Adult English as a Second/Foreign Language

Cert Adult English as a Second/Foreign Language

This graduate certificate offers course projects and a practicum that helps professionals to further enhance their skills as ESL/EFL practitioners.
Teachers

Program Overview

Globalization has created an international demand for English instructors. Certificate holders will meet this need by further developing their professional skills for the teaching, design and coordination of ESL/EFL adult education programs locally and abroad in community colleges, profit/nonprofit institutions and in ESL/EFL programs.

This certificate program requires 18 hours to complete.

Course Work

Through 18 hours of study, professionals enrolled in this certificate program will:

  • explore research related to contemporary adult ESL/EFL learning practices
  • update their skills through learning about innovative ESL/EFL methodologies and approaches to teaching, assessing and evaluating adult students' language learning
  • articulate the relationships and connections between the assessment/testing of students and their performance
  • design instruction that supports and enhances inclusive adult ESL/EFL learning environments that cultivate respect for different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
  • design learning activities and materials that integrate and support the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture to adult ESL/EFL learners
  • make informed decisions when choosing textbooks, teaching materials, and assessment and evaluation methods congruent with program and student needs

What Our Alumni Say

“This program's mix of theoretical learning and hands-on practice makes you feel as if you're not only learning, but also helping real people even before you finish your degree. The courses I took contained a fantastic balance of theoretical learning and hands-on practice through collaboration with local learning centers.”

— Lila Ramos, Class of 2023

Program Details

Certificate holders make a difference as instructors of ESL/EFL teaching adults in the nation and abroad.

Program Mission

The graduate ESL/EFL certificate program is rigorous and practitioner-centered, designed for individuals who are passionate about teaching adults from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The program prepares instructors and administrators who believe in implementing innovative teaching methods to create independent language learners who are also able to learn from each other. ESL/EFL certificate holders are knowledgeable of language acquisition theories and are able to infuse these theories in their teaching practice. They are reflective practitioners who are concerned about how to make their courses and programs more relevant to the lives of the adult ESL/EFL learners they serve.

Career Options

This graduate certificate prepares practitioners who work or will work in ESL/EFL programs as instructors, coordinators, administrators and language proficiency testers. Certificate holders will be able to work in a variety of contexts, such as community-based ESL/literacy, corporations, professional and voluntary associations, correctional institutions, libraries, museums and cultural institutions.

Program Faculty

The faculty members in this program have 20+ years of experience training ESL/EFL instructors in the United States and abroad. They publish groundbreaking research, establishing the connection between theory and practice relevant for researchers and practitioners. Their research has been published in top-tier journals such as Journal of Studies in International Education, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, The Modern Language Journal, Foreign Language Annals, Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, Adult Learning, and New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

Contact The Graduate College for general questions about getting started with your application, funding your degree, and more. If you have program-specific questions after reviewing the program details, we encourage you to contact the following individuals.

Graduate Advisor
Dr. Jeremy Bohonos
j_b1083@txstate.edu
512.245.5656
Academic Services Building South (ASBS), Room 306

Advisor Support
Kassi Redwine
kr1352@txstate.edu
512.245.2531
Academic Services Building South (ASBS), Room 306

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Application Deadlines

DeadlinesU.S. CitizenInternational
Deadlines
Fall
U.S. Citizen
June 15 (*Flexible)
International
June 1
Deadlines
Spring
U.S. Citizen
October 15 (*Flexible)
International
October 1
Deadlines
Summer I
U.S. Citizen
April 1 (*Flexible)
International
March 15
Deadlines
Summer II
U.S. Citizen
June 1 (*Flexible)
International
No Admission

*This program’s deadline is flexible for those not requiring an F/J visa. A flexible deadline means applications received after the standard deadline may be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis with no guarantees for admission consideration.

Decision Timeline
This program reviews applications on a rolling basis.

Admission Requirements

The items required for admission consideration are listed below. Additional information for applicants with international credentials can be found on our international web pages.

  • Review important information about the online application.

    • $20 nonrefundable application fee
      OR
    • $60 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials

    Review important information about application fees.

    • baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)
    • a copy of an official transcript from each institution where course credit was granted
    • minimum 2.5 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work 
    • minimum 3.0 GPA in all completed graduate course work (if applicable)

    Review important information about transcripts. Official transcripts, sent directly from your institution, will be required if admission is granted.

    Effective Fall 2024

    • baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)
    • a copy of an official transcript from each institution where course credit was granted
    • a 2.5 overall GPA or a 2.5 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work  
    • minimum 3.0 GPA in all completed graduate course work (if applicable)
  • GRE

    • GRE not required

    Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

    Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.

    • official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
    • official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
    • official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and
      • minimum individual module scores of 6.0
    • official Duolingo Scores required with a 110 overall
    • official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

    Review important information about official test scores.

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