Degree Requirements

Content Area Courses

All students need to have sufficient knowledge of the subject they will be teaching.  Illinois State Board of Education requires a minimum of 48 quarter hours (32 semester hours) in the content area subject.  Students should meet with their designated Content Area advisor at the beginning of their program for an official written content evaluation and provide a copy to your academic advisor.  Requirements can be satisfied by undergraduate coursework or courses taken elsewhere.  Content courses must be completed before student teaching. 
 
Note: Effective for all individuals applying for certification beginning February 1, 2012, all coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better and a minimum of 18 quarter hours (12 semester hours) must be coursework at an undergraduate upper level or graduate level.

  • Advanced Grammar & Composition I
  • Advanced Grammar & Composition I
  • Advanced Conversation I or II
  • Intro to French Literature I
  • Intro to French Literature II
  • 20th Century French Literature
  • Literature/Culture Elective
  • Literature/Culture Elective
  • Literature/Culture Elective
  • Literature/Culture Elective
  • Phonology & Phonetics
  • Culture in the Classroom

Course Requirements

Pre-Education Introductory Courses: 16 quarter hours required

Advanced Standing Courses: 28 quarter hours required

Graduate Level Content Area Courses: 4 quarter hours required

One course in French at the graduate level is required.  Courses must be taken before student teaching if pursuing degree (not required for individuals pursuing certification only).  Courses must be approved by your Content Area Advisor prior to registration and requires graduate level registration.

  • FCH 300-600 level French course 

Student Teaching: 8 quarter hours required

Registration in student teaching requires completion of all requirements and procedures listed in the college core section.  EDU 95 indicates to the Illinois State Board of Education that all field experience hours are complete.

Recommended/Optional Course:

SCG 439 is required for middle school endorsements but is not required for the degree.  If taking SCG 439 for certification/endorsement purposes, a grade of C or better is required.

Certification Tests

All individuals certified by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are required to complete certification tests specific to their teaching certificate. World Language Education French majors must complete the following tests:

  • Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP) (test #400) - assesses knowledge of reading comprehension, language arts, writing, and math.  Test is required to qualify for Advanced Standing.
  • Foreign Language: French Content Area Test (test #127) – assesses knowledge of the French language and culture.  Test is required before Student Teaching (deadlines apply).
  • Assessment of Professional Teaching (APT) (test #103, grade 6-12) – assesses knowledge of teaching planning, delivery, assessment, professionalism, and technology.  Test is required to be certified, recommended to take before Student Teaching.

Field Experiences

Each student seeking certification from the College of Education/Professional Education Unit must complete supervised field experiences in appropriate settings in conjunction with education courses. The field experiences must include a variety of grade levels, multicultural experiences, and a minimum of 15 hours in special education settings. All field experiences must be completed prior to final approval for student teaching. Field experience hours should be entered by the student into the FEDS system when completing courses with field experience requirements.  For details on requirements, expectations, documentation, & courses in your program that require hours, visit the College of Education website.

Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Test

Pursuing certification in the teaching of a foreign language (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, or Spanish) requires the oral proficiency test – an Interview – before you begin student teaching. You must earn a rating of "intermediate high" or better on the test.

For additional information about the OPI and a link to the test, please consult the OPI section of the College of Education website.​

EDU 25

BASIC TECHNOLOGY LITERACY

(0 Credit) This online course provides students with a knowledge about assembling, using, and troubleshooting basic technology hardware and software. In this course, students demonstrate understanding of basic computer setup and the use of peripheral devices such as printers, speakers, flash drives, scanners, digital cameras, videos, and computer software.

SCG 406

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING:SECONDARY

This course focuses on the multiple factors that contribute to the period of adolescence, bridging childhood and adulthood. Particular attention is given to the intrapsychic, interpersonal, biological, and socio-cultural processes that are mediated by the meanings that youth give to their identity vis a vis rac, class, and gender formations within the broader society. Students will engage in interdisciplinary study of theories to examine the implications for teaching and learning processes and the role of educational institutions in fostering the healthy development of youth in society. Forms of inquiry will include students' examination of their own lives and assumptions, critique of theory, and observations of young people in a variety of contexts.

