Portland State’s certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) is for students interested in working abroad after graduation. Completion of this program will give you the skills to help meet the changing needs in education throughout the world while immersing yourself in a new culture. Add it to your major or a previous degree, and it's your gateway to international jobs.
The TESL certificate helps you develop skills and knowledge to teach English internationally without the commitment of a two-year master's degree. If you already have a master's degree in another field, completion of this program may qualify you to teach English as a second language in community colleges across the United States.
Our seven-course program combines practical teaching skills with in-depth knowledge about English, language learning, and cross-cultural interactions. The program prepares you to become a more effective and adaptable teacher. This certificate does not license you to teach in public schools.
Students may enroll in the program as undergraduates or as postbaccalaureates.
Our small class sizes mean faculty know your name and career plans and provide you with consistent feedback on your coursework and practice teaching. They have experience teaching and doing teacher-training in North, Central, and South America, Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. Nearly half have volunteered with the U.S. Peace Corps and they bring their expertise and experience back into the classroom.
Your practice teaching takes place in a supportive environment with a partner throughout the term. You will learn from observing your partner, from your own teaching, and from an experienced teacher’s feedback.
You'll have opportunities to apply your skills to real-world settings. Students in the program work with community partners in Portland and around the world. Students have designed and recorded instructional webcasts conducted training sessions at Portland's most diverse schools, and carried out online tutoring for students in China.
Our department will connect you to employment, volunteer, and networking opportunities. We want to ensure you gain the experience you need to succeed. We have helped match students with positions in China, Korea, Ecuador, and Columbia, to name a few.
Most of our graduates go on to teach English outside of the United States, working in private language schools, high schools, middle schools, and corporations in Central and South America, Asia, Turkey, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa — or even online.
Many students return to do the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) degree, which provides them with more thorough training for a career as a language professional.