Certificate in Second Language Acquisition

Register for the Certificate in Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

The Certificate in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is offered by the Center for Language Study (CLS), and is specifically designed for Yale graduate students in departments of language and literature to provide a comprehensive training program in second language acquisition and language teaching methodology. Students in language and literature departments (see department list) should enroll in the SLA Certificate, rather than the Certificate of College Teaching Preparation (CCTP).  The SLA Certificate provides a solid foundation in second language acquisition, language teaching methodology, and applied linguistics. It covers both the theoretical principles and the practical pedagogy training that is essential for a career in a language-related field.

Upon completing the SLA Certificate, you will:

  • understand key concepts from SLA theory
  • be familiar with task-based and communicative approaches to L2 teaching and be able to integrate these into your teaching practice
  • have completed a language teaching portfolio documenting your college teaching experience and philosophy, in a format that can be used in academic job applications

 
Students enrolled in a PhD program in the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are eligible. At this time, post-docs, visiting scholars, and students in master’s degree or professional school programs are not eligible for participation in the SLA Certificate Program. The program is best undertaken by students just starting their teaching years, although we may be able to accommodate those in later years.

Program Requirements

Each of the following training components is required for the SLA certificate program. Preferably, the first four should be completed as a sequence but the order may be varied in consultation with the CLS.

  1. CLS Pedagogy Workshop: A five-day pre-service workshop offered at the beginning of the fall semester (usually the third week in August) to graduate teaching fellows who are beginning their teaching year at Yale.
  2. Fundamentals of Language Teaching: This five-week seminar is offered each fall semester as a joint CLS/GTC course and covers the basics of language pedagogy as graduate students begin their teaching year at Yale.
  3. Advanced Fundamentals of Language Teaching: This five-week seminar is offered each spring and focuses on the role of texts in language and literature teaching.
  4. Graduate course: Principles of language teaching and learning (LING 564): This seminar will focus on developing a theoretical understanding of how languages are learned. It covers the basic principles of Second Language Acquisition theory, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and language teaching methodology from a variety of theoretical perspectives. There is also a significant practical component to the course which will allow students to apply concepts and principles from these fields to their teaching practice. As one of the requirements for the course, students will develop a statement of teaching philosophy.
  5. Professional Development Activities: Participants must complete ten (10) professional development activities and submit evidence of attendance or completion along with a brief reflective narrative for each. *A departmental methods course would be equal to two (2) professional development activities
    1. CLS Brown Bags, workshops or lectures 
    2. GTC professional development workshops 
    3. Conferences or professional meetings focused on language teaching (e.g. ACTFL, CALICO, NEALLT, NERALLT, AAAL, AATG, AATSP, etc.)
    4. Summer language workshops (e.g. CARLA, CALPER, NHLRC)
    5. Departmental methodology course
    6. Assessment training (e.g. ACTFL OPI training)
    7. Other (as appropriate; must be approved in advance)
  6. Portfolio workshop: This workshop will be offered annually and is a required element of the Certificate. By the time participants attend the portfolio workshop, they will already have drafted some of the essential components of the portfolio (such as the teaching statement, lesson plan, and activities) but will work on putting these together in a cohesive and reflective manner.