T&L 404

INTRODUCTION TO ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

This is the first in a sequence of theory and practice courses that serves to familiarize teaching candidates with the world of elementary and middle schools. Through observation and participation in schools, self-reflection, independently created assignments, cooperative learning assignments and classroom discussion, candidates will acquire familiarity with schools and classrooms including: social/cultural context, classroom climate, classroom management, curricular coherence, standards-based instruction, and teacher professional beliefs and practices. Written critical reflections and papers serve as initial foundation for the development of teaching philosophies. COREQUISTES: For T&L EE majors, concurrent enrollment in SCG 403 and T&L 583 is required.

T&L 425

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

This course will examine materials, methods, and techniques appropriate for teaching in secondary schools. Topics include writing instructional objectives, developing lesson plans, designing a curriculum unit, understanding classroom management and assessment related issues. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon their own emerging educational philosophies as well as draw from previous courses they have taken. Students will be given many opportunities for planning, using and evaluating a variety of instructional strategies while preparing and teaching a micro lesson in front of their peers. Students will be committed to teaching as a professional acting responsibly, ethically, and collegially in accordance to Vincentian Personalism. Prerequisite course: T&L 424
Prerequisites:
T&L 424 is a prerequisite for this class.

SCG 408

EDUCATION AND SOCIETY

A study of social forces that impinge upon the educational enterprise and analysis of the relationship to major social problems in urban education with emphasis on their social, economic, political, historical and philosophical dimensions.

SCG 409

SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

This course focuses on the relationship between school structures and culture, social relations of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and ideologies organizing education in the United States. Students will explore a range of theories in the sociology of education atha5t explore linkages between school structures and processes and broader social forces. Readings may examine the political economy of schooling, inequalities in educational practices, and student and teacher identities shaped by schools and the larger society.

SCG 411

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

This course examines the relationship of education to the moral and ethical dilemmas or predicaments of the human condition. It will entail issues related to the nature of education's responsiveness, or lack there of, to the concerns of the human condition: for example, human alienation, suffering, success and failure, caring, freedom, responsibility, liberaiton and agency. Special attention will be given to how these concerns influences or have social, cultural and political implications for how teachers address them within the teaching and learning process.

BBE 560

SECOND AND WORLD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

(4 credits) This course is an introduction to the theoretical study of second or world language acquisition (SLA) from a generative and psycholinguistic perspective. The content of the class is founded on the major concepts and issues of language acquisition, including UG-access, L1-transfer, and age effects, and the acquisition of form vs. meaning. The course pays particular attention to empirical second and world language studies at the syntax/ semantics interface. Course readings and discussion examine the complexities of the processes involved in acquiring a world language that includes the relation between first and SLA; contrastive and error analysis; interlanguage; the social and cultural influences on SLA; learner variability; learning strategies; and classroom interaction analysis. Issues surrounding second and world language acquisition are discussed and deliberated through university classroom experiences as well as required field experiences (15 hours, minimum; level 1).

BBE 570

METHODS OF TEACHING INTEGRATED WORLD LANGUAGE K-12

(4 credits) The purpose of this course is to provide the theoretical, research, and pedagogical foundations that underpin effective instructional practices for world language teaching and learning through the content areas. The central premise of the course is to reformulate world language instruction to integrate subject matter content into the curriculum, including science, social studies, math, fine arts, etc. This methods course is organized around the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, commonly referred to as the Five Cs: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. Students will learn about current theoretical bases for second-language acquisition and how theory informs classroom practice. Issues surrounding integrated instruction are discussed and deliberated through university classroom experiences as well as required field experiences (15 hours, minimum; level 2).

BBE 526

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ESL

(4 credits) Presents an introduction to the field of English as a second language, with attention to basic concepts of second language acquisition in various language learning contexts. Discusses interdisciplinary perspectives of second language acquisition and their application to classroom practices. The different factors influencing the acquisition of English as a second language are examined as well as current research in applied linguistics and different approaches to language teaching.

T&L 430

TEACHING LITERACY K-12

This course provides an overview of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment strategies used in K-12 classrooms to foster and develop students' L1 and L2 literacies. Through guided examination of prevailing theories of language acquisition and development that currently influence classroom practices across the K-12 continuum, this course enables future teachers of world languages to grow in their understanding of the literacy-learning contexts that students will bring to their language classrooms. Issues that emerge in planning and conducting literacy instruction in schools are discussed and deliberated through university classroom experiences as well as required field experiences (15 hours, minimum; level 1). Course participants enjoy multiple opportunities to apply and analyze theories; to observe, critique, and practice instructional strategies; to make informed curricular and instructional decisions; and to use assessment to inform one's planning.

