Early Childhood Education - English as a Second Language (ESL)
The Early Childhood Education - English as a Second Language (EC-ESL) program at Moravian University is available for students interested in teaching young children from birth to nine years of age and/or children and young adults who are second language learners (ELLs).
Moravian provides a comprehensive mentoring approach for pre-service teachers through current theory, research, and pedagogy combined with extensive field experiences. Real-world experiences occur in a variety of educational settings, both early childhood and ESL classrooms, in a cross-section of sites where future employment opportunities exist, including public and charter schools, Head Start, and other community-based educational settings.
Major Requirements
The EC-ESL major consists of five required ESL courses and five electives, education courses for PreK–4 teacher certification, and a sequence of field experiences that are directly linked to education coursework. The sequence allows pre-service teachers to employ multiple disciplinary perspectives to enter the ESL field as professionals who are knowledgeable, reflective, and informed advocates for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
EC-ESL pre-service teachers learn about the organization and philosophy of early childhood, ESL research and theories, developmentally appropriate practices, child development, curriculum, strategies and skills for effective practices, the use of data to inform instruction, educational technology, inclusive practices, and the design of successful interventions responsive to the needs of individual students. After 14 weeks of student teaching in two separate placements and successful passing of required state exams, candidates can obtain an Instructional I teacher certification in both PreK–4 and ESL PreK–12.
Dual Certification in PreK-4 and ESL PreK-12
The EC-ESL major with dual certification in PreK-4 and ESL PreK-12 is unique to the Lehigh Valley. With the five required courses in ESL and five specific electives in other specialized fields (speech-language pathology, sociology), candidates approach ESL from an interdisciplinary perspective and use multiple theories to define second language learners and to understand cultural-linguistic diversity. This social constructionist approach highlights the strengths of students who are ELLs and their families. The sequence of courses allows pre-service teachers to employ multiple disciplinary perspectives to enter the ESL field as professionals who are knowledgeable, reflective, and informed advocates for families and their children who are ELLs. The major in EC-ESL for pre-service teachers broadens the scope of knowledge and pedagogy in the field of education in a crucially important liberal arts context, while allowing candidates to graduate with dual certification in EC PreK-4 and ESL PreK-12.
Career Outcomes
Students who complete the EC-ESL major can obtain Instructional I teacher certification in both PreK-4 and ESL PreK-12. They can teach in public, private, and charter schools, and in inclusive classrooms PreK-4 and/or teach students who are second language learners PreK-12. Graduates from the program may seek career opportunities as language tutors and/or guides and ESL teachers.
Curriculum
ECE PreK-4 Required Courses
Recommended for Freshman Year
- EDUC 100.2: Introduction to Second Language Learners (Fall)
- EDUC 160: Culture, Community and Diversity: Introduction to Critical Pedagogy (Spring)
- EDUC 214.2: Music and Movement (Spring)
Recommended for Sophomore Year
- EDUC 210: Child Development and Cognition I (Fall)
- EDUC 213.2: Imagination & Creativity in Young Children (Fall)
- EDUC 216: Early Childhood Theories, Practices, & Family Partnerships (Fall)
- EDUC 244: Including Students with Disabilities (Fall)
- EDUC 211: Child Development and Cognition II (Spring)
- EDUC 222: Emerging Language/Literacy PreK-4 (Spring)
Recommended for Junior Year
- EDUC 312: Data Driven Analysis and Decision Making (Fall)
- EDUC 322: Strategies for Math Thinking PreK-4 (Fall)
- EDUC 323: Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning PreK-4 (Fall)
- EDUC 358.2: Pre-Student Teaching Seminar (Fall)
- EDUC 218.2: Wellness, Movement & Health for Young Children (Spring)
- EDUC 321: Language Arts for Children PreK-4 (Spring)
- EDUC 324: Social Studies for PreK-4 (Spring)
- EDUC 359.2: Pre-Student Teaching Seminar (Spring)
Recommended for Senior Year
- EDUC 370: Seminar for EC: Advocacy, Ethics, Leadership, Collaboration (Spring)
- EDUC 375-377: Student Teaching Experience (7 weeks in ECE and 7 weeks in ESL) (Spring)
ESL PreK-12 Required Courses
Recommended for Junior Year
- EDUC 410.3 Language Acquisition and Development (w/ applied field experience assignments) (Fall)
- EDUC 411.3 ESL Curriculum and Instruction (w/ applied field experience assignments - Stage 3 field experience) (Spring)
Recommended for Senior Year
- EDUC 412.3: ESL Learner, Family, & Community (w/ applied field experience assignments - Stage 3 field placement) (Fall)
- EDUC 413.3: ESL Assessment and Support (w/ applied field experience assignments - Stage 3 field experience) (Fall)
- EDUC 414.3: ESL Specialist Capstone (w/ a stand-alone Stage 3 field experience under the direction of a certified ESL teacher) (Fall)
Special Education Required Courses
Choose one: recommended for Sophomore Year
- EDUC 420.3: Differentiating Instruction (Spring)
- EDUC 422.3 Effective Inclusionary Practices (Spring)
Other Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology Concentration Elective Courses
Choose two:
- EDUC 425.3: Comprehensive Literacy Pre-K to 4
- EDUC 426.3: Literacy and Resistance Grades 5-12
- HLTR 253: A Phonetics and Phonology
- HLTR 354: A Clinical Linguistics
Important Guidelines
- Students must complete all foundation (100 level) courses with a grade of C or better in order to continue taking upper-level courses. Students in the early childhood program should take Education 100.2 in their first term of study at the University.
- Students must have an overall QPA of 2.7 in order to take education courses at the 200 level or above.
- A lab science (F4) course with a grade of C or better is required prior to enrolling in EDUC 323. MATH 120 with a grade of C or better is the pre-requisite for EDUC 322, and an American history course with a grade of C or better is the prerequisite for EDUC 324.
- All education courses must be completed prior to the start of student teaching. No other courses should be taken during the student teaching semester which is completed in the senior year.
- Any of the above courses which you plan to complete at another institution must have prior written approval from the program coordinator.
Content Area Tests
Required prior to certification:
- 8006 Module 1 - Early Childhood Education PK-Grade 4
- 8007 Module 2 - Early Childhood Education PK-Grade 4
- 8008 Module 3 - Early Childhood Education PK-Grade 4
Visit this site for information on these assessments - https://www.pa.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/PA006_TestPage.html
Test scores should be reported to Moravian University (RA2418) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Program Coordinator
Dr. Jean L. DesJardin
Education Department Chair, Program Coordinator and Advisor
desjardinj@moravian.edu