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Student teacher teaching a kids class

Teacher Education

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures prepares French, German, and Spanish teacher education majors to effectively teach learners in K-12 settings.

Our ongoing partnership with Unity Community Center, recognized by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL) Global Engagement Initiative, provides our teacher candidates with hands-on experiences with younger learners before their full semester of student teaching. Our teacher education program has achieved national recognition from the Council on the Accreditation for Educator Preparation (CAEP). And our graduates teach languages across Illinois, the U.S., and the world.

Teacher candidates in our program form a close bond during their coursework, allowing them to develop their own professional community. Teacher candidates also attend a state language teachers conference, allowing them to meet in-service teachers from across the state and become a member of the larger language teaching community.

Are you interested in teaching in Chicago Public Schools? Do you want to learn more?

The National Center for Urban Education at Illinois State offers experiential learning that focuses on giving students opportunities to enact social justice in urban communities.

STEP-UP is a program in which many of our teacher education candidates have participated. It is a four-week immersive fellowship available in a partner city that includes classroom experiences, summer programming, a community-based internship, professional development, guided reflection, and residency with a host family.

In collaboration with the Urban Teacher Preparation program, several LAN courses have been redesigned to include civic engagement field trips to Chicago.

Interested in adding an endorsement to your teaching certificate?

You can work towards an additional subsequent teaching endorsement while enrolled in your major. To learn about subsequent endorsement course and testing requirements, please review the subsequent endorsement guide and then discuss with your education advisor. If you have questions, you can e-mail teacheredcenter@IllinoisState.edu.

ISU Subsequent Endorsement Guide

Contacts

  • Profile of Laura Edwards

    Laura Edwards

    Director of Recruitment and Retention
    Academic Advisor

  • Profile of Francesc Borrull

    Francesc Borrull

    Interim Director of World Languages Teacher Education

  • Profile of Mary Tackett

    Mary Tackett

    Coordinator of World Languages Teacher Education/Student Teaching Supervisor

News and Events

  • Spring 2023 Seminar

    World Languages Student Teacher Seminars

    This spring, the World Languages Teacher Education Program has 13 amazing preservice teachers in the field completing their Student Teaching experience . As shown in the photo, students will come together three times a semester for a Student Teaching Seminar where they can get support, share their experiences, reflect, and discuss important teaching topics.

  • Dr. Borrull, Interim Director of WL Teacher Ed, with students Nick Boland, Natalie Graetz, and Hannah Jones

    The World Languages Teacher Education Program Receives Distinguished Service Award

    On November 11, 2022, The World Languages Teacher Education Program received the 'Unity Community Center Distinguished Program' Award. As part of their pre-student teaching clinical experiences, our students complete a total of 150 hours of clinical hours. During these hours, candidates have ample opportunities to observe, tutor, and assist small group and whole class instruction in schools and other agencies. These experiences include urban, suburban, and rural settings, and at least 50 hours must be completed in diverse settings. Hannah Jones and Natalie Graetz (in the picture above), and Darby Gladson received a distinguished volunteer certificate for outstanding service also awarded by Unity Community Center. The Unity Community Center is a multicultural center that provides programming for youth from families with limited resources. As an after-school site, Unity offers a positive, structured learning environment for youth 5-18 years old.

  • Maria Ramos discusses the World Languages program with two high school students

    World Languages Teacher Education at the Future Teacher Conference

    On October 21, 2022, the World Languages Teacher Education program participated in the Future Teacher Conference organized by the College of Education. With 1,300 high school students in attendance, the conference informs and inspires students about the process of becoming a teacher, and what to expect after graduation as they enter the classroom.

    In the picture, senior Maria Ramos discusses the Spanish program with two high school students.

  • Students pose for a group photo.

    Seniors Attend the ICTFL 2022 Fall Conference in Naperville, IL

    On October 14, 2022, our World Languages teacher candidates attended the annual ICTFL Fall Conference in Naperville, IL. Successful teacher candidates engage in ongoing professional development opportunities that strengthen their own linguistic, cultural, and pedagogical competence and promote reflection on practice. During the day, ISU students attended sessions related to culturally responsive teaching; diversity, equity and inclusion; Facilitated Interdependent Language Learning (FILL); and novice teacher support groups among others. The keynote speaker was Dr. Florencia Henshaw from the University of Illinois, who discussed general aspects of Second Language Acquisition in the light of her newest publication Common Ground. Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom (Focus, 2022).