Innovation in Language Learning

As English is increasing worldwide so too are career opportunities for teachers of English as a second language (ESL) (cfr. Bardetti, Filice, forthcoming).  According to Snow & Wong Fillmore (2002), language is a vital development domain throughout schooling, whatever the child’s cultural, social, or linguistic background. Hence, there is a need to reach out to as many ESL teachers as possible. In fact, online education is expanding access to students internationally and domestically who would otherwise be unable to attend university courses (Christensen, Horn, Caldera, & Soares, 2011; Simpson, 2013). A fully online Graduate Certificate at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA offers critical knowledge for TESOL teachers worldwide. This presentation describes an online experience that involved expanding the TESOL program to an international partner. Throughout an 8 week TESOL course in Spring 2015, 20 graduate and doctoral level teacher candidates at Lesley University and the University of Calabria benefitted from the collaborative efforts by professors based at each institution.

Keywords: English Learners (ELs); TESOL; teacher education; internationalization; online courses