Certificates that meet English Language Fellow Program eligibility requirements include the following components:
- A minimum of 120 instruction contact hours or an equivalent in credit hours for a certificate granted by a BA or MA TESOL program
- Live, online, and blended course instruction may be considered.
- 100-hour certificates may be accepted for eligibility if the program includes 10 or more supervised and observed practicum hours. If the 100-hour certificate program has fewer than 10 hours of practicum, the candidate may be considered eligible with an additional year of full-time ESL/EFL classroom teaching.
- Classroom practicum/practice teaching (preferred 6 or more hours). This must be supervised and observed by a qualified professional.
- If a 120-hour certificate program does not include a supervised and observed practicum, the candidate may be considered eligible with an additional year of full-time ESL/EFL classroom teaching.
- Curriculum components (minimum):
- Second language acquisition
- Motivation and the language learner
- Methods and techniques
- Teaching language skills: reading, listening, speaking, writing
- Teaching grammar and vocabulary
- Lesson planning
- Classroom management
- Resource and materials development
- Testing and assessment
- Cultural, linguistic, and multi-cultural sensitivity
For TESOL International’s Standards for Short-Term TESL/TEFL Certificate Programs, please click here.
When applying, applicants will need to submit the following:
- Scan of the certificate document
- Web address (URL) where the certificate program’s curriculum and practicum components can be verified.
NOTE: To be eligible, all candidates must have a graduate level degree. If candidates do not have an MA in TESOL or a field related to English language teaching, and they also do not have a qualifying TESOL certificate or K-12 ESL state credential, they may be considered eligible if they have done 5 or more years of full-time ESL/EFL, TESL/TEFL, or TESOL related classroom teaching.