BS in Bilingual Education/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Contact

For contact information, please visit the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development website.

The Bilingual Education program prepares students to become teachers of English as a second language (ESL) at the elementary or middle/high school level through a comprehensive course of study which includes a strong arts and sciences component with emphasis on linguistics, culture, and a minor in a foreign language or other appropriate area selected in consultation with the academic advisor; professional education courses combining theory and practice; and specialization courses focusing on first- and second-language acquisition, literary instruction and assessment, and curriculum development. The program provides students the opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts learned during their coursework in supervised field placements in elementary, middle, or high school ESL, Dual Language, or Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) classrooms.

All students entering as freshmen in Fall 2018 and after will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, a general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied through coursework in and beyond the major and, in some cases, through co-curricular activities. Students majoring in Bilingual Education will ordinarily, through coursework taken in the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship; Communication; and some elements of the Intellectual Toolkit, essential for educators working with other professionals and families. Additional requirements may be satisfied through required Arts & Sciences coursework, and it is important that students keep Hub requirements in mind when selecting these courses. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, co-curricular experiences.

The program of study is carefully designed to enable students to meet both the BU Hub capacities and the requirements that enable Boston University to recommend students to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for teaching licenses at the Initial Level as teachers of English as a Second Language. Fulfillment of licensure requirements in the program can lead to licensure in states with which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has reciprocity.

Students completing requirements for licensure in Elementary Education, English Education, or History Education, who wish to meet requirements for licensure as a teacher of English as a Second Language can do so by completing requirement specified below, in the section labeled “Add-On ESL licensure."

English as a Second Language Pre-K–6 (128 cr)

BU Hub Requirements or Electives Outside the Major (37 cr)

  • CAS courses in language, literature, history, and culture OR a modern foreign language OR a minor in a modern foreign language (12 cr, 8 must be above the 100 level)
  • Additional BU Hub requirements or electives outside the major (25 cr)

Subject Matter Requirements (46 cr)

  • CFA AR 261 Introduction to Art Education (2 cr)
  • CFA MU 119 or 120 Music Appreciation (2 cr)
  • CAS WR 202 Children’s Literature (2 cr)
  • CAS PS 101 General Psychology (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 175/176 World History (4 cr)
  • CAS NS 101 Integrated Science I (4 cr)
  • CAS NS 102 Integrated Science II (4 cr)
  • CAS MA 107 Mathematical Reasoning: Number Systems (4 cr)
  • CAS MA 108 Mathematical Reasoning: Algebra, Geometry, Statistics (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 151 The Emerging US to 1865 (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 152 The United States Since 1865 (4 cr)
  • CAS GE 201 World Regional Geography (4 cr)
  • CAS SO 210 Confronting Persistent Social Inequalities in American Schools (2 cr)
  • CAS SO 211 Confronting Racial, Cultural, Gender, and Social Identities in Urban Classrooms (2 cr)

Professional Studies Requirements (45 cr)

  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED EC 305 Child Development (4 cr)
  • SED ED 110 Introduction to Education (4 cr)
  • SED ED 111 Educational Technology (1 cr)
  • SED ED 225 Project Citizen (2 cr)
  • SED PE 211 Movement Education (2 cr)
  • SED SE 250 Disability, Education, and Public Policy (4 cr)
  • SED HE 221 Foundations of Health Education (2 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction & Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED ED 412 Civic Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED BI 515 Methods in Bilingual Education and ESL (4 cr)
  • SED LR 503 Reading and Writing Assessment (2 cr)
  • SED SE 515 Assessment in Special Education (2 cr)
  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience-Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED TL 580 Student-Teaching Practicum I: ESL, Pre-K–6 (4 cr)
  • SED TL 581 Student-Teaching Practicum II: ESL, Pre-K–6 (2 cr)

English as a Second Language 5–12 (128 cr)

BU Hub Requirements or Electives Outside the Major (55 cr)

Subject Matter Requirements (32 cr)

  • SED LS 567 Structure of English (4 cr)
  • CAS LX 250 Foundations of Language (4 cr)
  • Twenty-four credits (no more than four at the 100 level) or a minor in a core academic subject: English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages and literatures, civics and government, economics, arts, history, or geography.

Electives should be selected carefully, with an academic advisor, to meet BU Hub requirements not fulfilled through required Subject Matter and Professional Studies requirements.

Professional Studies Requirements (41 cr)

  • SED ED 110 Introduction to Education (4 cr)
  • SED ED 111 Educational Technology (1 cr)
  • SED SE 251 Special Education and Adolescents (2 cr)
  • SED DS 502 Introduction to Adolescent Development (2 cr)
  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED CT 375 Pre-Practicum (2 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students (4 cr)
  • SED ED 410 Social Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED ED 412 Civic Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED TL 508 Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language (4 cr)
  • SED LR 503 Reading and Writing Assessment (2 cr)
  • SED SE 515 Assessment in Special Education (2 cr)
  • SED CT 534 Classroom and Behavior Management (2 cr)
  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience–Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED TL 582 Student-Teaching Practicum I: ESL, 5–12 (4 cr)
  • SED TL 583 Student-Teaching Practicum II: ESL, 5–12 (2 cr)

Add-On ESL Licensure

For Elementary Education Licensure Candidates: English as a Second Language Pre-K–6 (18 cr)

  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED BI 515 Methods in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) (4 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience-Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED TL 580 Student-Teaching Practicum I: ESL, Pre-K–6 (4 cr)

For English Education and History Education Licensure Candidates: English as a Second Language 5–12 (18 cr)

  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience- Bilingual (ESL) (2 cr)
  • SED TL 508 Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), 5–12 (4 cr)
  • SED TL 582 Student-Teaching Practicum I: ESL, 5–12 (4 cr)