Bilingual Education

Department : Bilingual and Early Childhood Education

Chairperson : Cynthia Valenciano

Faculty : Cynthia Valenicano

Degree(s)/Certification(s):
M.S. Ed. in Bilingual Education
+ State of Illinois Type 03 Certificate

Content Designations:

BIL

The Bilingual Education program offers a Master of Science in Education degree in Bilingual Education. The purpose of this program is to prepare teachers for ESL or bilingual elementary or secondary classrooms. The program is designed to prepare reflective practitioners to work with English language learners in multicultural environments to:

Continually evaluate the effects of their choices and actions on others and who actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
Understand and use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills.
Understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
Understand and use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the intellectual and social development of the learner.
Foster relationships with colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students’ learning and well-being.

General Requirements

Students are responsible for meeting the program and College requirements in effect at the time they officially register in a program leading to advanced certification at Chicago State University, regardless of when they were admitted to the university.
Admission to the program is contingent upon good academic standing and acceptance by the department.
Admission to the College of Education, which includes successful completion of the Illinois Certification Test of Basic Skills, is required prior to registration in any professional education courses other than ED 2000/5000; ED 5312; PSYC 5830; PE 2040; BIL 5150, 5100; & S ED 5301.
Graduation requirements include a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 in all required and elective courses, successful completion of written and oral examinations, successful completion of a professional portfolio.
A full academic schedule of courses for graduate students is nine semester credit hours. Exceptions to this policy may be made only with the approval of the department.
All master’s degree requirements must be completed within six years.
Note : Candidates must abide by all College policies stated in this catalog, unless exceptions or adherence to higher expectations are noted in program documentation .

Applicants intending to apply to the bilingual education program must:

present written recommendations from two school administrators and /or supervisors familiar with the applicant’s work;
provide documentation of completion of a minimum of two years full-time teaching or school service personnel work at the elementary or secondary level in a public, private, or parochial school setting;
submit proof of successful completion of Illinois Certification Test of Basic Skills.

Please note that those graduate students seeking an ESL concentration do not have to submit second language proficiency proof via the Type 29 certificate.

In addition, applicants must submit:

a written recommendation from their school principal;
a copy of their initial or standard teaching certificate; and
a copy of their transitional (Type 29) teaching certificate.

The M.S.Ed. in Bilingual Education has three areas of concentration: 1) Bilingual Education; 2) English as a Second Language; and 3) Special Education.

Specific Requirements

Certified Teachers

Core Requirements 21 credit hours

BIL 5050, 5350, 5240 or ENG 5338, BIL 5270, 5700, 5740, ELCF 5960.

Bilingual Education Concentration / 15 credit hours

BIL 5230, 5300, 5150, 5100, 5760.

English as Second Language Concentration / 15 credit hours

BIL 5100, 5240 or ENG 5338, BIL 5760, 5150 or ECH 5009 or MIDS 5020; ENG 5436 or 5339.

Special Education Concentration / 15 credit hours

BIL 5230, 5100, SED 5304, 5476, and 5482.

Non-Certified Teachers

Individuals with an initial teaching certificate will have to complete the following courses.

General Education 39 credit hours

May be satisfied by courses taken at the bachelor’s degree level, based on transcript analysis.

Professional Education 68 credit hours

ED 5000, 5312; PSYC 5830; S ED 5301, 5303*; PE 2040; BIL 5320*, 5150, 5100, 5400*, 5450

or 5860*; ELED 0920, 4170*, READ 5280*, ELED 4190*; READ 5160.*
* Restricted to students admitted to the College of Education.

(9-12 credit hours of required graduate level professional education courses will be applied towards master’s degree electives).

Supportive Course / 1 credit hour

ELED 3092* (May not be counted for degree credit.)

*If student has not successfully completed Illinois Certification Content Area Test in Elementary/Middle Grades (K-9) he/she must take and pass ELED 3092.

Bilingual Elementary Education (BIL) Course Offerings

5050/367 STUDIES IN CROSS CULTURAL EDUCATION / FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: Consent of the department.

