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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – A famous Chinese proverb
Similarly, if you are seeking a career in TEFL i.e Teaching English as a Foreign Language) the first step for you will be to undergo a TEFL course or TEFL certification from a renowned University or agency.
With the world at our doorstep, most of these TEFL courses are now easily available online as well.
However, one needs to ensure that you have found the best online TEFL certification with a curriculum that imparts knowledge that is a true value to your money!
Moreover, all said the charm of a face to face class in any academics is a totally different experience.
To begin with below is the index of topics that we will be covering in this blog.
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- Know more about Alabama & studying there
- Brief introduction about TEFL/TESOL/ESL
- How a course in TEFL can be useful to you?
- Overview of TEFL course or certification in Alabama
- List of TEFL courses offered in Alabama
- Let’s Recap!
Today I will try to offer you some insight in terms like TEFL/ESL/TESOL as well as introduce you to one of the beautiful and culturally vibrant states in the United States of America where you can pursue these courses.
This state is defined by having been home to the beginning of the American civil war.
Any guesses? Yes, you guessed it right…it is the wonderful state of –ALABAMA!!
List of TEFL courses offered in Alabama
Below is my list of 10 TEFL/TESOL/ESL courses that I found interesting in ALABAMA
- TEFL Certification Course @Henry Harvin
- TEFL Graduate Certificate @Auburn university
- (MAEd) ESL @The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
- International ESOL @University of North Alabama
- ESOL Master of Education (M.Ed.) @University of South Alabama (USA)
- Master of Education (ESOL) @University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH)
- Master of Science (M.S.) in Second Language instruction (SLI) @Troy University
- MA-Applied Linguistics /TESOL @The University of Alabama (UA)
- (APR-TESOL) Graduate Certificate @Jacksonville State University
- TESOL Certificate @University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH)
1. TEFL Certification Course by HENRY HARVIN
Henry Harvin is one of the most sought-after organizations for content services, training, skill development, assessment, and higher education.
Established in 2013 the organization shares its vision with that of Mr. Henry Dunster (The first president of Harvard University) and aspires to become the ‘Harvard’ of the Edtech Industry.
With a global customer base of over 7,00,000+Students across 97 countries, Henry Harvin’s certificate gets a global acceptance.
Some interesting facts about Henry Harvin:
- ISO 29990:2010 certified recognition from UKAF, UK Cert, American Association of ESL, MSME, & Project Management Institute (PMI).
- Over 3,00,000+trained, in over 25+ cities
- Offices in India, USA, and Sri Lanka
Location: India, USA, Sri Lanka
Duration: 8 -12 weeks (120 Hours)
Format: Online
About the Program: This TEFL certification course is designed to train you in-depth about teaching English as a Foreign Knowledge.
The main objective of the program is to:
- Include the teaching skills and methodologies to help you understand the student’s psychology.
- Boost your confidence
- Develop your assessment and evaluation skills
- Aid you to develop action-oriented lesson plans that maximize productivity and learning
- Enhance your capabilities to think out of the box
- Effective time management skills
As accredited by AAEFL certification hence, this course will be valid across the globe.
Cost: $299 (Approx.)
For further details please visit the official website.
2. TEFL Graduate Certificate by AUBURN UNIVERSITY
According to the US news and world report, Auburn University of College of Education is ranked in the top 25% of Education programs in the USA.
Established in 1856, the university has a world-class infrastructure and offers more than 140 majors to choose from in its Undergraduate, graduate, and Doctorate levels. Popular ones being Secondary Education, Elementary Education, Counselling Education, and Health professions.
Auburn University is truly a global faculty with more than 2,000 International students, in excess of 1,300 AU students studying abroad.
The University truly offers a world of opportunity to its students and community.
At Auburn University, there are graduate certificate programs for (TESL) teaching English as a Second Language/(TEFL) Teaching English as a foreign language and adult education as well as the English language.
Location: Auburn, AL
Duration: 12 Hours (Minimum)
Format: On-campus as well as Online
About the Program: The program is available on-campus as well as Online.
In the offered TEFL certificate online or TEFL course on-campus you can choose from the four options of:
- Technology and Media in (ESOL)
- Applied Linguistics in Second Language Acquisitions
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in P-12
- Issues in (ESOL)
- Assessment in (ESOL)
Cost: On Campus (Starts at $546/credit hour +fees) and Online starts at $630/credit Hour (Approx.)
For more details please visit the official website.
3. (MAEd) ESL by THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM (UAB)
Established in 1969, UAB is the only public, four-year degree-granting university as well as the largest research institution in the state of Alabama.
It is an internationally renowned, public doctoral research university with a ranking of #166 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities.
