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The minor in bilingual and/or English as a Second Language (ESL) education prepares teacher candidates to meet the academic and linguistic needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. Candidates do not need to be bilingual to seek an ESL endorsement. This minor is designed to prepare candidates to meet state requirements for a bilingual and/or ESL endorsement at the elementary or secondary level. This makes the minor an endorsement program. It will also enable teacher candidates to enter the work force with a bilingual and/or ESL endorsement in addition to their elementary or secondary education licensure.

The coursework meets the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) requirements for the endorsement needed to work in a Preschool and/or a K–12 setting for ELLs. Candidates who speak a target language will qualify for the bilingual endorsement after passing the Illinois Target Language Proficiency Test in their target language.

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
EDU-2110	Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education 1	2
EDU-2140	Assessment of English Learners 1	4
EDU-3120	Methods and Materials for Teaching ESL 1	4
EDU-3170	Methods and Materials for Teaching in Bilingual Programs 1	4
EDU-3510	Cross Cultural Studies for Teaching ELLs 2	4
EDU-3150	Linguistics for Teaching English Language Learners 1	4
Total Credits		22

¹

Course also includes clinical experience with ESL.
 

²

Course fulfills requirements for ESL/BL endorsement and Special Education minor. The endorsement requires a valid Illinois Professional Educator License.

Regulations Governing Minors 

1. Minors at Aurora University are optional. They are not required for graduation.
2. A minor shall comprise a minimum of 18 semester hours.
3. At least 25% of the credits applied to a minor must be earned at AU.
4. Each minor must be developed and monitored by an approved program committee of the faculty; new or substantially revised minors require the approval of the Board of Trustees based on recommendations from the program committee, the appropriate school/college governance bodies, the Academic Dean, appropriate university governance bodies, the Chief Academic Officer, and the President.
5. Beyond the minimum coursework requirement, the content, structure, and extent of a minor are prerogatives of the individual program committees within the schools and colleges of the university, except as otherwise defined or restricted by the academic regulations.
6. No “D” will apply toward minors.
7. A maximum of four (4) semester hours of credit/no credit coursework will apply toward a minor.

1. Candidates will demonstrate content knowledge in their program.
2. Candidates will demonstrate the ability to plan instruction.
3. Candidates will demonstrate ability to impact student learning.