The Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Whitewater

World Languages Licensure Requirements

Children in GhanaEarly Childhood through Adolescence (K-12)

There are five major categories of requirements:

  1. PI 34 Licensure Courses
  2. Major in the language
  3. Professional Education Program
  4. LTI (Language Testing International) Oral Proficiency Interview and Writing Proficiency Test
  5. Residency Abroad

The specific requirements for each category are as follows:

  1. PI 34 General Education courses
    UW-W Students who are declared Education majors (BSE degree candidates) will meet these requirements as they appear on the Academic Report (AR). Transfer students and students who have a BA or BS from another institution should meet with an advisor to determine whether or not they have completed these requirements.

    1. Composition (English 101,102)
    2. Oral Communication (Speech 110)
    3. Math 141
    4. Physical Science
    5. Biological Science
    6. Western History (World of Ideas)
    7. Non-Western Hist. (Gen Ed 120, 140)
    8. Fine Arts (World of Arts)

  2. Foreign Language Major or Minor

    Major
    Spanish, French, and German majors all have the following requirements:
    1. 6 credits of literature at the 400 level
    2. phonetics, 3 credits (French 310; German 310; Spanish 310)
    3. civilization, 3 credits (French 340 or 350; German 350; Spanish 350 or 360)
    4. 14 credits above the 252 level
    5. Writing Proficiency (English 370) (not required of students holdings a degree)

    Minor
    Spanish, French, and German minors all have the following requirements:
    1. 6 credits including 321, and 322
    2. 3 elective credits beyond 252 (not including 310, 321, 322)
    3. phonetics, 3 credits (French 310; German 310; Spanish 310)

    Consult your Academic Report (AR) and the Undergraduate Bulletin for the specific degree requirements. The information on this page is for orientation purposes only and may not represent the most recent requirements of the College of Letters and Sciences or the College of Education & Professional Studies.

  3. Professional Education
    1. Pre-professional Block. Prerequisites are 2 parts of the PPST and GPA of 2.75
      Course number Course title Credits Prerequisites
      EDFOUND 243Introduction to Education in a Pluralistic Society3 
      EDFOUND 212Educational Psychology3 
      EDFOUND 210Introduction to Education and Teaching3 
    2. Education Courses
      SPECED  205 Psychology of the Exceptional Child 3 None
      EDFOUND 425 Measurement and Evaluation 3Adm. to Prof. Ed
      SECNDED 466 Literacy Strategies for Content-Area 3Adm. to Prof. Ed
    3. Professional Block
      SECNDED 427 Methods of Teaching Foreign Lang. 3 Adm. to Prof. Ed
      CIFLD 492 Field Study -Foreign Language 3SECNDED  427
      CIFLD 402 or 404 Alternate Directed Teaching  2 SECNDED  427
    4. Directed Teaching (a.k.a. Student Teaching)
      CIFLD 414 or 412 Directed Teaching 12 Prof. Block
  4. LTI Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT)
    Candidates for a Wisconsin teaching license in any world language must pass both the OPI and the WPT at the "high intermediate" level on the ACTFL (American Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages) scale for language proficiency. To complete this requirement the candidate should: 1) Contact the UW-W Testing Center to schedule a date for each test and an alternate date. The tests may be taken on the same day or on separate days. 2) Register for the tests on the LTI website at http://www.languagetesting.com 3) Confirm the date of the test with the UW-W Testing Center.

    Notes:
    1. Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages (CIGENRL 427/627) is offered in the fall semester only.
    2. CIFLD 402 is in a Middle School and CIFLD 404 is in a High School. All applicants for licensure must have a field experience at both levels. If Alternate Directed Teaching is in a Middle School, Directed Teaching must be in a High School.
    3. Field Study (CIFLD 492) and Alternate Directed Teaching (CIFLD 402 or 404) are both done together as one practicum in one school; they are listed as separate courses for arcane reasons.
    4. Education Courses may be taken before or during the Professional Block, but not during the Directed Teaching semester.
    5. Students are advised to complete the Foreign Language major and the Residency Abroad requirement before taking the Professional Block.
    6. Applicants for World Languages licensure who already hold a teaching license must complete the requirements for the Foreign Language Major, the Methods course (SECNDED 427), a Field Study, the College of Education & Professional Studies Portfolio, and the LTI Proficiency Tests, but are not required to do a full semester of Directed Teaching
    7. Applicants for World Language licensure who already hold a BA degree with a major in a foreign language, and who are seeking a first teaching license must meet the requirements for PI34, Professional Education, Residency Abroad, and LTI Proficiency Tests.
  5. Residency Abroad
    What is it?
    To qualify for a license to teach a world language, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) requires the applicant to have lived in a setting in which the target language is the normal medium of communication for a period of no less than four consecutive weeks, and to have used the target language exclusively while there. Since the intent of the requirement is cultural as well as linguistic, the residency experience should take place in a foreign country, but under special circumstances it may be satisfied in an approved program in the United States. (Wisconsin Administrative Code, Register, November, 1997, No. 503) Most students satisfy the requirement by going on a study-abroad program for a semester or over the summer.

    Who has to do it?
    The Residency Abroad Requirement applies to all applicants seeking a license to teach a world language. Typically that means: 1) BSE Secondary majors in foreign language education; 2) BSE Elementary/Middle majors with a minor in world language education; 3) licensed teachers seeking an additional license in a world language.

    How do you do it?
    Before beginning the experience the applicant must submit a proposal containing the following information:
    1. A description of the program including location (or itinerary), and dates, housing arrangements, courses to be taken, field-trips, etc.
    2. A list of the applicant’s linguistic objectives. What specific language skills, vocabulary and grammatical structures will the applicant focus special attention on, and how will the study be conducted and documented? For example: “I will give special attention to the uses of the subjunctive by writing examples from conversation in a daily journal.”
    3. A description of cultural objectives. What specific aspects of the culture will the applicant study, and how will the applicant document the study? Examples of documentation include travel journals and photographs among other possibilities.
    4. A description of professional objectives. How will the experience make the applicant a better foreign language teacher? For example, what objects will the applicant collect that can be used for classroom instruction?

    The proposal must be approved by the Foreign Language Coordinator before the experience takes place.

    After the Residency Abroad Experience the applicant must submit documentation showing that the experience occurred (copies of tickets, program diploma, etc.), and a report describing how the objectives of the original proposal were met or modified. Two copies must be submitted to the Foreign Language Coordinator for final approval.


    Program Coordinator:
    Wallace Sherlock
    Program coordinator
    262-472-1831
    sherlocw@uww.edu