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Format: On-Campus and Online
About the program: The Master of Arts in Education program offers students in learning to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to adult language learners as well as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) out of the country.
This is a course that has the flavor of a TEFL course and encompasses weekly evening classes, flexible summer programs, online workshops, etc, and offers each of the students with an ESL or dual certification option for teaching grades K till 12 in Alabama.
Cost: On-campus ($3198 per 3 hour course) -Approx & (Online $1602 per 3 hour course)- Approx.
For further details please visit the official website
4. INTERNATIONAL ESOL by UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA (UNA)
Founded in 1830, the University of North Alabama is Alabama’s oldest public university. It offers both graduate and undergraduate degree programs across a wide range from business, arts, sciences, education, and health.
The university has more than 7,600 students from 37 countries and over 60,000 satisfied alumni.
The university believes in having a minimum of students per class with as little as 20 students per class.
UNA also offers its students to study exchange programs in countries like France, Africa, Australia, and China, etc.
The University of North Alabama has been ranked # 43 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Universities South.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Duration: 2 Years (Minimum 30 hour course program)
Format: on-campus
About the Program: This International ESOL program is similar to a TEFL course as it caters to both students who want to teach English to Adult English Language Learners in the United States of America as well as students who want to teach English as a foreign language outside of U.S.A.
It includes a year of course curriculum on the UNA campus and another year of an internship abroad.
For being eligible for this course you need to have a:
- Bachelors degree in any field
- The minimum criteria of GRE, MAT, Praxis. If you are an international student then TOEFL score as well.
Some of the topics covered in the curriculum include:
- English Linguistics
- Assessment and Methodology of Teaching English as a Second Language
- Survey of Grammar
- History of English Language
- Cultural issues in teaching English to English language learners
- Practicals in ESOL
For more details please visit the official website.
5. ESOL MASTER OF EDUCATION (M.Ed.) by UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA (USA)
Established by the Alabama legislature in 1963, the University of South Alabama, also commonly known as ‘South’ is a public university located in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile is one of the oldest cities in Alabama.
With over 10 colleges under the University umbrella, it is ranked # 293-#381 in National Universities ranking of 2020.
The USA offers in excess of 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Moreover, the campus has nearly 15,000 students in its, 1,200-acre spread campus.
The campus has state-of-the-art educational facilities along with indoor-outdoor pools, a recreation center, and even a golf course.
Yes, you read it right…a golf course indeed!
The university has an online Master of Education (M.Ed.) leading to a certification in ESL for teaching grades from P till 12 as well as an alternative MEd in ESL for those who do not hold a background in Education which is also a shorter version.
Location: Mobile, Alabama
Duration: 30 hours with Field experience for hands-on learning
Format: Online
About the Program: This Master’s degree program in the USA aims at providing a recent research-based study for gaining a deep understanding of the English language.
The course includes but however not restricted to:
- Fundamentals of Teaching ESL
- Linguistic Theory and Application
- Cultural Issues of Learning ESL
- Models of ESL Instruction
- Teaching Writing Skills in English
- Advancing Reading Fluency in English
- Increasing Oral Language Skills
- Choosing Materials for Teaching ESL
For more details please visit the official website.
Also Read: Top 15 TEFL Certification Online Free in 20216. MASTER OF EDUCATION (ESOL) by the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, HUNTSVILLE (UAH)
Spread across a 505-acre campus, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is one of the most prestigious research universities in the united states of America.
It has been ranked #263 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities Ranking.
This public university was founded in 1969 and has international students from almost 60 countries!
UAH offers more than 88-degree programs studies in undergraduate and graduate-level in over 100 different academic fields like Engineering, Education, Nursing, Business, Arts, etc
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Duration: 33 Credit hour/18 months
Format: Online
About the Program: The UAH Teacher Education unit is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The Masters in Education program at UAH is an online program.
The purpose of this program is to help you as a teacher to effectively manage and nurture students in varied settings by developing your competence in the same through:
- Create an awareness of the cultural factors that generally affect classrooms and schools.
- Equip you in skills for managing the learning environments effectively
- Teach you innovative methods to assess and instruct your students
- Give you real-time practice in approaches for working together with parents and community helpers
- Educate through research-based strategies for teaching students who may be from various backgrounds of individual tailor-made needs.
The candidates of this program also need to complete an Internship which they can do on the job along with their program.
Interested applicants must have fulfil the following minimum requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree;
- A teaching certificate in elementary education (K-6);
- Should have cleared the GRE/MAT requirements OR to have either one of the below
- At least 3 years of successful teaching experience
- Have a 3.0 undergraduate cumulative GPA
- Possess any other master’s degree.
Cost: $ 396 per credit hour (Approx.)
For more details please visit the official website.
7. MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.S.) IN SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION (SLI) by TROY UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1887, Troy University is ranked #65 in Regional Universities South rankings of 2020. Not only this but the University has also been ranked in the “Best in Southeast” list of Princeton’s Review for 15 consecutive years!
With a sprawling campus of 1,034 acres, Troy University is one of the most well-known universities in the United States of America.
Although established with the purpose of imparting education and training to teachers, the University has now progressed to providing various other academic programs like Masters, Education Specialist, doctoral degree, etc.
It also has various courses to learn different languages like Italian, English, Korean, Greek, German to name a few.
Location: Troy, Alabama
Duration: 33 semester hours
Format: Online
About the Program: The purpose of this type of TEFL course is aimed at imparting knowledge, skills, and expertise to the students in the process of teaching the English language to those who are Non-native speakers.
After the completion of this course you will be able to:
- Possess the professional skills and academic capabilities required for teaching the second language
- Gain knowledge of the recent theories of language outline and structure.
- Understand the process of creating, planning, and imparting appropriate lesson plans
- Build the ability to create assessments as per the need
- Understand using different research methodologies to increase the ability of the students in learning the language.
- Utilize the various cultural values and beliefs of students in order to elevate their learning.
The MSSLI degree includes 9 core compulsory courses and 2 courses that have a choice of either with Thesis or without one called capstone.
Cost: $494/credit hour (Approx.)
For more details please visit the official website.
8. MA-APPLIED LINGUISTICS/TESOL by THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA (UA)
The University of Alabama was established in 1820. It is the largest as well as one of the oldest Public Universities in Alabama.
Spread across a 1200-acre campus, UA is ranked in #153 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama system.
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Duration: 2 Years with 30 semester hours (24 Hours of the required courses and 6 hours of thesis research
Format: On-campus
About the Program: The Applied Linguistics/TESOL is another form of TEFL program which is preparing the students for an academic and professional career in teaching English as a language both internationally and in the US.
This can also be considered as a type of TEFL course which encompasses a comprehensive curriculum specialized knowledge, in-depth understanding of culture, and teaching skills.
To get admitted into the program you need to have a GPA of 3.0 along with it submit a sample of your academic writing. Those who are non-native English speakers need to have a TOEFL score of 100.
The course includes:
- English Structure and Usage
- TESOL Theory and Methods
- Topics in Applied Linguistics
- Second Language Development
- Teaching Academic writing to non-native English Speakers
- Introduction to Linguistics
Apart from the above course topics, the students are given the flexibility to choose some special electives like Language assessment, Language policy, Classroom disclosure Analysis, and Technologies for Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.
Cost: $ 1390 per course credit hour – (Approx.)
For more details please visit official website.
9. (APR-TESOL) GRADUATE CERTIFICATE JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State University is a public university that has six academic schools offering more than 95 programs in Bachelors, Masters, Education Specialists, and certifications.
Spread across a 459-acre campus the University got a ranking of #72 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges in Regional Universities South.
Location: Jacksonville, Alabama
Duration: 18 credit hours
Format: On-Campus
About the Program: The (APR-TESOL) stands for Application of Processes Required to Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages certificate.
This course is similar to TEFL certification and is suitable for those of you who want to teach English overseas or in the U.S.A. It could be either as English for Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
It can be taken by both those who want to pursue a career as English Language Teachers (ELT) or those who are already in the same profession, however, wish to further enhance their teaching skills.
The course also offers in-depth knowledge of Linguistics and language education which is imparted in a simulated classroom atmosphere for better understanding and learning experience.
The certificate program offers the following courses:
- Application of Cross-Cultural Communication
- Methods in Teaching TESOL
- Design Application of TESOL and Materials
- Demo Application of Linguistics TESOL Education
- Testing and Evaluation TESOL
- Clinical TESOL settings
Cost: $490 per semester hour (Approx.)
For more details please visit official website.
10. TESOL CERTIFICATE by UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE (UAH)
Spread across a 505-acre campus, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is one of the most prestigious research universities in the united states of America.
It has been ranked #263 in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges in National Universities Ranking.
This public university was founded in 1969 and has international students from almost 60 countries!
UAH offers more than 88-degree programs studies in undergraduate and graduate-level in over 100 different academic fields like Engineering, Education, Nursing, Business, Arts, etc
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Duration: 12-18 months with 18 credit Hours
Format: online
About the Program: This TESOL certificate (can be combined with an M.A. in Communication Arts or the M.A. in English)
By combining an MA in English along with a TESOL certificate (Similar to a TEFL certificate) opens multiple opportunities for the students.
The uniqueness of this program is that it enables students to take up teaching English post the completion of the program.
