Podcast Episodes

Hey! My name is Katie Leven.  Today, I’m going to disprove stereotype number one that you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a TESOL.

You might start by wondering what a TESOL is, or if you are one, you already know that TESOL stands for Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages.  Sometimes you’ll see it without the T and it will just be pronounced ESOL or ESOL, with either a long or short e sound, depending on your part of the world.  

So getting back to our first stereotype, Do you need to have a TESOL degree to be a TESOL?

The reality is that NYSED allows for alternative pathways for certification.  So, as long as you have the appropriate course work and 12 credits in a foreign language, you can become certified to teach children who speak other languages at home.  And there are many programs that allow this as an additional certification.

So, let me tell you my story!

I actually earned my bachelor's degree in Spanish education for grades 5-12.  My undergraduate work included a mission trip to Panama and 5 months in Argentina, so I got to experience what it was like to live in a place where I didn't speak the language and all the accompanying feelings.

When I graduated, of course I subbed through the end of the year, but then I got hired full time in a district as a high school Spanish teacher.  I chose a different university in the area for my masters degree, because that’s required within 5 years of graduating in NYS to maintain your certification.  I got my masters in teaching Spanish from this research university while working in that district for four years.  Eventually I decided it wasn’t a good fit for me, and I went looking for students who were more linguistically focused.  

I moved to a school where I could teach Spanish and French..  Due to small class sizes and a growing program, I was asked to teach French 1 and 2 in the same classroom at the same time.  Luckily, I had a Spanish student who didn’t want to go to study hall and he became my TA.  This is where I really learned how to differentiate instruction!  I learned the importance of a student centered classroom focused on small group work.  I saw students grow in their knowledge as they interacted more frequently in the target language.  Additionally, I got to see first hand how the research on language acquisition was true:  learning a language in a low stress environment is best… my TA went on to study French, along with his Spanish and later went to college for International Business!  Amazing!

This whole time, I took note of the English teacher next door who taught the exchange students from all over the world.  How amazing was that!?!?  I thought of my masters degree program in teaching Spanish, which had a ton of international students.  Why did they all come to this university?  I reflected back to the cultural ethnography project I did in that program, where I interviewed an ELL from Puerto Rico who had moved to Western New York with his parents, and all the emotions he felt about what he left behind, as his parents chose what they thought would lead to a better future for him.  And it just hit me, why couldn’t I become a teacher of those students?  How incredible would that experience be to work with children from all over the world?  On NYSED’s website, there is a way to search the certification requirements for TESOL.  When I went through the list, and because of all the cross-curricular work within my masters program with the TESOL program, I was just one course and one exam short of paying $100 to NYS for the additional certification!  

I found the course I needed for the next semester at that same university, emailed the professor to explain my background and ask if I could take the Teaching English Grammar course as a non-matriculated student.  She said yes and the rest is history!  

Not really, a lot of hard work and studying!  She was an incredible professor who understood her students, and used Kagan structures to engage them.  She jokingly said that after becoming a TESOL professor at this research university, she got an additional master's degree in engagement to make sure she was using the best strategies!  It was incredible to see someone push herself to be better because it was what was best for her learners!

Eventually, I found my way to work for a regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (also known as BOCES). BOCES contracts regionally with the school districts in our two counties.  I was assigned a district on the far end of my county and had the pleasure of working there for four years.  During that time, my BOCES administrator noticed my leadership potential and suggested I get into administration (no thank you) or professional development.  She introduced me to the director of our local teachers center, and I’ve provided professional development focused on instruction for ELLs since 2016!

So, long story short, do you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a teacher to English Language learners (also known as ELLs)?  No, you don’t!  

NYS has alternative pathways because they know that no education is ever wasted!  My experiences living abroad, studying and teaching foreign languages, the linguistic knowledge I acquired at my research university and general interest in people from diverse backgrounds has led me to be an incredible ENL teacher, if I do say so myself… well, I guess you don’t have to trust me, trust my co-workers who nominated me for the ENL Teacher Leader of the Year award, trust the committee who selected me to win it!  The description reads:

This award is given to a teacher who has exhibited exceptional leadership in support of ELL education. This is someone who steps outside of their normal classroom responsibilities to support their colleagues, provide professional learning opportunities, and bring awareness to others about best practices to support ELL students. 

So thanks for listening today!  I hope you learned a lot about me and why you can trust me and my community of educators who collaborate to provide streamlined, focused, integrated ENL instruction to build our learners up for independent success in the future!  Let’s work smarter, not harder together and I’ll show you how because I am the INTENTIONAL TESOL.

