BS in Bilingual Education/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Effective fall 2022, undergraduate students interested in applying to Wheelock College will be admitted to its BS in Education & Human Development and will no longer be admitted to the Bilingual Education BS program. Continuing students will continue to complete the degree program that they entered.

The Bilingual Education program prepares students to become teachers of English as a second language (ESL) at the elementary or middle/high school level through a comprehensive course of study which includes a strong arts and sciences component with emphasis on linguistics, culture, and a minor in a foreign language or other appropriate area selected in consultation with the academic advisor; professional education courses combining theory and practice; and specialization courses focusing on first- and second-language acquisition, literary instruction and assessment, and curriculum development. The program provides students the opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts learned during their coursework in supervised field placements in elementary, middle, or high school ESL, Dual Language, or Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) classrooms.

All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Students majoring in Bilingual Education will ordinarily, through coursework taken in the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship; Communication; and some elements of the Intellectual Toolkit, essential for educators working with other professionals and families. Additional requirements may be satisfied through required Arts & Sciences coursework, and it is important that students keep Hub requirements in mind when selecting these courses. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences.

The program of study is carefully designed to enable students to meet both the BU Hub capacities and the requirements that enable Boston University to recommend students to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for teaching licenses at the Initial Level as teachers of English as a Second Language. Fulfillment of licensure requirements in the program can lead to licensure in states with which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has reciprocity.

Students completing requirements for licensure in Elementary Education, English Education, or History Education, who wish to meet requirements for licensure as a teacher of English as a Second Language can do so by completing requirements specified below, in the section labeled “Add-On ESL Licensure.”

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

  • Set specific, measurable, and realistic objectives for a lesson.
  • Develop lesson and unit plans in which objectives, assessment plans, and lesson activities are well aligned with one another.
  • Design lessons and unit plans that are informed by key aspects of theory and research on English learner (EL) education.
  • Use key linguistic and academic standards (including the Common Core State Standards, Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and WIDA English Language Standards) to determine appropriate goals for their English learners according to their English proficiency and grade levels.
  • Plan and execute lesson activities that are informed by key second-language research and teaching methods.
  • Employ a variety of language and literacy assessments to identify ELs’ needs and to determine progress toward specific goals.
  • Provide explicit ELD (English language development) instruction as preplanned lessons and as impromptu “focus on form” mini-lessons.
  • Make plan lessons that integrate technology to make linguistic input comprehensible to English learners.
  • Collaborate effectively with general education teachers to provide linguistic scaffolding to English learners in the context of general education classrooms.
  • Choose pedagogical materials that are culturally relevant for their students.
  • Identify the support services to which English learners are legally entitled and will be able to advocate for their rights when such services are not adequately provided.
  • Critically reflect on their instruction and identify concrete strategies to improve their teaching.
  • Employ a variety of methods to effectively communicate and collaborate with ELs’ parents as partners in their children’s education.

English as a Second Language PreK–6 (128 cr)

BU Hub Requirements or Electives Outside the Major (29 cr)

  • CAS humanities courses in language, literature, history, and culture OR a world language OR a minor in a world language (12 cr, 8 must be above the 100 level)
  • Additional BU Hub requirements or electives outside the major (15 cr)

Subject Matter Requirements (58 cr)

  • CAS GE 201 World Regional Geography (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 151 The Emerging US to 1865 (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 152 The United States Since 1865 (4 cr)
  • CAS HI 175/176 World History (4 cr)
  • CAS MA 107 Mathematical Reasoning: Number Systems (4 cr)
  • CAS MA 108 Mathematical Reasoning: Algebra, Geometry, Statistics (4 cr)
  • CAS NS 101 Integrated Science I (4 cr)
  • CAS NS 102 Integrated Science II (4 cr)
  • CAS PS 101 General Psychology (4 cr)
  • CAS SO 210 Confronting Persistent Social Inequalities in American Schools (2 cr)
  • CAS SO 211 Confronting Racial, Cultural, Gender, and Social Identities in Urban Classrooms (2 cr)
  • CAS WR 202 Children’s Literature (2 cr)
  • CFA AR 261 Introduction to Art Education (2 cr)
  • CFA MU 119 or 120 Music Appreciation (2 cr)
  • SED EC 305 Child Development (4 cr)
  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 cr)

Professional Studies Requirements (41 cr)

  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience-Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED BI 515 Methods in Bilingual Education and ESL (4 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction & Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED BI 570 Issues in Bilingual Education (4 cr)
  • SED ED 110 Introduction to Education (4 cr)
  • SED ED 111 Educational Technology (1 cr)
  • SED ED 225 Project Citizen (2 cr)
  • SED ED 412 Civic Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED HE 221 Foundations of Health Education (2 cr)
  • SED LR 503 Reading and Writing Assessment (2 cr)
  • SED PE 211 Movement Education (2 cr)
  • SED SE 250 Disability, Education, and Public Policy (4 cr)
  • SED SE 515 Assessment in Special Education (2 cr)
  • SED TL 570 Student-Teaching Pre-Practicum: ESL PreK–6 (2 cr)
  • SED TL 571 Student-Teaching Practicum: ESL, PreK–6 (4 cr)

English as a Second Language 5–12 (128 cr)

BU Hub Requirements or Electives Outside the Major (47 cr)

Subject Matter Requirements (36 cr)

  • CAS LX 250 Foundations of Language (4 cr)
  • SED LS 567 Structure of English (4 cr)
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • Twenty-four credits (no more than four at the 100 level) or a minor in a core academic subject: English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages and literatures, civics and government, economics, arts, history, or geography.

Electives should be selected carefully, with an academic advisor, to meet BU Hub requirements not fulfilled through required Subject Matter and Professional Studies requirements.

Professional Studies Requirements (45 cr)

  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience–Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students (4 cr)
  • SED BI 570 Issues in Bilingual Education (4 cr)
  • SED CT 375 Pre-Practicum (2 cr)
  • SED CT 534 Classroom and Behavior Management (2 cr)
  • SED DS 502 Introduction to Adolescent Development (2 cr)
  • SED ED 110 Introduction to Education (4 cr)
  • SED ED 111 Educational Technology (1 cr)
  • SED ED 410 Social Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED ED 412 Civic Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED LR 503 Reading and Writing Assessment (2 cr)
  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED SE 251 Special Education and Adolescents (2 cr)
  • SED SE 515 Assessment in Special Education (2 cr)
  • SED TL 508 Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language (4 cr)
  • SED TL 572 Student-Teaching Pre-Practicum: ESL 5–12 (2 cr)
  • SED TL 573 Student-Teaching Practicum: ESL 5–12 (4 cr)

Add-On ESL Licensure

For Elementary Education Licensure Candidates: English as a Second Language PreK–6 (18 cr)

  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience-Bilingual (ESL) Language (2 cr)
  • SED BI 515 Methods in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) (4 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED TL 571 Student-Teaching Practicum: ESL, PreK–6 (4 cr)

For English Education, History Education, and Modern Foreign Language Licensure Candidates: English as a Second Language 5–12 (18 cr)

  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student-Teaching Experience-Bilingual (ESL) (2 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment (4 cr)
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED TL 508 Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), 5–12 (4 cr)
  • SED TL 573 Student-Teaching Practicum: ESL 5–12 (4 cr)