Certificate in Language Teaching


About the Certificate

This certificate, offered by the Language and Culture Learning Center in conjunction with the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics, is granted to UIC graduate students and lecturers upon the completion of foreign language pedagogy workshops and the creation of a teaching portfolio.

Who is eligible?

Current UIC graduate students and lecturers in foreign language departments are eligible to participate in this certificate.

Requirements

Complete eight workshops, approved by the respective department, that focus on foreign language teaching technology and other foreign language teaching related issues. Two instruction‐focused workshops are required; the other six workshops are selected based on participant focus area. Participants must pass an online quiz to receive credit for each workshop attended.

Certificate Components

Current Workshops

Go to our Workshop Schedule page for information on current workshops.

Workshop Documentation

See our Documentation page for step-by-step guides on how to use Blackboard components (i.e. wikis, blogs, voiceboards) presented in our Faculty Workshop series.

Portfolio Submission

The portfolio must be submitted as a PDF file. Submit this PDF file to the Basic Language Coordinator of your department at any time and it can be reviewed by the committee.

Required Materials for Portfolio

  1. Teaching Statement: 1-1.5 pages double spaced. Follow the guidelines provided in the Portfolio Workshop.
  2. Lesson Plans: Five sample lesson plan segments (two must be about use of technology). Lesson plan segments should be in outline form not prose. Maximum length for each activity: two pages plus screen shots. For technology activities, screen shots of the set-up may be helpful. Vary the type of lesson plan and the skill addressed: based on a reading, a film clip, a writing project, etc. For each activity, provide:
    • language level of students (e.g. second semester college)
    • content and linguistic goal of the activity (which cultural topic, vocabulary and/or grammar point)
    • individual steps of the activity
    • instructions for the students
    • time spent on each sub-activity
    • models or explanations for each sub-activity
    • type of feedback or grading criteria
    • follow-up activity
  3. Student Evaluations: Copies of most recent quantitative and qualitative student evaluations organized chronologically. Evaluations must be from at least two different semesters, but not more than six semesters old.
  4. Observation Reports: Two observation reports from the director of your language program or a faculty member (at least one observation should be based on a video recording of the class session). If video observations are not done by your program, please ask a peer to videotape you and provide your coordinator or faculty member with the video. You can check out video cameras from GH 306 and the Student Media Lab in the Daley Library