We are proud to host a variety of programs for preparing students to teach abroad:
SOPA’s Teaching English Learners Endorsement
3510 Teaching and Working Abroad
This is a 3-credit course is designed to develop students with the academic and practical skills needed to teach abroad, especially English in a foreign language environment. The course is targeted for students who have little formal pedagogical experience. Additionally, the course provides practical and academic skills that allow students to immediately improve their effectiveness in the classroom, work as a partner with an experienced teacher, and navigate the different educational administrative systems. The students will evaluate themselves, the pedagogical assumptions of the system, and best practices for teaching. The course has first or second tier service learning component.
3520 Living and Working Abroad
This 3 credit course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the linguistics of English and intercultural skills needed to live and work abroad, especially when teaching English as a foreign language. The course provides basic a linguistic understanding of English, giving students the tools to analyze, understand, and explain how the language works to English learners abroad from phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, and pragmatic approaches. In addition to the linguistic focus, this course provides an overview of the intercultural attitudes, skills, and knowledge students will need in order to successfully live and work abroad. While intercultural competence is a lifelong process, students will understand what that process entails and be prepared to face situations of cultural misunderstanding and difference with respect and cultural humility. The course includes first or second tier service learning.
3830 Global English in Business
In this 3-credit course, we explore one of the World Englishes variations designed for Business as a profession and social practice. The course primarily seeks to analyze the interdiscussive texts of professionals in the business world to understand how language builds new relationships that are unique within their own spaces. It also underscores how these discursive texts are applied, exploited and interpreted in Business as a specific/special purpose.The course focuses on enhancing languages and communicative skills as they apply to World Englishes in the business contexts. We will use authentic business materials and case scenarios from World Englishes to foster both analytical and interpersonal skills in the world of business. Learners will have an opportunity to partner and collaborate with a group of young entrepreneurs from a foreign country in enhancing the use of world English in business entrepreneurship. More importantly, learners will benefit from varied professional communicative skills including proposal writing, business correspondences, formal presentations, networking, business vocabulary and navigating business literature. Learners of this course will be tasked to critically evaluate the use of World English in global business contexts and how it generally applies to different business cultures. Language skills addressed in this course include business writing fluency, business vocabulary development and speaking skills. This course would be of great benefit to Business majors and or students interested in working or studying abroad. The course includes first or second tier service learning.
