Online Graduate Certificate in TESOL

Penn State World Campus:
Penn State World Campus is the online campus of Pennsylvania State University and provides quality distance education programs to students from around the world. Our Online Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program is offered through the Department of Applied Linguistics. It is designed for students who are interested in teaching English to adults in the United States or abroad. It can be completed from any location. Earn entry-level English language teaching credentials from a well-known North American university respected throughout the world!

Email: Contact us here     ( or request a callback ).

Online Graduate Certificate in TESOL:
The online curriculum is comprised of 4 introductory graduate-level courses containing integrated practical field experiences that enable students to gain essential skills and knowledge for teaching adult English language students in diverse contexts in the United States or around the world. All candidates must complete a capstone experience in which they create a professional TESOL e-portfolio that demonstrates skills and competencies acquired in the required course work.

Course Content:

- Focus on English: Teaching Form, Meaning and Us (3 credits)
Develops an understanding of the various domains of the English language as relevant for adult English language learning and teaching.

- Focus on Classrooms: Planning and Supporting Language Learning (3 credits)
Develops a critical awareness of one's teaching practice and highlights instructional planning and classroom interactions with adult English language learners.

- Focus on Learners: Identity, Community and Language Learning (3 credits)
Explores how individual identities shaped by cultural differences, social positioning, institutional roles and structures influence adult English language learning and teaching.

- Focus on Instruction: Teaching and Assessing Language Learning (3 credits)
Develops an understanding of and ability to use effective teaching and assessment practices that support adult English language learning.

Practical Teaching Practice:
A key component of the curriculum involves practical application and reflection of the theoretical concepts that are addressed in your online classes. This means that for each of the four courses, you will be required to have access to a community of nonnative speakers of English. Universities, public schools, places of worship, and community resource centers (such as the library or YMCA) often have English classes of some type.

You are responsible for identifying a place or set of places where you can tutor, teach, observe, or interview (depending on the requirements of the course you’re taking) in your area. For example, you may be required to do one of the following: teach and/or observe a class for nonnative English speakers, tutor a nonnative-English-speaking student, or interview a group of nonnative English speakers.

Program Duration: 
Students may take as few or as many courses as they want per semester. If you plan to study part-time, we recommend you take no more than 2 courses per semester. The certificate program can be completed in as few as 2 or 3 semesters (9–12 months).