TESOL | Teachers College Columbia University

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

May 15, 2023 - August 14, 2023

For more information, please email tesolcertprog@tc.columbia.edu, call 1.212.678.3459 or visit the TESOL website.

The TESOL Certificate Program (TCP) leads to the completion of a Teachers College Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The TCP is a non-degree, certificate program that offers participants from all over the world a unique balance of theory and practice and a hands-on, communicative approach to teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), and/or English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

The Program is offered in both an intensive, full-time format in the summer and in a part-time format stretched out over the fall and spring semesters. In each format, the Program consists of five required courses, practical teaching experience, senior teacher mentoring, and optional professional development workshops. Both the full-time summer program and the part-time fall-spring program are taught at the graduate level and presented in a blended-learning format with half the program taking place online and half the program taking place on-site at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Students in the TESOL Certificate Program are able to put TESOL theories into practice by teaching in our language school, the Community Language Program, which offers ESL classes to non-native speakers of English in the local community. To help bridge the gap between theory and practice, students are guided by senior mentor teachers that help with lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching.

• Students who complete the Program are awarded 28 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) approved by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).
• The Program aligns with, and exceeds the standards recommended by TESOL International Association for short-term certificate programs. It also meets and exceeds the 120-hour instruction standard often required for teaching abroad.

The TESOL Certificate Program is ideal for recent college students, current teachers who want to improve their skills, and career-changers.