Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)

KU has a strong commitment to and presence in TESL. The Department has been offering an ESOL Endorsement to teacher licensure for many years, but the demand for language instruction continues to grow. As the United States expands into world markets, there are more job opportunities for TESL professionals. At home, in the US, there is a growing need for teachers of English as a Second Language in response to the arrival of over 10 million immigrants during the decades of the 90's.

The School of Education and the Department of Curriculum and Teaching offers a number of learning and graduate opportunities in this field. For example, there are the master's and doctoral level concentrations and the endorsement, which can be added to an elementary or middle/secondary license. For more information about adding the endorsement to your existing teaching license or if you are interested in adding it as a minor (appropriate for those who intend to teach or supervise non-native English speaking students in a K-12 setting) see the additional documents section below.

There are two full-time faculty members in TESL, with an additional faculty member sharing a half-time appointment between TESL and Foreign Language Instruction.