As I described on another post, I'm a college senior and would like to become a secondary school Social Studies or Language Arts teacher. Unfortunately I did not major in education so I am not certified. I plan to seek alternate certification but hear it's pretty hard to get a job in SS or LA. So I'm thinking that I might get certified in ESL just so I can get my foot in the door, and then switch to SS or LA as soon as I am able. Is this a good idea? Will it be hard for me to switch? Will it up my chances considerably? thanks.
I don't remember if ESL was an add-on or a specific type of credential, but in CA it'd definitely be valuable. The more versatile you are, the better your options are. And think math/science. That might get you in the door, too.
Hey first of all, thanks so much for all of the advice you've given me so far!! I have been stressing about this for ages and it's so good to finally get answers. ESL sounds fun but I'd sure hate to teach math (although I am good at it) -- how hard is it to switch? Is it possible that I could be stuck teaching math for five years or something??
I never did get hired on in a public school--stayed in the same 2/3 combo class the whole 5 yrs I taught out there. So I can't say how the process works for moving around and changing subjects...but life has taught me there are never any guarantees with anything, lol. Our northern CA teachers will have to jump in for this one
Actually it's not ESL you need, it's ELL. If you are in California, then all credential programs will have ELL authorization already included. I don't know how an alternate route looks like, but if you wouldn't have the ELL that way, all you have to do is take the CLAD exam, it's similar to any of the CSET. In my opinion, it's easy, I passed it the first try, only to find out right after, that it was a waste, since it was included in my credential. ESL certification you would need if you were to teach ESL classes for adults.
Ooh okay I guess I was confused on the terms! So if all credential programs have ELL included, then I guess there's not much of a market for ELL teachers (since everyone is credentialed to do that anyway?)
Isn't there bilingual certification though? Or is that the same thing? There was CLAD, and BCLAD, I think? Geez. I've forgotten a lot since then!
BCAD is bilingual, CLAD is English Language Learner authorization (so it's called CLAD, or ELL auth., same thing). Pretty much all schools want the CLAD/ELL in a credential. Teachers who got their credential before this became automatic can just take the test to add it.
Okay. Pretty sure my credential came with CLAD and I didn't pursue the BCLAD option. From what I saw during student teaching...everyone taught ELD classes, there were no classes for only ELLs. But that was one school in one district.
In California ELD classes can be taught by anyone who has the ELL authorization. They're no longer called ESL. But these classes will be for students who have been in the country for 2 years or less (or something like that), they're also called newcomers. (I student taught in one of these classes. Several schools in my area have several ELD classes, that's how many newcomers they get). If the school has a high immigrant population, they'll have separate classes for them. But most the time all the English learners are mixed in with other students.
ELL certification. But the good news is that it's either in your credential, or you take one class (that is if you are in California, otherwise it might be different)
