JungKang Miller, Ph.D., Chair
914-674-7333
jkmiller@mercy.edu

The Master of Science in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program may lead to initial / professional certification. Candidates in the M.S. in TESOL (Track 1) must complete the 15-week New York State required student teaching experience. Candidates in the M.S. in TESOL certificate program (Track 2) are required to complete 20 days of clinical practice experience within an ESL Pre-K–12 school environment. Professional Certification in New York State requires three years of teaching experience.

Additional admission requirements for the Master of Science in TESOL include a 30-credit undergraduate major in one of the liberal arts or sciences. EDUC 610 Developmental Psychology, or its equivalent, is a prerequisite for the TESOL Program.

TESOL Program Goals:

Candidates in the M.S. Program in TESOL are expected to acquire the knowledge, skills, and professionalism necessary to meet the English language and content area needs of English Language Learners in inclusive or mainstream classrooms, in urban and/ or suburban settings. Program participants, with faculty guidance and support, are expected to become reflective practitioners and develop expertise in the following areas:

1. Develop the necessary skills, attitudes and sensitivities to understand that language is a comprehensive and complex system of communication and use such knowledge to meet the educational needs of English Language Learners from diverse cultural backgrounds and learning styles, who are foreign born, or who come from homes where a language other than English is spoken, who are mainstream or students with disabilities.
2. Understand the importance and impact that culture and cultural identity have on family relationships, including those of extended families and students.
3. Understand how assessment informs instruction in determining the needs of the whole child, academically, psychologically, socially, culturally and linguistically and to apply such knowledge in planning for instruction, based on the students’ linguistic assessment and second-language teaching strategies and in accordance with the New York State and National Core Learning Standards.
4. Become lifelong learners of emerging research and technologies, able to apply sound criteria in selecting and adapting materials and approaches that support the effective teaching of diverse linguistic populations.