T&L 449

TEACHING MODERN LANGUAGES

Prepares for teaching modern languages at the middle and secondary school levels. Examines the theory and practice of teaching modern languages with an emphasis on developing alternative teaching strategies and using diverse resources. Lesson and unit devlopment, evaulation and classroom management will also be discussed. Issues that emerge in planning and instruction are discussed and deliberated through university classroom experiences as well as required field experiences (15 hours, minimum; level 2). PREREQUISITE(S): T&L 405 or T&L 425 and Advanced Standing. (CROSS-LISTED: WLE 349)
Prerequisites:
Advanced Teacher Candidate Standing is a prerequisite for this class.

T&L 575

WLE HISTORY, POLICY, AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

This course engages students in WLE curriculum development and language program advocacy, creation, and sustainability based on an examination of federal and state WLE history and policies and on a review of national and state standards. Reviews theory and application of curriculum development to world language instructional programs, such as design, scope and sequence, organizational patterns, materials and media, teacher training, parent and community involvement, and evaluation. Principal world language education program models are examined and analyzed in light of WLE history, policy, and standards (20/15 hours; level 1).

SCG 410

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH: PURPOSES, ISSUES, AND METHODOLOGIES

(formerly CUG 400) This course will examine the basic questions, issues and theoretical frameworks central to the purpose, conceptualization, conduct, writing, reading and the use of educational research as a means for informing educational theory, practice and policy. Students will be exposed to the multiple frameworks which inform education research, the various methodologies employed in collecting and analyzing data and will examine the advantages, limitations and values implicit in conducting and evaluating research.

LSI 446

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE EXCEPTIONAL CHILD

Identification, characteristics, programs, schools, curricular variations, techniques for securing maximal development. Includes historical background, current legal and service provision issues including mainstreaming and inclusion.
Prerequisites:
Advanced Teacher Candidate Standing is a prerequisite for this class.

EDU 95

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH

(no credit) Required of all students. Observations and participatory experience with children and youth in a school or agency. This course is a prerequisite for student teaching and related professional courses.

T&L 592

WORLD LANGUAGES STUDENT TEACHING

(6 credit hours) Student teaching is the culminating experience of the World Languages certification program. It is a ten-week, 30-hour/week experience. Students must successfully complete student teaching with a grade of B- or better in a language classroom in which they are seeking certification to teach. The course is taken concurrently with T&L 593, World Languages Seminar. PREREQUISITE(S): Application and approval required. Open only to DePaul student.

T&L 593

WORLD LANGUAGES SEMINAR

(2 credit hours) This course is taken concurrently with T&L 592, World Languages Student Teaching. In this course, students will have opportunities to reflect on their student teaching experience and prepare materials to support their employment searches and career as teachers. COREQUISITE(S): T&L 592

T&L 611

INDUCTION INTO THE TEACHING PROFESSION: SECONDARY

This course is designed to assist first-year secondary teachers to make the transition from student of teaching to teacher. The course creates a bridge between first-year teachers' formal education and the realities of their classrooms. In particular, the course provides assistance with the following: 1) understanding their induction into the profession; 2) analyzing their new educational contexts; 3) actualizing their educational philosophies; 4) developing their pedagogical knowledge; and 5) identifying and making the most of professional support systems within their schools. Prerequisite: Completion of student teaching or practicing teacher. PREREQUISITE(S): T&L 590 or practicing teacher.
Prerequisites:
T&L 590 is a prerequisite for this class.

SCG 439

PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF YOUTH AND MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION

This course examines foundational and contemporary theories of youth and adolescent development. It considers how these theoretical ideas relate to contemporary questions of youth and middle level education. The course explores the historical invention of adolescence, changing ideas about the meaning of childhood, as well as some of the broader social, economic, political, and cultural implications of these changing ideas. This course seeks to develop in prospective educators a broader capacity to theorize about youth and schooling, and, hence, to act critically and reflectively in multiple contexts in which youth learn.