Languages and Cultures

Dual Track Students: MA in Languages and Cultures (in French, German, or Spanish) + Graduate Teaching Certification

2 Online Core Courses in English (6 credits)

• LNC 501 Linguistic Studies
• LNC 503 Cultural Studies

6 Target-Language Courses (18 credits of 500-level courses in French, German, or Spanish)

• Complete Assessment 7 in one of these courses (your professor will evaluate a paper you write in one of your 500-level language courses with the Assessment 7 rubric).

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Graduate Teaching Certification Only (Post-baccalaureate Students)  

Students doing only the Teaching Certification must take at least two 500-level target-language courses in their concentration language, French, German, or Spanish at any moment, prior or during Teacher Candidacy:

• 2 Target-Language Courses (6 credits of 500-level courses in French, German, or Spanish) 
• Complete Assessment 7 in one of these courses (your professor will evaluate a paper you write in one of your 500-level language courses with the Assessment 7 rubric).

Before Admission to Teacher Candidacy

• ANT 102 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
• EDA 511 Inclusion and Collaboration
• EDA 542 Foundations of Special Education
• ERM 531 Principles of Educational Testing
• EDP 550 Advanced Educational Psychology
• EDF 511 Foundations of Transformative Education
• LAN 555 Computer Applications for Language Learning

Obtain Clearances

Education Courses after Admission to Teacher Candidacy

• SED 505 Principles of Teaching and Field Experience
• EDR 550 Literacy Development and Secondary Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Classroom
• LAN 503 Techniques of Second Language Teaching
• SED 411 Student Teaching Sec - 1st Half (6 credits)*
• SED 412 Student Teaching Sec - 2nd Half (6 credits)*

* All coursework, the Praxis Exam, the OPI, and the WPT must be completed prior to Student Teaching. SED 411 and 412 should not be taken with any other courses in the same semester. Student teaching is not for graduate credit but is required for PA K-12 Teaching Certification.

• Praxis Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge Exam (#5511). The Praxis exam is commonly used to assess teacher candidates' knowledge and classroom skills to aid in determining how well candidates are prepared for teaching in four categories: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Science, and Science. All Pennsylvania PK-12 area educators must score at least 150.
• Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a proficiency-based means of assessing how well a person speaks a language. The OPI is a 20-30 minute one-on-one interview between a certified ACTFL tester and the teacher candidate. The OPI assesses the ability to use language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations and spontaneous unrehearsed language. Obtain a score of Intermediate High (IH) or Advanced Low (AL).
• Writing Proficiency Test (WPT). The ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) is a web-based, proctored, standardized test of the ability to write effectively and appropriately for real-life purposes. The WPT measures how well a person spontaneously writes in a language (without access to revisions and/or editing tools). Rating occurs by comparing the writer's performance of specific writing tasks to the criteria stated by a proficiency rating scale such as the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Writing. Obtain a score of Intermediate High (IH) or Advanced Low (AL).
• The Praxis II World Languages tests are no longer a requirement for program completion. The Basic Skills test is also not required for Graduate Teaching Certification students or for post-baccalaureate candidates who have already completed an undergraduate degree.