/College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Linguistics

Frequently Asked Questions

Students must meet with the Director of TESOL Teacher Preparation and Certification and the Undergraduate Program Director before submitting their application. Applications are accepted at any time, but admission decisions will be made shortly after the last day of classes in fall and spring semester or the first day of classes in fall and spring semesters. 

Visit https://linguistics.stonybrook.edu/TESOL/ba-tesol/ for more detailed information.

Undergraduate Application Form: Download

Yes, you are required to student teach in order to become NYS TESOL preK-12 certified.

You must complete ALL course requirements for the BA-TESOL and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above before enrolling in the following culminating student-teaching courses, which are taken while student teaching:

  • LIN 454 Managing Instruction, Assessment and Resources
  • LIN 451 Supervised Student Teaching in TESOL (Grades K-6) 6 credits 
  • LIN 452 Supervised Student Teaching in TESOL (Grades 7-12) 6 credits 

Undergraduate TESOL Program Course Planner: Download

Undergraduate TESOL Program Sample Schedule: Download

For more info on the program, contact Marie Huffman at  marie.huffman@stonybrook.edu  (Undergraduate Program Director in Linguistics) or Mariann Coogan at  mariann.coogan@stonybrook.edu  (Director of TESOL Teacher Preparation and Certification).

All students in the BA TESOL program are required to complete 100 hours of field experience. These hours are completed over the course of two semesters, in conjunction with Methods I (LIN 375) and Methods II (LIN 378) courses as noted below. Students will observe ENL classes and keep records of their experiences. With the classroom teacher’s permission, as you are observing, you may also provide academic and language learning assistance in the class. Transportation is not provided -- you are responsible for your own transportation to/from the district schools.

  • LIN 375 TESOL Pedagogy: Theory and Practice (Methods I)  & LIN 449 Field Experience N-12 
  • LIN 378 TESOL Pedagogy: Language and Literacy Development through Content Areas (Methods II)  & LIN 450 Field Experience N-12 

Once enrolled in LIN 449 or LIN 450, you will be given detailed guidance on how to complete field experience requirements. You will be asked to contact local school districts and request permission to observe in ENL co-taught and stand-alone classrooms. Once approved by a district, you will set up a schedule with the classroom teacher and/or administrator in the district and record your completed hours on an official document that will be submitted to the professor at the end of each semester.

In order to enter a public school and observe (field experience) or teach (student teaching), you are required to get fingerprinted. It is recommended that you complete the fingerprinting process prior to starting the semester. You only need to get fingerprinted ONCE, as it continually remains valid. 

You may call MorphoTrust/IDEMIA at: 877-472-6915 to schedule an appointment, or visit http://www.nysed.gov/educator-integrity/fingerprinting  for detailed instructions.  The fee for this process is approximately $102.

The link for your student teaching application will be emailed to undergraduates who are approaching readiness for student teaching.  Applications for student teaching are accepted during the semesterprior to student teaching. Deadlines to apply:

  • October 15 for spring 
  • March 15 for fall

Once you’ve submitted your student teaching application and have been cleared by the Linguistics Department Administrator, Teacher Candidates (TCs) will be assigned by the Director of Field Experience and Clinical Supervision to work with one or more tenured Cooperating Teachers (CTs) in our partnership schools. TCs may alternatively request student teaching assignments in New York City schools through the SUNY Urban Teacher Education Center (SUTEC), which coordinates student teaching in the New York City schools for all SUNY campuses.TCs will be notified by the Director once their placements have been arranged. 

Yes. The SUNY Urban Teacher Education Center (SUTEC) is committed to serving the needs of SUNY campuses with teacher preparation programs, assisting those students who wish to fulfill their student teaching requirements in New York City schools. Once you’ve completed your coursework and have been cleared by the Department Administrator, you will fill out a student teaching application, which includes a request for a NYC placement. You will be placed into schools by SUTEC, but will be supervised by the Director of ENL Field Placement/Clinical Supervision at Stony Brook University. You will also be required to attend the weekly seminar course, offered on campus. 

During your 75 days of student teaching, you will have two placements -- approximately one half of the semester with a K-6 placement and the other half with a grades 7-12 placement. Student teachers are expected to follow the schedule of the school district’s calendar to which they are assigned,therefore, vacation weeks such as fall break and spring break will not be the same days off as indicated on the SBU calendar. It will  likely be necessary to continue student teaching past the end date of the Stony Brook semester in order to complete 75 days. Be prepared to plan for this to happen. 

Following a brief orientation period, it is encouraged that TCs assume as much responsibility as quickly as possible for all aspects of teaching. Instructing typically increases during your time in the district, leading to teaching full instructional days by the end of the student teaching experience. Lesson planning, grading and other professional duties are included as part of your teaching experience as well. With the approval of the cooperating teacher, students may wish to continue in their placements through the end of the public school semester (beyond the 75 days) as it would provide valuable experience in conducting midterm or final exams (the Regents exams, in particular); it would also  provide a sense of closure and accomplishment; and would demonstrate initiative and concern.

Since student teaching is a full-time commitment, five days/week, you are strongly discouraged from working during this semester. Teacher candidates should try to arrange their finances so that outside employment is not necessary during the student teaching semester. 

The experience of student teaching is meant to prepare you to run a classroom on your own.  Thus, the expectations are as high as the support is strong. You will be supported along the way by your Cooperating Teacher and the Director of Field Experience and Clinical Supervision. A weekly seminar, given on campus by the Director, will also be required. 

All teacher candidates must...

1. Create a TEACH account through the NYS Education Department (NYSED):  http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/home.html

2. Complete the following workshops: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/spd/career/tworkshops.php

  • NCE 600 Identifying & Reporting Child Abuse 
  • NCE 601 Identification & Referral of Substance Abuse 
  • NCE 602  School Violence Prevention & Intervention
  • NCE 603 Fingerprinting http://www.nysed.gov/educator-integrity/fingerprinting
  • NCE 604 DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) Training in Harassment, Bullying, Cyberbullying & Discrimination in Schools: Prevention & Intervention)

It is strongly recommended to complete these workshops before student teaching. Class size is limited and advance registration is required. Click on the link to get more information: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/spd/career/tworkshops.php

3. Take and pass two NYS Teacher Certification Exams: 

  • Educating all Students (EAS) 
  • Content Specialty Test - ESOL (CST)

For the most recent information or registration go to www.nystce.nesinc.com and 

https://www.nystce.nesinc.com/GetInfo.aspx?f=NY116_TestPage.html&c=My%20Test%20Scores&q=What%20is%20the%20minimum%20passing%20score?&t=NY116&h=FindInfoPassingScore

4. Submit your Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA)

The Distributed Teacher and Leader Education program (D-TALE) is Stony Brook University’s home for all programs that lead to New York State Certification for P-12 teaching and administration. Visit the following D-TALE Program pages: 

https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/dtale/guide/student_teaching.php

https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/dtale/guide/responsibilities_teacher_candidate.php

You may also contact Mariann Coogan, Director of TESOL Teacher Preparation & Certification, at mariann.coogan@stonybrook.edu or Denise Hannaoui, Director of TESOL Field Experience and Clinical Supervision, at denise.hannaoui@stonybrook.edu with any questions. 

For more information on the foreign language requirement for TESOL certification, see this document.