| Coordinator | Overview | Homepage | Resources |
Foreign Language Teacher Certification Coordinator:
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| Watson 118 | (815) 753-6449 | mmorris1@niu.edu | Northern Illinois University
Department of Foreign Languages DeKalb, IL 60115 |
History and Scope of program
The department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at NIU is very proud
of its foreign language teacher development program. Language teachers
at schools throughout northern Illinois received their initial teacher training
at NIU, and its graduates are eagerly sought by schools throughout the state.
We certify teachers in French, German, and Spanish at both the middle and
secondary levels.
Course requirements
Teacher candidates in foreign languages complete an undergraduate major in
their language of choice, as well as coursework in educational psychology,
evaluation and assessment, mainstreaming of exceptional students, foundations
of education, and multiculturalism. They also enroll in ILAS 201 and
301, courses in which they observe classroom teaching in area middle and
high schools while attending a series of seminars on topics such as learning
styles, how gender of learners influences learning, diversity, and lesson
planning.
Program structure
After completing 60 hours of classroom observation, teacher candidates will
decide whether they wish to pursue student teaching at the middle or secondary
level. They will make this decision by the end of the spring semester
of the academic year prior to student teaching. During the fall semester
prior to student teaching, preservice teachers will enroll in FLMT 491, Methods
of teaching foreign languages at the middle and secondary levels. At
the same time, they will complete the final 40 hours of required clinical
observation in the classroom where they will be student teaching in the following
semester. This structure serves two purposes: it gives students
a chance to observe in a classroom situation the ideas discussed in the methods
course, and it allows them to become acquainted with the cooperating teacher
and students with whom they will be working during student teaching.
* For more detailed information about the Foreign Language Teacher Certification Program at NIU, go to the Foreign Language Teacher Certification Homepage linked below.
Foreign Language Teacher Certification Homepage
Click on the screen capture below:
Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Foreign Language Teaching Forum
American Association of Teachers of German
American Association of Teachers of French