The role of culture in the United States educational system. Examination of behavioral expectations and learning styles of students of different cultural backgrounds. Analysis of the impact that cultural diversity has on the development of educational programs. 20 hours of tutoring in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.

5100/365 TEACHING ESL: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS /FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: BIL 5700 or consent of the department.

Exploration of second language learning and acquisition theories as they pertain to ESL instruction. Sociolinguistic and sociocultural issues related to the teaching of English as a second language are also investigated. 20 hours of tutoring in an ESL classroom.

5150/350 FOUNDATIONS OF LITERACY IN LINGUISTICALLY DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS (3)

Prerequisite: BIL 5100 and consent of department.

Theoretical foundations for literacy instruction of linguistically and culturally diverse student populations. Includes exploration of multicultural literature for children and young adults.

5220/320 TEACHING LITERATURE AND HUMANITIES IN LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE CLASSROOMS (3)

Prerequisites: Admission to the College of Education.

Approaches, methods, strategies, and materials for teaching music, arts, and literature in linguistically diverse classrooms.

5230/329 READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS IN THE BILINGUAL CLASSROOM /FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education.

Methods and materials for teaching reading, writing and language arts to P-12 students whose primary language is Spanish. Emphasis on the examination of linguistic and cultural factors affecting the teaching of reading to English language learners. Fifteen clock hours of field-based experience.

5240/340 LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

Prerequisites: None

Overview of English language structure and use, including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Emphasis on topics useful to teachers of English language learners.

5300/331 METHODS AND MATERIALS FOR TEACHING IN BILINGUAL PROGRAMS (3)

Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education; proficiency in English and another language; consent of department.

Approaches, methods, strategies, and materials for instruction and assessment of children in bilingual education classrooms. Development of a thematic unit. Evaluation of educational software. 25 hours of supervised tutoring in a bilingual elementary or secondary classroom.

5350/378 METHODS AND MATERIALS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE /FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: ENG 533 or BIL 5240 or consent of the department. Admission to the College of Education.

Techniques, methods, and materials for teaching English as a second language. Development of a unit and lesson plans appropriate for limited English proficient children. Students will be placed in ESL classrooms where they will conduct twenty of supervised tutoring.

5380/398 SPECIAL TOPICS IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION (1-3)

Prerequisite: Consent of the department.

Educational problems that have a high degree of significance in bilingual education.

5390/399 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3)

Prerequisite: Consent of the department.

Individually supervised study of an area of bilingual education.

Note: All graduates students are eligible to enroll in 400-level classes, except those designated as restricted to master’s degree students or requiring departmental permission. Prior consultation with the department is recommended.

5400/374 FIELD PRACTICUM IN BILINGUAL ELEMENTARY EDUCATION /FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education; Completion of a minimum of two(2) of the following courses: ELED 5170, 5180, BIL 5300, 5350; consent of the department.

Supervised hands-on experience in a bilingual elementary classroom designed for students to apply teaching and learning strategies acquired in methods courses. Course content includes: classroom management, school policies and rules, teaching strategies and technology. One hundred clock hours field experience. To be taken the long semester prior to student teaching.

5700/470 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION (3)

Prerequisite: Consent of the department.

Introduction to the philosophical, historical and pedagogical foundation of bilingual education, and the study of the political, social, historical, philosophical, and economic implications for bilingual education. Ten hours of supervised teacher aiding in bilingual classrooms required for certified teachers who are currently working in a non-Bilingual classroom; fifteen hours of supervised teacher aiding in bilingual classrooms required for graduate students working for initial certification. Writing emphasis course.

5720/468 EVALUATION, ASSESSMENT AND TESTING FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY TEACHERS /FIELD (3)

Prerequisite: BIL 5700 and 5100 or consent of the department.

Issues in nondiscriminatory evaluation, assessment and testing of linguistic, academic, cognitive and social achievement. Instruction, assessment and documentation strategies, tools and computer-based models at the local, state and national levels will be considered. Construction and presentation of a field-based case study. 20 hours of tutoring in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.