Bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) Endorsement or Approval

Online and Face-to-Face Options

Roosevelt University offers online and face-to-face ESL / Bilingual endorsement courses that prepare practicing teachers and teachers-in-training to enhance the learning of bilingual and English as a second language students. All of the requirements  to obtain an official bilingual or ESL endorsement/approvel from the State of Illinois may be completed in just one year.

Practicing or certified teachers, and graduate students seeking teach certification, may enroll in online graduate courses.  Face-to-face courses are offered on Saturdays at the Schaumburg campus, and are open to undergraduate students as well as graduate students and certified teachers.  An off-campus, face-to-face cohort option also is available on Saturdays in Logan Square, in the city of Chicago.  This off-campus option is for practicing or certified teachers only.

All courses are taught by the same experienced, highly effective, and very qualified instructors.  For more information about the option that is best for you, please contact Laura Lag at llag@roosevelt.edu or attend an Information Session.

Courses

Face-to-face courses are offered on Saturdays from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM during the Fall and Spring terms and on 5 consecutive Saturdays from 9:00-5:00 during the summer. The Saturday courses each Fall and Spring term are offered sequentially, not concurrently, with the first course meeting the first 7 Saturdays of the term and the second course meeting the last 7 Saturdays of the term. The summer courses are offered during separate five-week sessions (see table below).  Online courses are offered concurrently each semester, and are 12 weeks in duration.

Clinical Hours

It is a state requirement that students complete 100 clinical hours in bilingual or ESL settings. Individual courses have variable clinical hours associated with them to meet these requirements (see table above). Students may choose to complete any number of hours within the specified range for each course, but it is the student's responsibility to have a total of 100 clinical hours completed and verified by the end of the sequence of six courses.

Please note that clinical hours for any course must be completed during the semester in which the course is offered, but can be begun and/or completed outside the 7-week span of the class meetings.

Some clinical hours may be waived with a letter from a school principal verifying three months of full-time, successful teaching experience in the area for which the student is seeking endorsement.

• Field placements and completion of clinical hours
• Requesting that clinical hours be waived based on bilingual/ESL teaching experience 

Additional State Requirements

Students seeking the Bilingual Endorsement/Approval must also pass a state language examination in the non-English language to be taught. Students planning to pursue this endorsement are encouraged to take the target language proficiency examination as soon as possible as they will not be able to receive an endorsement from the state without passing it. The ESL Endorsement does not require a language test. Please visit http://www.icts.nesinc.com/ for more information.

Apply

Follow these steps to apply for admission and to register for off-campus courses:

• If you are not already a student at Roosevelt University, download and submit an application for admission to graduate programs.  A completed application for admission is required of all students.  Apply for admission to the MA degree in Reading or the MA degree in Teacher Leadership, and indicate that you are interested in the Bilingual/ESL concentration.

• If you are a certified teacher, send an official transcript from the institution of higher education that provided you with your certification.  No other transcripts are required.  Address your official transcript to:

• All prospective students should contact the faculty advisor below for information about enrolling in online and face-to-face courses. Off-campus cohort students will be directly enrolled in their courses by administrative staff.

Tuition and Financial Support

Information about tuition charges is available at Roosevelt's tuition and fees page.  The tuition for part-time graduate students in the College of Education is the one applicable to most practicing or certified teachers not already enrolled at Roosevelt University.

New graduate students with at least a 3.0 admission GPA are eligible for a Dean's Scholarship that will decrease the part-time graduate tuition cost by $150 per credit hour.

The off-campus Logan Square cohort tuition rate for each ESL/bilingual course is $1,050 ($350 per credit hour),  The total tuition cost each semester is $2,100.  You must be a certified teacher to qualify for this special tuition rate. Scholarships for early childhood teachers are available at http://ilgateways.com/en/scholarship-and-assistance.

Qualified applicants may also apply for financial aid through the Roosevelt University Office of Financial Aid.

Questions?

Please contact Laura Lag at llag@roosevelt.edu in order to obtain more information or to organize a cohort at a school near you.

Attend an Information Session