Certificate in Second Language Acquisition
Certificate in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) REGISTER
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 list here) 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
(for downloadable checklist, click here)
(for details, see the SLA Certificate Completion Instructions):
- Teaching at Yale University
- Observing others teaching (5)
- Being observed while teaching (3)
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Training and development:
- CLS Pedagogy Workshop;
- Fundamentals of Language Teaching & Advanced Fundamentals of Language Teaching seminars;
- Principles of Language Teaching and Learning (LING 564 graduate seminar);
- Professional development activities (10);
- Portfolio workshop;
- Teaching Portfolio or e-Portfolio
- Reflective narrative on your experiences
- Exit Interview
- Optional: Teaching video
The CLS also offers an optional program that provides an introduction to teaching distance language courses. The program consists of 6 sessions (3 sessions each semester) that cover the theory and practice of online and distance pedagogy and provides hands-on training in a range of synchronous and asynchronous language learning environments.
Upon completion of the SLA Certificate program, participants will have completed a teaching ePortfolio that they can use for their job searches and future teaching careers; it will include a teaching statement, syllabi, class activities, and evidence of pedagogical training and professional development. Examples can be found on the CLS web site (http://cls.yale.edu/).
For further information, please contact Fernando Rubio.