English Proficiency Certification Requirements
For an entering student . . .
| Students who present a Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of 50 or above | are automatically certified for immediate teaching assignment |
| Entering students without a TSE of 50 or above | must take the SPEAK test in the two weeks prior to the beginning of the semester (or as soon thereafter as possible). |
| Students scoring 50 or above on the SPEAK test | will be certified for an immediate teaching assignment. |
| Students scoring 45 on the SPEAK test | must register for
ESL 401 with a possible teaching assignment with minimal student contact
such as tutoring in office hours or |
| Students who pass a performance test | will be certified for an immediate teaching assignment. |
| Students who do not pass a performance test | must register for ESL 401 with a possible teaching assignment with minimal student contact such as tutoring in office hours. |
| Students scoring 40 on the SPEAK test | are required to take ESL 401 for at least one semester and may not be given teaching assignments that require student contact. |
| Students scoring below 40 on the SPEAK test | are probably not appropriate choices for TA positions and are unlikely to have met the required TOEFL score for admission to the Graduate College . |
*The performance test consists of an interactive mini-teaching session in which a student presents a topic appropriate to their field to a panel of three judges including at least one ESL professional, (such as the ITA Coordinator) and one member of the hiring department. To ensure an objective standard an established evaluation scheme is used in all performance tests.
After one semester . . .
| Students completing ESL 401 | are given either a SPEAK test or a performance test at the end of the term to determine their English proficiency. Choice of test is determined by the department. There is no cost to the department for either the course or the exit testing |
| Students scoring 50 on the SPEAK test or receiving a positive evaluation on the performance test | are certified for a teaching assignment.** |
| Students unable to reach this exit criterion by the end of one semester of ESL 401 | are required to take a further semester of ESL 401 if the appointing unit intends to appoint this student as a teaching assistant in the future. |
**The ESL 401 instructor will provide an evaluation of the ITAs performance to the appointing department with recommendations concerning the fitness of each student for a variety of assignments (e.g., class instruction, tutoring) and skill areas in which continued work would be beneficial.
