World Language Links

Intensive Summer Institute for World Languages

We are happy to announce that we have received funding from the Council on Post-Secondary Education through an Improving Educator Quality Grant to offer an intensive summer certification institute during the summer of 2010, with follow-up activities during the 2010-2011 academic year. Our 2010 Intensive Institute for World Language Teachers will begin on June 7.  Courses will end July 16 and will be followed by a one-week required teaching practicum in our World Languages Camp ending on July 22.  Currently we have funding for substantial scholarships for fifteen participants.  We hope to receive additional funding for additional participants.  If you are interested in applying, please read the information below before contacting us.  The languages in which you may obtain certification in are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

As an entrance requirement, all candidates for certification in French, German, and Spanish must take the Praxis Test of Content Knowledge for their respective languages before the program begins. Applicants for German should register for this test by February 11 to avoid late registration fees.  The test is given on March 13.  Applicants in French should register for this test by March 25 to avoid late registration fees.  The test is given on April 24.  Applicants in Spanish may select either date.  Registration takes place on-line at http://www.ets.org .  Applicants in these languages are encouraged to purchase the sample version of this test published by ETS or to make arrangements to view the sample version in NKU's language lab.  Lab hours are available on-line at http:///www.nku.edu/~langlab .

The summer certification institute differs from other certification paths in that students are issued a temporary/provisional certificate valid in Kentucky after successful completion of the summer courses, passing the relevant Praxis Test in the content area in the case of applicants in French, German, and Spanish, and passing the Praxis Test Principles of Learning and Teaching.  Most participants in the program will schedule the Praxis Test Principles of Learning and Teaching on Saturday, July 23, the day after the teaching practicum ends.

To begin the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, participants must also have an appropriate score on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview as described below.  Participants must complete the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program to be recommended for certification by Northern Kentucky University and to obtain a letter of eligibility allowing transfer of their certification to another state.  Individuals teaching in Ohio may also be recommended for alternative licensure by an Ohio school district.

Information on the ACTFL oral proficiency scale can be found on-line at https://www.languagetesting.com/actfl_guidelines.html .  Click on 4 for a description of "advanced low," required for completion of the program in western languages, and 5 for a description of "intermediate high," required for completion of the program in non-western languages.  A more comprehensive version of the standards can be downloaded as a pdf file from this link:  http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3349 .  If you are not a native speaker of the language you wish to teach, you are unlikely to attain the required ACTFL level without an international study experience.  You do not have to obtain the required level before the program begins, but you should have a clear plan for attaining this level, such as participating in an intensive language program the summer after your first year of teaching.

We hope to receive additional funding for certification candidates in Arabic and Chinese and institute participants in Russian from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence through a StarTalk grant.  If we receive this grant, we may have a small amount of funding available for housing and transportation for candidates in these languages.  For this reason, we will not make any decisions about admission to the program until we know if we will receive the additional grant.

All participants in this year's institute should expect to pay for most text books and one hour of graduate tuition for the required teaching practicum.

If you applied for a summer institute in the past, but did not attend, please e-mail Ms. Heidi Waters at mailto:watersh2@nku.edu to request that your application be reactivated.  Please download and complete the attached contact information form and return it by mail with your signature.  ISIWLT 2010 Application

If you have not applied previously, please download our personal information form, sign it, and mail it together with unofficial copies of all transcripts to Ms. Heidi Waters at the address below in order for us to determine if you meet admission requirements in terms of your language background. We are not able to answer questions about eligibility for the program until a candidate has completed this initial step.  Please also send copies of evaluations of all transcripts and academic records from outside the United States. 

Ms. Heidi Waters
Graduate Education Advising and  Programs Coordinator
Northern Kentucky University
COEHS - BP 268
Highland Heights, KY 41099
watersh2@nku.edu
Office: (859)572-1567
Fax: (859)572-1384

We will do an initial evaluation based on your unofficial transcripts in order to give you a realistic assessment of your prospects for being accepted and funded for the program.  After this initial evaluation, you will be requested to submit official transcripts as part of the formal application process.

Certification candidates who are United States citizens will apply on-line to Northern Kentucky University as undeclared graduate students at http://gradschool.nku.edu/admission/apply.php .

If you are not a United States citizen, you will apply to Northern Kentucky University thorough the Office of International Students and Scholars at http://oiss.nku.edu/prospectivestudents/index.php .

Note that international students may submit unofficial translations and evaluations from any evaluation agency for their informal evaluation.  For the formal application process, only evaluations from approved credential evaluation services can be accepted.  These are listed here:  http://www.naces.org/members.htm .  Please also familiarize yourself with the information on this web site that discusses related issues:  http://www.naces.org/members.htm .

Questions about the application process should be directed to Ms. Waters at watersh2@nku.edu.  Questions about funding should be sent to the project director, Dr. Thomas H. Leech at leech@nku.edu.  Please understand, however, that we cannot tell you whether you are eligible for participation in this program or not until you have gone through the initial evaluation process.