Language, Literacy, & Sociocultural Studies Certificates, Minors, and Endorsements

Transcripted Graduate Minor in Literacy

The Department offers a graduate minor in Literacy with a focus on either elementary language arts or on middle school/secondary language arts. Courses are designed to help practicing teachers improve their language arts instruction.

Minor in Bilingual Education

The Bilingual Education minor is designed to help pre-service teachers gain a Bilingual endorsement as part of their undergraduate teacher licensure program. By successfully completing the curriculum listed below, students are able to have a Bilingual endorsement attached to their teaching license through the New Mexico Public Education Department. In addition to the courses listed below, students must also pass La Prueba de Español para la Certificación Bilingüe. (La Prueba de Español para la Certificación Bilingüe is an instrument designed to measure the Spanish language proficiency of prospective bilingual education teachers in New Mexico. Check the New Mexico Public Education Department Web site for details on taking La Prueba.) Depending on their language proficiency students may also have to take additional language courses. Students must complete and submit an application for the Bilingual Education minor and have it be reviewed by the departmental Bilingual/TESOL program faculty.

Minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

The Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) minor is designed to help pre-service teachers gain a TESOL endorsement as part of their undergraduate teacher licensure program. By successfully completing the curriculum listed below, students are able to have a TESOL endorsement attached to their teaching license through the New Mexico Public Education Department. This minor is also available to undergraduate students who are not enrolled in a teacher licensure program, but who want to teach TESOL to adults domestically or abroad. Students must complete and submit an application for the TESOL minor and have it reviewed by the LLSS Bilingual/TESOL program faculty.

Bilingual Education and TESOL Endorsements

The Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies (LLSS) is the academic and conceptual home of the state endorsements in Bilingual Education and TESOL at UNM. Our commitment is to provide high-quality academic preparation for teachers in the areas of language and culture in order to meet the educational needs of the state, the nation, and the world. Our endorsement programs are structured to contribute to the quality of life in New Mexico through contributions to public policy, support for first and second language learners, language preservation programs, and advocacy for social justice.

The Bilingual Education and TESOL endorsement programs enable teacher candidates at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to strengthen their understandings, teaching practices, and professional identities regarding the education of bilingual students and students who are learning English as a second language.

Endorsements are issued by the state of New Mexico to K-12 teachers licensed in general and special education. The following information pertains to the endorsement program in Bilingual Education or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the Department of LLSS. For licensure programs, see other departments in the College of Education & Human Sciences.

Program of Study and Course Curriculum

The following courses have been approved by the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) for the Bilingual Education or TESOL endorsements. Substitutions for any of these courses must be approved by NMPED. School districts have set a priority on hiring teachers who have successfully completed endorsement coursework versus alternative routes to endorsements. There is a great shortage of bilingually-endorsed teachers, therefore teachers with a bilingual endorsement are in especially high demand.

Bilingual Education Endorsement

21 hours (K-12, Spanish – English)

Co-Requisites (9 Semester hours)

• Linguistics (3):
  
  • LING 2110 – Introduction to the Study of Language OR Any other introductory Linguistics course. (Graduate Level credit take LLSS 555)
• Language Requirements (6 hours):
  
  • SPAN 301 – Topics in Hispanic Culture and Language
  • SPAN 302 – Developing Spanish Writing Skills

Course Requirements (21)

• Bilingual Education Research, Theory, and Practice (18 hours, 9 of which must be in courses taught in Spanish)
  
  • LLSS 453/580 – Theoretical and Cultural Foundations of Bilingual Education
  • LLSS 456/556 – First and Second Language Development (Recommended: Intro to Linguistics course of LLSS 555 for graduate students)
  • LLSS 300/593 – Bilingual Teaching Methods, Materials, and Techniques (Permission of instructor) (Taught in Spanish)
  • LLSS 482/581 – Teaching English as a Second Language
  • LLSS 455* - Spanish for the Bilingual Classroom (Permission of instructor) (Taught in Spanish)
  • LLSS 479/579 – Teaching of Reading in the Bilingual Classroom (La Enseñanza de la Lectura) (Permission of instructor) (Taught in Spanish)
• Sociocultural/History/Arts (3) – Choose one course from:
  
  • LLSS 449 – Teaching the Native Language to Native Speakers
  • LLSS460/560 – Language Education in Southwest Native American Communities
  • LLSS 457/557 – Language, Culture, and Mathematics (Taught in Spanish, only available during Summer)
  • CHMS – Any Chicano Studies Course in consult with an advisor
  • SPAN 307 – Introduction to Hispanic Literature (taught in Spanish)
  • SPAN 371 – Spanish of the Southwest (taught in Spanish)
  • SPAN 375 – Southwestern Hispanic Folklore (taught in Spanish)
  • NAS 150 – Introduction to Native American Studies

In addition to the coursework, students will be required to successfully complete LA PRUEBA, the New Mexico approved Spanish Language Proficiency Exam. For more information on “La Prueba”, please visit: https://www.enmu.edu/academics/academic-resources-services/testing-center/prueba-de-espanol-nm-spanish-language-proficiency-exam 

KEY:
*Also offered for graduate credit

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Endorsement

15 hours plus corequisites (K-12)

Co-Requisites (9 Semester Hours)

• Linguistics (3):
  
  • LING 2110 – Introduction to the Study of Language OR Any other introductory Linguistics course. (Graduate Level credit take LLSS 555)
• Second Language (6):
  • 6 university-level semester hours in Spanish, Navajo, or other appropriate language

Course Requirements (15)

• LLSS 453/580 – Theoretical and Cultural Foundations of Bilingual Education
• LLSS 456/556 – First and Second Language Development (Recommended: an introductory Linguistics course)
• LLSS 482/581 – Teaching English as a Second Language
• LLSS 458/558 – Literacy Across Cultures
• LLSS 459/559 – Second Language Literacy

In addition to the coursework, students will be required to successfully complete the New Mexico approved TESOL content Exam. For more information on the TESOL exam, please visit: https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/praxis/5362.pdf

Summer Endorsement Courses

In addition to courses offered during regular school semesters. The Bilingual/TESOL Education program offers two Language Teaching Institutes during the summers that Teacher Candidates, looking for an endorsement, can take to complete required credits in a shorter period and reducing the coursework load during school year. Both Institutes offer coursework related to each endorsement. The Summer Institutes provide a meaningful teaching experience through integrated coursework with teaching field experiences of children who are studying at local schools and are bilingual. The Institutes include:

1. The Summer Spanish Immersion Institute for Bilingual Teachers
   1. This institute offers the following courses: LLSS 479/579, LLSS 455, & LLSS 457/557 (all taught in Spanish)
2. TESOL Summer Institute
   1. This institute offers the following courses: LLSS 456/556, LLSS 482/581 & LLSS 459/559