Hey! My name is Katie Leven.  Today, I’m going to disprove stereotype number one that you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a TESOL.

You might start by wondering what a TESOL is, or if you are one, you already know that TESOL stands for Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages.  Sometimes you’ll see it without the T and it will just be pronounced ESOL or ESOL, with either a long or short e sound, depending on your part of the world.  

So getting back to our first stereotype, Do you need to have a TESOL degree to be a TESOL?

The reality is that NYSED allows for alternative pathways for certification.  So, as long as you have the appropriate course work and 12 credits in a foreign language, you can become certified to teach children who speak other languages at home.  And there are many programs that allow this as an additional certification.

So, let me tell you my story!

I actually earned my bachelor's degree in Spanish education for grades 5-12.  My undergraduate work included a mission trip to Panama and 5 months in Argentina, so I got to experience what it was like to live in a place where I didn't speak the language and all the accompanying feelings.

When I graduated, of course I subbed through the end of the year, but then I got hired full time in a district as a high school Spanish teacher.  I chose a different university in the area for my masters degree, because that’s required within 5 years of graduating in NYS to maintain your certification.  I got my masters in teaching Spanish from this research university while working in that district for four years.  Eventually I decided it wasn’t a good fit for me, and I went looking for students who were more linguistically focused.  

I moved to a school where I could teach Spanish and French..  Due to small class sizes and a growing program, I was asked to teach French 1 and 2 in the same classroom at the same time.  Luckily, I had a Spanish student who didn’t want to go to study hall and he became my TA.  This is where I really learned how to differentiate instruction!  I learned the importance of a student centered classroom focused on small group work.  I saw students grow in their knowledge as they interacted more frequently in the target language.  Additionally, I got to see first hand how the research on language acquisition was true:  learning a language in a low stress environment is best… my TA went on to study French, along with his Spanish and later went to college for International Business!  Amazing!

This whole time, I took note of the English teacher next door who taught the exchange students from all over the world.  How amazing was that!?!?  I thought of my masters degree program in teaching Spanish, which had a ton of international students.  Why did they all come to this university?  I reflected back to the cultural ethnography project I did in that program, where I interviewed an ELL from Puerto Rico who had moved to Western New York with his parents, and all the emotions he felt about what he left behind, as his parents chose what they thought would lead to a better future for him.  And it just hit me, why couldn’t I become a teacher of those students?  How incredible would that experience be to work with children from all over the world?  On NYSED’s website, there is a way to search the certification requirements for TESOL.  When I went through the list, and because of all the cross-curricular work within my masters program with the TESOL program, I was just one course and one exam short of paying $100 to NYS for the additional certification!  

I found the course I needed for the next semester at that same university, emailed the professor to explain my background and ask if I could take the Teaching English Grammar course as a non-matriculated student.  She said yes and the rest is history!  

Not really, a lot of hard work and studying!  She was an incredible professor who understood her students, and used Kagan structures to engage them.  She jokingly said that after becoming a TESOL professor at this research university, she got an additional master's degree in engagement to make sure she was using the best strategies!  It was incredible to see someone push herself to be better because it was what was best for her learners!

Eventually, I found my way to work for a regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (also known as BOCES). BOCES contracts regionally with the school districts in our two counties.  I was assigned a district on the far end of my county and had the pleasure of working there for four years.  During that time, my BOCES administrator noticed my leadership potential and suggested I get into administration (no thank you) or professional development.  She introduced me to the director of our local teachers center, and I’ve provided professional development focused on instruction for ELLs since 2016!

So, long story short, do you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a teacher to English Language learners (also known as ELLs)?  No, you don’t!  

NYS has alternative pathways because they know that no education is ever wasted!  My experiences living abroad, studying and teaching foreign languages, the linguistic knowledge I acquired at my research university and general interest in people from diverse backgrounds has led me to be an incredible ENL teacher, if I do say so myself… well, I guess you don’t have to trust me, trust my co-workers who nominated me for the ENL Teacher Leader of the Year award, trust the committee who selected me to win it!  The description reads:

This award is given to a teacher who has exhibited exceptional leadership in support of ELL education. This is someone who steps outside of their normal classroom responsibilities to support their colleagues, provide professional learning opportunities, and bring awareness to others about best practices to support ELL students. 

So thanks for listening today!  I hope you learned a lot about me and why you can trust me and my community of educators who collaborate to provide streamlined, focused, integrated ENL instruction to build our learners up for independent success in the future!  Let’s work smarter, not harder together and I’ll show you how because I am the INTENTIONAL TESOL.

