For ESL Teachers: In order to teach ESL, will I need to know spanish; or other lanuages as well?

Question

I am 23 years old, and I am interested in teaching English as a second language.I would like to teach 9th -10th grade. I know you can earn a certificate, but can you earn a B.A. as well? Almost like secondary education?

Answer 1

No, you don't. Mostly, as an ESL teacher you will just be immersing them in the English language. If you are teaching 9th or 10th grade a lot of them will already know English. You just need to help them out.

My opinion, however, is that it's better if you learn some other languages. Especially Spanish, since that's a common first language for those who don't speak English as their first language. It really helps you to help them when you at least know some grammar basics.

Answer 2

You do not need to know another language, but you do need a degree, preferably a BS in education and if you want secondary education, you need an endorsement area, like English, science, math, history,  then you add the ESL endorsement.

Answer 3

Hi! Excellent question! And congrats on your decision to pursue this field! It is soooo fun to be in the ESL field!

It is not necessary that you know other languages to teach ESL. There is a large movement towards authentic instruction in the ESL field, where students do task-based activities, which help them to begin to produce the English language in a more natural way. ESL teachers do not do as much traditional instruction anymore, where you would stand in front of the class as the students listen in. This is proven to be less effective in language classes. But because ESL instruction is more authentic now, it helps to have somewhat of a creative spirit! If you like to make up new ideas, lesson plans, and fun activities for students to learn language with, you'll love teaching ESL!

But back to the language requirements....as mentioned, no, you don't have to know other languages. If you had, say, 10 ESL students who all spoke 10 different languages, obviously, knowing even just one of them will not help the rest. Also, you don't want to be tempted to talk to them too often in their native tongues, because then it will be easier for them to avoid speaking to you in English....

Having said all of that, usually you will have to learn at least 1 foreign language if you pursue a BA or MA in the ESL field. With a certificate, you may not have to do this. But for the BA or MA, you definitely will. I must recommend my alma mater, the Univ. of Memphis! They have a certificate program, a BA, and an MA in ESL, and you can earn almost all requirements ONLINE! Isn't that amazing?! If you would like to look into this, you'll need to look specifically at the English department on the UofM website:

www.memphis.edu

Well, I hope that helps you in your ESL journey! Good luck with everything, and happy learning/teaching!  ;o)

Answer 4

If you're living in the US I would recommend learning Spanish.  If you're taking your ESL cert around the world I still recommend learning another language but don't worry about learning another language in advance... immersion in a culture does wonders for forcing a person to learn a language and it's not required to obtain a job.

Answer 5

ESL is really about techniques an English teacher can use to help students of other languages learn English-so, no.  You don't have to speak another language.  Typically, people think of Spanish when they think of ESL, but if you live in a major city you could be dealing with several other languages in the same room.  However, if you are teaching people who are primarily speaking one other language, such as Spanish, it does help to have some knowledge of that language and how it works, especially with older kids.  They are more able to see the ways in which the grammatical patterns are different, but it really helps if you know enough to show them those things.

Answer 6

You can study for a masters in ESL

Answer 7

You won't need to know other languages.  Many places actually prefer an English only classroom.  Knowing another language will help you, even if you are not in an English only class.  It will give you a better sense of how the students think about their language and, as a result, help you better understand why certain problems come up.  (I teach in Taiwan and it always confused me why they kept saying things like "open the light."  Open and turn on are the same words in Mandarin Chinese).  It is not, however, necessary.

There are places that offer a degree in ESL, but not sure where.  I've heard of them, though.  I am not quite sure how much of an edge that would give in being hired, so you may want to consider a more general education degree as well as an ESL Certificate.  I can't really judge that, however, since I teach overseas where you simply need any college degree (there are a lot of c**p teachers here because of that rule).

Hope this helps!

Matt