It also provides the students to choose between two options in the program. One which requires you to submit a thesis and the other has a capstone project in its place.
For more details please visit the official website.
Know More About Alabama And Studying There…
Every time I hear the name Alabama, I tend to remember the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” which starred one of my all-time favorite actresses Reese Witherspoon. The movie gave us panoramic views of Alabama.
Anyways coming back to the topic…..Alabama is situated in the Southeastern region of the United States of America.
With over 61 colleges and universities, Alabama is the most sought-after state by International Students from around the world!
Some of the well-known majors that these Universities at Alabama offer range from Business, Management, marketing, Engineering, Journalism, Human sciences to Health professions, and all the related programs of these majors.
Almost all of the universities and colleges in Alabama offer studying opportunities to International Students. Maximum International students coming from China, Japan, and India.
The city offers an array of weekend off-campus excursions for the students to indulge in their spare time. From Music and art festivals, adventure sports like biking, rock climbing, etc.
It also has various state attractions to offer you as well like the aquariums, zoo, beaches, amusement parks, etc.
Let’s look at some interesting facts about Alabama:
- Alabama was instrumental in designing the first rocket that sent a man to the moon
- The American Civil war was started in Alabama
- It is also known as the ‘cotton state’.
Rest assured your spare time from studies will surely not be boring if you are in Alabama!!
Brief Introduction About TEFL/TESOL/ESL
TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or ESL (English as Second Language) are acronyms that are usually used interchangeably to present career opportunities for talented and enthusiastic educationalists interested in teaching English abroad.
Having said that, one does not necessarily need to have prior teaching experience or come from educational background to pursue a TEFL course or TEFL Certification.
In fact, the basic need is that for a professionally trained individual with an authentic certificate in TEFL/TESOL/ESL.
How a course in TEFL can be useful to you?
- Firstly, there is no expiry for a TEFL course or TEFL certificate. That means once you have completed the course, you can avail of the benefits for life!
- It increases career opportunities as well as your pay scale considerably
- Gives you a prospect to travel worldwide as well as teach!
- Increases your English teaching skills
- Provides you a wide platform of teaching students/kids even elders from various different cultures and communities.
- TEFL curriculum also teaches you the phonetics part of speech which is equally essential for learning and speaking a language correctly.
- The course is accepted worldwide….so the entire world is your canvas to choose from.
- Even though you may be having a good command on English, a TEFL course will further enhance your skills and knowledge through its advanced curriculum
- You will learn effective and meaningful ways to teach English language skills
- Ease to create lesson plans for effective teaching
- To create a productive learning environment through teaching
Overview of TEFL course or certification in Alabama
- The Universities and colleges in Alabama offer several different kinds of master’s degree programs and graduate certificate programs in TEFL/ESL/TESOL, both online as well as on campus.
- If you are keen on teaching English overseas you need to have an authentic TEFL certification in order to be eligible for the same.
- There is no particular certifying body or authoring process for a TEFL course. You can pursue a TEFL certification online or a TEFL course by choosing from any of the multiple programs offered in Colleges/Universities of even Language Institutes.
- However, if you are seeking a short-term course or a quick refresh then you can opt from the various TEFL online courses. These tend to be for a brief duration.
- In comparison, if you are opting the best TEFL certification or TEFL course from any college or university then it will be for a longer duration.
- The curriculum covered also will differ in elaboration from online to the classroom in most of the cases.
- In Alabama, admission requirements for most certification programs in TEFL/ESL/TESOL include the minimum requirement of a bachelor’s degree (many demand a minimum GPA) or (TOEFL score in case of International students).
- If you are coming from a teaching background planning on pursuing these TEFL certifications in addition to the other requirements you may need to submit your Teacher certificate.
- However, if you are not from an educational background you may need to take some other education exams like Praxis etc
- Some of the common application materials for these programs may include references, a resume, etc and some programs may also have an interview selection process.
Let’s Recap!
So, if you love to teach and that too tends to favor the English Language then a TEFL course or a TEFL Certification or even an ESL/TESOL (as per your interest) is the perfect blend to bring together your passion and career.
Now that you have got an overview of what TEFL is as well as some of the Universities that you can pursue the same in Alabama…. it’s time to start all over again….!!!
With the admission process of course!
To summarise in the words of French moralist and essayist- Joseph Joubert:
“To Teach is to learn twice over”
As learning is an ongoing process it’s never too late to get yourself enrolled in a TEFL course or TEFL Certification program today!
Recommended Read:– What is TEFL Certification
– Top 10 TEFL Certification Program in 2021
– Top 5 Programs to Get Your TEFL Certification in South Africa
– Top 50 Best TEFL Certification Courses
– TEFL Vs. TESOL
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