Each of these 5 (60 hour) ESOL Endorsement courses satisfy the Florida Department of Education's ESOL training requirements for Category I (Primary Language Arts/English) teachers who need 300 hours of ESOL. All five (5) courses are required for ESOL Endorsement.
eLearning's Virtual Professional Learning (VPL) courses provide meaningful and authentic material, access to a variety of research-based best practices, mentoring by our state's experts, and practical application for increased student performance.
The ESOL Endorsement Courses can be taken in any order.
Communication and Understanding for English Language Learners (ELLs) (CU) (60 hours) - This professional learning course provides educators with research-based strategies to support English Language Learners (ELLs) in developing academic language and achieving measurable academic progress. Participants will learn to design instruction that meets individual student needs, model the language and behaviors expected in U.S. schools and workplaces, build meaningful partnerships with families and communities, and integrate civic knowledge and engagement into instruction. The course emphasizes high leverage practices that promote academic success and language development for multilingual learners.
Applied Linguistics (AL) (60 hours) - This professional learning course strengthens educators' understanding of English as an integrated language system to support English Language Learners (ELLs) at varying levels of English proficiency. Participants will explore the components of language, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, and apply strategies that promote language development across the listening, speaking, reading, and writing domains. The course emphasizes modeling effective oral and written communication by adapting language to different contexts, audiences, and purposes, including the transition from informal to formal language in academic settings. Participants will also examine key similarities and differences between English and other languages, such as sound-symbol relationships and sentence structure, to inform linguistically sound instruction that accelerates English language acquisition and academic achievement.
Methods of Teaching ESOL (MT) (60 hours) - This professional learning course prepares educators to use assessment practices that support the academic achievement and English language development of English Language Learners (ELLs). Participants will examine how to use formative, summative, and progress monitoring data to inform instruction, identify appropriate accommodations, distinguish language proficiency from other learning needs, and provide targeted scaffolds and feedback. The course also explores evidence-based assessment tools and linguistic strategies for evaluating and supporting ELLs’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing across content areas, enabling educators to make data-informed instructional decisions that promote student success.
Curriculum and Materials (CM) (60 hours) - This professional learning course equips educators with the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver standards-based, linguistically responsive instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) at varying levels of English proficiency. Participants will design student-centered lessons aligned to academic benchmarks, develop learning experiences that address the needs of students with interrupted or limited formal education, and use language proficiency data to select appropriate instructional materials and resources. The course also emphasizes the effective integration of technology to support academic language development, content learning, and access to rigorous instruction for multilingual learners.
Testing and Evaluation (TE) (60 hours) - This professional learning course prepares educators to use assessment practices that support the academic achievement and English language development of English Language Learners (ELLs). Participants will examine how to use formative, summative, and progress monitoring data to inform instruction, identify appropriate accommodations, distinguish language proficiency from other learning needs, and provide targeted scaffolds and feedback. The course also explores evidence-based assessment tools and linguistic strategies for evaluating and supporting ELLs’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing across content areas, enabling educators to make data-informed instructional decisions that promote student success.
Course Schedule/Registration
2026-2027 ESOL Endorsement Courses Schedule
To register for an ESOL Endorsement course, visit our Trainings/Events page and search ESOL Endorsement.
eLearning's VPL courses are for in-service points and are not college level courses. The Florida Department of Education will not accept eLearning's courses if they are submitted by an individual for recertification or endorsement. They must be submitted through a district as part of its approved Professional Learning Catalog.
Participants are responsible for following their district’s requirements to obtain in-service credit and endorsement. If you are unsure if your district will accept courses offered through NEFEC, you will need to check with your district's Staffing Development office prior to taking a course.
eLearning's VPL ESOL Endorsement courses are 8 weeks long. Participants will spend approximately 6-8 hours per week to complete the course in the 8 week timeline. The courses are completely online and require no face-to-face meetings or specific dates/times required to be online.
An email will be sent to each participant with login information and directions for accessing the course through Moodle, NEFEC's course management system, by 4:30 PM on the start date of the course. Sometimes legitimate email messages are filtered by Spam filters within and email program. If you have not received login information by the close of business on the course start date, please check first to see if the message is in a junk or spam mail folder within your email program. If you do not find it, contact elearning@nefec.org, to verify your email and to have the information resent.