthefuture.

Agoodletterofrecommendationtakestimetocompose.Studentsandalumnishouldgivethepersonwhoiswritingtheirletteratleastthreeweeks’notice,includeacopyofthestatementofpurpose(foranapplication)andaresumeorC.V.(foranapplicationorajob).

StudentswhoapplyforadmissiontothePh.D.inEducationalLinguisticsshouldnotethatthefollowingpeoplecannotwritelettersofrecommendationforthisprogram:Drs.Butler,Hornberger,Howard,Pica,Pomerantz,andRymes.Sincetheywilldiscussapplicationsasacommittee,theydonotneedaletterofrecommendation,butotherprofessorsinLLEDorfromotherprogramsandschoolscandoso.

PROGRAMCOMPLETIONANDGRADUATION

Howlongdoesittaketocompletetheprogram?

Thisdiffersdependinguponthestudentandhisorhercircumstances.Generally,forfulltimestudents,theminimumamountoftimeisthreesemesters.Courseworkandinternship/seminarrequirementsprecludestudentsfromcompletingtheirplan-of-studyinoneacademicyear.TheprerequisitetobeginningaTESOLinternshipisthecompletionofsixormorecoursestowardstheM.S.EddegreeinTESOLaswellasfacultyapprovalofthestudent’sinternshipprospectus.

Whatproceduresdostudentsfollowinordertograduate?

Studentsmustregistertograduate.Itdoesnothappenautomaticallyjustbecausetheyhavefinishedtheircoursework.Theregistrationdeadlineisveryearlyinthesemester,sostudentsshouldbesuretolookattheGSEcalendarbeforethebeginningofthesemesterinwhichtheyplantograduate.Studentswillmostlikelyreceiveanemailmessageabouttheupcomingdeadlineanditwillprovideinformationabouthowtoregisteron-line.

Studentsshouldbeawarethat“Incompletes”ontheirtranscriptscancauseproblemswhentheytrytograduate.Studentsshouldspeakwiththeirprofessorstomakesuretheyknowwhatproceduresarerequiredtoremovetheincompletefromtheirrecord.

ThereisagraduationceremonyinMay,whichstudentscanattendeveniftheygraduatedinthepreviousDecember.

DOCTORALSTUDIES

WillcoursesfromaTESOLdegreecounttowardsaPhDinEducationalLinguisticsatGSE?Yes.ManyofthecoursestakenbyTESOLstudentsmaycounttowardsadoctorateinEducationalLinguisticsatGSE.ThePhDinEducationalLinguistics,however,hasitsowncourserequirementsandstudentsenrolledinthatprogramshouldconsultwiththeiradvisorandreadtheprogramhandbook.StudentsshouldkeepinmindthatcompletingaM.S.EdinTESOLatGSEdoesnotguaranteeacceptanceintheEducationalLinguisticsPhDprogram.StudentsmustfollowtheusualapplicationproceduresiftheywishtopursuetheirPhDinEducationalLinguisticsatGSE.

EMPLOYMENTANDCAREEROPPORTUNITIES

Wheredograduatesfindemployment?

TESOLgraduatesworkallovertheworldinvariouscontextsinthepublicandprivatesector.TheyteachincountrieswhereEnglishisspokenonlyasaforeignlanguage,aswellasincountrieswhereEnglishisthedominantlanguage.Manyworkwithimmigrantsandrefugeesatalllevelsoftheeducationsystem--inprimary,secondary,andhighereducation--aswellasinadulteducationincommunitycollegesandcommunity-basedprograms.

Inhighereducationsettings,TESOLgraduatesworkwithinternationalstudentsinintensiveEnglishlanguageprograms.ManyteachEFLatprivateinternationalschoolsandeducationalorganizationsandingovernmentorganizationssuchasPeaceCorps,Fulbright,theDepartmentofStateOverseasSchools,ortheDepartmentofEnglishLanguageProgramsoftheU.S.DepartmentofState.

ManygraduatestaketeachingpositionsatpublicschoolsthroughouttheUS.Inmoststates,theM.S.