Undergraduates at NC State have the opportunity to earn a minor in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), which will give them a deeper understanding of English as an international language and formal training in teaching English as a foreign language in various cultural and/or educational contexts. The minor consists of 15 credit hours and is open to students from all disciplines. Education majors can do both the minor and the ESL Add-On at the same time.
Just recently, a student minoring in TEFL whose major is environmental science was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Korea. This was a dream come true for her since she has always been fascinated by Korean language and culture. Another student minoring in TEFL whose major is communications is applying to the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP) to work in Spain next year. Earning a minor in TEFL gives students an advantage since having this basic knowledge and skill sets strengthens their applications to such prestigious programs.
Here is a short video in which students explain their reasons for choosing this minor: Why minor in TEFL?.
This fall we are offering two courses for the TEFL Minor:
FL 436-601 Perspectives on English as a New Language (3 credits) Fulfills the new stand-alone USDEI GEP requirement. Online-Asynchronous. Taught by Dr. Alison Turner. This course examines the complexity of multiculturalism in American society and the challenges immigrants and refugees are faced with. Students learn about the historical, legal, cultural and pedagogical issues with respect to learning English as a new language.
FL 427 Methods and Materials in Teaching English as a Second Language. (3 credits). Offered Tuesdays from 4:30-7:15 in person. Taught by Dr. Alison Turner. In this course, students become acquainted with second language acquisition theories as well as methods and strategies in teaching the four skills. They also develop instructional materials and assessment tools for learners of varying proficiency levels.
Please feel free to contact me or Dr. Turner amturne3@ncsu.edu should you have any questions.