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Student & Professional Services Collge of Education & Human Development Student Services

World languages and cultures

Additional licensure

(Program for current teachers not licensed in a world language or English as a second language [ESL])

The additional licensure program in world languages and cultures prepares teachers to help students understand and appreciate world languages and cultures.

The program is designed for teachers with a Minnesota license interested in adding an additional licensure to teach a world language to students in grades K-8 or K-12. Candidates may specialize in the following languages and cultures:

Candidates for this program must be licensed to teach at the elementary level or to teach subject matter other than a world language at the middle-school or high-school levels.

Candidates without a Minnesota elementary or secondary license must seek an initial world language license through the master of education (M.Ed.)/initial licensure program in second languages and cultures (SLC) education in the college’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I).

The additional licensure process and requirements described below align with Minnesota’s licensure rules for a world languages additional license, which took effect September 1, 2001.

Program requirements

Prerequisites

Candidates interested in obtaining an additional licensure to teach a world language must:

  1. Have a bachelor of arts (B.A.) or bachelor of science (B.S.) degree
  2. Have a current Minnesota license either to teach at the elementary level or to teach subject matter(s) other than a world language at the secondary level
  3. Demonstrate proficiency in the language(s) for which licensure is sought by passing proficiency tests at the “advanced” level in reading, writing, listening, and speaking (according to guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages [ACTFL]). This exceeds the “intermediate high” score required by the state of Minnesota. Proficiency testing information can be obtained from Student Services and on the language proficiency page.

    Additionally, applicants seeking licensure in a world language must have completed at least two upper-division courses focusing on the development of advanced grammar and composition skills in that language.

  4. Apply to and meet admission requirements for the additional licensure program

Application materials

Candidates must submit the following application materials:

  1. A completed Application for Admission to Additional Licensure Programs form [.pdf]. The form is also available at the college's office of Student Services, 110 Wulling Hall, 86 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455; 612-625-6501; email: cehdgrad@umn.edu.
  2. Application fee: Make check, money order, or bank draft payable to the University of Minnesota in the amount of $55 for up to two additional licensure areas. Application fee for each additional area is $25.

    Note: Fee does not apply to current master of education (M.Ed.) students or applicants or to those who have completed the M.Ed. at the University of Minnesota within the past three years.

  3. Official transcripts from all undergraduate or graduate colleges or universities where you completed 12 or more semester credits and all colleges or universities attended after completion of the undergraduate degree, except the University of Minnesota. Official transcripts must be received from the issuing school in a sealed and stamped envelope.
  4. Professional résumé
  5. A copy of your current or previous Minnesota teaching license(s)

Application deadlines

Additional licensure applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Submission deadlines for each academic term are listed below:

Additional licensure requirements

The competencies for world languages and cultures licensure were established by the Minnesota Board of Teaching and can be met through coursework and teaching experiences arranged through SLC education faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I).

The following competency areas and corresponding courses are available at the University of Minnesota. Alternatives to these courses must be approved by the faculty adviser.

Second language acquisition, language as system, second language program planning

Curriculum design, teaching methods and instructional practices, assessment

Language and culture

Reading in a world language

Clinical experiences within a range of programming models

Practicum requirements

  1. Because world languages and cultures is a K-8 or K-12 license, applicants must complete student teaching practicums (CI 5696 and CI 5698) involving observed teaching experiences with the grade levels they will be licensed to teach. Students seeking K-8 licensure must complete teaching practicums in elementary and secondary settings.
  2. Student teaching/practicum experiences are arranged with SLC faculty or staff on a space-available basis after the candidate has:
    • completed at least 80 percent of the required coursework
    • maintained a minimum 3.00 GPA in courses required for the additional licensure
    • passed the required Praxis II test and proficiency test (if a nonnative English speaker)
  3. The University of Minnesota does not permit the granting of teaching licenses for prior experience. In other words, regardless of prior work experience, observation of the candidate’s language teaching must occur in the language in elementary and secondary instructional settings.
  4. Candidates must submit a request to arrange the practicum experience(s) to SLC staff in charge of placements for additional licensure by the end of the semester prior to completing the practicums. Candidates may request a particular school, but it must be approved by SLC staff.
  5. Each practicum experience requires at least 30 hours of classroom practice under supervision of a licensed language teacher and 10 hours of observation. The length of the practicum may be negotiated with SLC staff, the cooperating teacher, and the candidate. However, each practicum typically involves at least three continuous weeks of classroom teaching and observation. Longer time frames (up to 10 weeks in a semester) are recommended.
  6. Credits for CI 5696 and 5698 cannot be applied toward the M.Ed.

M.Ed./professional studies program in second languages and cultures education

In conjunction with the additional licensure program in world languages and cultures, students may choose to apply for admission to the separate M.Ed./professional studies program in second languages and cultures (SLC). Additional licensure in ESL is also available.

For more information on these programs, contact Student Services at 612-625-6501, e-mail: cehdgrad@umn.edu.

Program faculty

For more information on the additional licensure program, please contact:

Martha Bigelow, Ph.D., associate professor
246 Peik Hall
612-624-7087
mbigelow@umn.edu

Susan Ranney, Ph.D., lecturer
228 Peik Hall
612-626-0319
ranne001@umn.edu

Diane Tedick, Ph.D., associate professor
254 Peik Hall
612-625-1081
djtedick@umn.edu

Connie Walker, Ph.D., associate professor
250 Peik Hall
612-625-4828
walke002@umn.edu

Revised December 2006