BS in Modern Foreign Language Education

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 BS in Modern Foreign Language Education program. Continuing students will continue to complete the degree program that they entered.

The undergraduate program in Modern Foreign Language Education prepares teachers of Arabic, French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish for certification at the 5–12 grade level. The program has been designed to reflect current theory and practice in foreign language teaching and learning, reflecting research-based practices and guidelines established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Learning Outcomes

Teacher candidates will demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Curriculum, Planning & Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, and using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an ongoing basis.
  • Teaching All Students: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
  • Family & Community Engagement: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through effective partnerships with families, caregivers, community members, and organizations.
  • Professional Culture: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.
  • Demonstrates Subject Matter Knowledge necessary to teach students in grades 5–12.

Requirements

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 Modern Foreign Language 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 and Communication, as well as some elements of the Intellectual Toolkit. 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.

Boston University students specializing in Modern Foreign Language Education engage in a comprehensive course of study that includes a strong base in the arts and sciences, with coursework in the humanities, social sciences, and math and science, as well as in education, in general, and in Modern Foreign Language. Fieldwork in area schools with students is threaded throughout the students’ course study.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of study abroad opportunities through the Boston University Study Abroad programs, and may also consider a dual major with the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) for their language.

The program of study for each student 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 as Teachers of Arabic, French, Chinese, or Spanish (Grades 5–12). Fulfillment of licensure requirements in the program can lead to licensure in states with which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has reciprocity.

Students can elect to add on additional teaching license as a Teacher of English as a Second Language, grades 5–12. Students wishing to do so should discuss their interest with their advisors early in their programs to assure the additional required courses can be scheduled into their course of study in an efficient manner.

Modern Foreign Language Education (129 cr)

BU Hub Requirements or Electives Outside the Major (40 cr)

One CAS course in Arabic, French, Mandarin Chinese, or Spanish literature numbered 350 or above may be used here.

Subject Requirements by Language

Professional Studies Requirements (45 cr)

  • SED BI 504 Seminar: The Student Teaching Experience (2 cr)
  • SED CT 375 Pre-Practicum in Secondary Schools (2 cr)
  • SED CT 534 Classroom 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 Civil Context of Education (2 cr)
  • SED LS 565 Applied Linguistics: Language & Linguistics Survey (4 cr)
    *students planning to complete a dual major with CAS may replace this course with CAS LX 250
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 cr)
  • SED SE 251 Special Education and Adolescents (2 cr)
  • SED TL 511 Methods of Teaching Modern Foreign Languages (4 cr)
  • SED TL 525 Teaching English Language Learners: Middle/High School (4 cr)
    students pursuing the optional Dual Licensure Pathway in ESL may replace this course with BI 535
  • SED TL 586 Practicum I MFL 5–12 (4 cr)
  • SED TL 587 Practicum II MFL 5–12 (2 cr)
  • SED elective (approved by advisor) (4 cr)

Optional Dual Licensure Pathway in Teaching English Language Learners (ESL), 5–12 (16 credits)

  • SED BI 504 Student-Teaching Seminar (2 cr)
  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students (4 cr)
    *this course replaces TL 525
  • SED TL 508 Methods in Teaching English as a Second Language (4 cr)
  • SED TL 582/583 Student-Teaching Practicum I & II: English as a Second Language 5–12 (6 cr)