Hey! My name is Katie Leven.  Today, I’m going to disprove stereotype number one that you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a TESOL.

You might start by wondering what a TESOL is, or if you are one, you already know that TESOL stands for Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages.  Sometimes you’ll see it without the T and it will just be pronounced ESOL or ESOL, with either a long or short e sound, depending on your part of the world.  

So getting back to our first stereotype, Do you need to have a TESOL degree to be a TESOL?

The reality is that NYSED allows for alternative pathways for certification.  So, as long as you have the appropriate course work and 12 credits in a foreign language, you can become certified to teach children who speak other languages at home.  And there are many programs that allow this as an additional certification.

So, let me tell you my story!

I actually earned my bachelor's degree in Spanish education for grades 5-12.  My undergraduate work included a mission trip to Panama and 5 months in Argentina, so I got to experience what it was like to live in a place where I didn't speak the language and all the accompanying feelings.

When I graduated, of course I subbed through the end of the year, but then I got hired full time in a district as a high school Spanish teacher.  I chose a different university in the area for my masters degree, because that’s required within 5 years of graduating in NYS to maintain your certification.  I got my masters in teaching Spanish from this research university while working in that district for four years.  Eventually I decided it wasn’t a good fit for me, and I went looking for students who were more linguistically focused.  

I moved to a school where I could teach Spanish and French..  Due to small class sizes and a growing program, I was asked to teach French 1 and 2 in the same classroom at the same time.  Luckily, I had a Spanish student who didn’t want to go to study hall and he became my TA.  This is where I really learned how to differentiate instruction!  I learned the importance of a student centered classroom focused on small group work.  I saw students grow in their knowledge as they interacted more frequently in the target language.  Additionally, I got to see first hand how the research on language acquisition was true:  learning a language in a low stress environment is best… my TA went on to study French, along with his Spanish and later went to college for International Business!  Amazing!

This whole time, I took note of the English teacher next door who taught the exchange students from all over the world.  How amazing was that!?!?  I thought of my masters degree program in teaching Spanish, which had a ton of international students.  Why did they all come to this university?  I reflected back to the cultural ethnography project I did in that program, where I interviewed an ELL from Puerto Rico who had moved to Western New York with his parents, and all the emotions he felt about what he left behind, as his parents chose what they thought would lead to a better future for him.  And it just hit me, why couldn’t I become a teacher of those students?  How incredible would that experience be to work with children from all over the world?  On NYSED’s website, there is a way to search the certification requirements for TESOL.  When I went through the list, and because of all the cross-curricular work within my masters program with the TESOL program, I was just one course and one exam short of paying $100 to NYS for the additional certification!  

I found the course I needed for the next semester at that same university, emailed the professor to explain my background and ask if I could take the Teaching English Grammar course as a non-matriculated student.  She said yes and the rest is history!  

Not really, a lot of hard work and studying!  She was an incredible professor who understood her students, and used Kagan structures to engage them.  She jokingly said that after becoming a TESOL professor at this research university, she got an additional master's degree in engagement to make sure she was using the best strategies!  It was incredible to see someone push herself to be better because it was what was best for her learners!

Eventually, I found my way to work for a regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (also known as BOCES). BOCES contracts regionally with the school districts in our two counties.  I was assigned a district on the far end of my county and had the pleasure of working there for four years.  During that time, my BOCES administrator noticed my leadership potential and suggested I get into administration (no thank you) or professional development.  She introduced me to the director of our local teachers center, and I’ve provided professional development focused on instruction for ELLs since 2016!

So, long story short, do you have to have a degree in TESOL to be a teacher to English Language learners (also known as ELLs)?  No, you don’t!  

NYS has alternative pathways because they know that no education is ever wasted!  My experiences living abroad, studying and teaching foreign languages, the linguistic knowledge I acquired at my research university and general interest in people from diverse backgrounds has led me to be an incredible ENL teacher, if I do say so myself… well, I guess you don’t have to trust me, trust my co-workers who nominated me for the ENL Teacher Leader of the Year award, trust the committee who selected me to win it!  The description reads:

This award is given to a teacher who has exhibited exceptional leadership in support of ELL education. This is someone who steps outside of their normal classroom responsibilities to support their colleagues, provide professional learning opportunities, and bring awareness to others about best practices to support ELL students. 

So thanks for listening today!  I hope you learned a lot about me and why you can trust me and my community of educators who collaborate to provide streamlined, focused, integrated ENL instruction to build our learners up for independent success in the future!  Let’s work smarter, not harder together and I’ll show you how because I am the INTENTIONAL TESOL.