Minor in Teaching English Learners

Minor in Teaching English Learners

The Teaching English Learners (TEL) minor is designed for current Tulane students who have an interest in teaching English learners and/or wish to take relevant courses in order to prepare them for future professional goals. This minor will allow those entering the United States K-12 education system to better support multilingual students who are learning English. Educators in K-12 environments encounter these students regularly, even when the educator’s expertise is focused on a specific subject area (e.g., math or science).

The Louisiana Department of Education’s English Learner Guidebook makes it clear that English learners should be kept in class with their peers in order to acquire and develop strong spoken English and to be a part of a community of English speakers18. In completing this minor, future teachers will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to support these students in content-area courses and beyond. The inclusive and well-rounded courses in this minor will give those future educators the tools to be advocate-allies for multilingual learners at any grade level.

The Teaching English Learners minor will also prepare students for a variety of professional settings, including but not limited to graduate school, Teach for America, teaching/training abroad, and the Peace Corps. The methods offered by this minor will provide up-to-date knowledge on teaching English to multilingual learners that reflects current research trends. The knowledge gained during the completion of this program will allow future educators to more effectively support and advocate for English language learners in their classrooms, even if the educator specializes in another subject area.