Earn Your English as a Second Language (ESL) Endorsement
This credential is excellent preparation for teaching in our nation’s increasingly diverse learning communities. More and more school districts are requiring teachers to obtain this endorsement. North Park’s ESL endorsement program will give you practical experience in an ESL school setting along with specific courses in teaching and assessment of ESL students.
Our program will help you meet the requirements for earning this endorsement: a valid professional Illinois teacher license; bilingual clinical experience totaling 100 clock hours, or three months, teaching experience in ESL programs; and credits totaling 18 semester hours from among the course topics we offer.
Practical Training
In the endorsement program, you will gain hands-on classroom experience in an ESL setting; understand the basic principles of linguistics; explore the relationship between language and society; build a personal framework for teaching a second language; learn assessment techniques of ESL students; and examine multicultural and socioeconomic activity.
Upon completion of the endorsement, you’ll understand ESL education methods in both theory and practice and be able to serve as an effective teacher in the ESL classroom setting.
Personal Attention
Our compassionate, experienced faculty spend time in the field to master the latest best practices and regularly contribute to advancing the framework of education. They will teach you best practices in education—and prepare you to lead and transform others wherever your career takes you.
Affordable Tuition
North Park offers a 25% tuition discount for full-time employees, teachers, and/or day-to-day substitute teachers in public or private Chicago schools as well as students who enroll in the master of arts in educational leadership (MAEL) program.