The English Department at Bluffton University is now offering a certified minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This minor benefits English Department majors and other Bluffton students in several ways. Bluffton students trained in the principles of TESOL should be well equipped to meet the growing need for ESL teachers in the U.S. public schools, as well as the demand for TESOL teachers in adult education centers and in various teaching assignments in other parts of the world. English majors who complete a minor in TESOL should also be well qualified for acceptance into graduate school in this specialization of English, and they should be better able to succeed in graduate TESOL programs.
The TESOL minor is not, however, restricted to English majors but is open to students from any of the college's academic departments. Students who join this program are not required to have expertise in any other (non-English) language, but should have an interest in the field of linguistics and in its application to ESL teaching. See specifcs about the TESOL minor.
The TESOL minor has also been accepted by the Ohio Department of Education as the basis for an Endorsement in ESL, which may be added to the state of Ohio teaching licenses of any Bluffton University Education students. This gives Education students who have completed the TESOL minor formal qualification to teach ESL classes in the Ohio public school system and in other states that recognize Ohio's teaching license. This Endorsement has attracted a number of Education students to the TESOL minor. Students majoring and minoring in Spanish have also found our TESOL program to complement their Spanish language and literature studies well.
One story from a graduate, Kristy (Liechty) Aeschliman: "I am working in the Washington Local School district (a large district) in Toledo. I am an ESL tutor, which means that I pull students (grades K-7) out of their regular classrooms two to four times each week for half-hour sessions in ESL. Most of my students have been in the U.S. long enough that they speak and understand the spoken word quite readily; however, they speak their other languages at home. This transition is quite confusing for young students, and that is why/how they qualify for our program. I have found the TESOL courses I took at Bluffton helpful -- especially this year because I have four newcomers to the U.S., and they have not studied English at all. It has been interesting and fun to work with these students because, as a teacher, one sees very evident progress in terms of speaking, listening to and understanding, reading, and writing in the English language. I also found the extensive work we did with pronunciation to be helpful, as I am working with one student who not only qualifies for the ESL program, but also has learning and physical disabilities which affect his speech. His progress, too, has been evident throughout the time I have spent working with him."
