Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (National #CIL-500)

Graduate Coursework at the IRC for the ESL and/or Bilingual Endorsements in partnership with National Louis University

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) for IRC students regarding:

• ESL and/or BILINGUAL ENDORSEMENTS
• ESL and/or BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVALS

1. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED ESL ENDORSEMENT COURSES OFFERED AT THE IRC/NLU? 

The following are required courses for the ESL Endorsement (18 graduate credit hours).

15 credit hours, Core Courses (+ 1 (3)credit hour elective):

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (3 credit hours)
• CIL 505 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language (3 credit hours)
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students (3 credit hours)
• CIL 531 ‐ Cross Cultural Education (3 credit hours)
• CIL 512 ‐ Literacy in a New Language: Linguistic Considerations (3 credit hours)

One of the following electives (3 credit hours): CIL 506 – Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Education; CIL 532 – Technology Instruction for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students.

2. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED BILINGUAL ENDORSEMENT COURSES OFFERED AT THE IRC/NLU? 

The following are required courses for the Bilingual Endorsement (18 graduate credit hours).**

15 credit hours, Core Courses (+ 1 (3)credit hour elective):

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (3 credit hours)
• CIL 505 – Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language (3 credit hours)
• CIL 506 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students (3 credit hours)
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students (3 credit hours)
• CIL 531 ‐ Cross Cultural Education (3 credit hours)
• One of the following electives (3 credit hours): CIL 512 ‐ Literacy in a New Language: Linguistic Considerations; CIL 532 – Technology Instruction for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students.   

**Must pass the Illinois language proficiency assessment in the target language (for which the endorsement is to be issued).  https://www.il.nesinc.com/Home.aspx

NOTE: The associated Target Language Proficiency assessment is not required if the educator holds a Seal of Biliteracy and it is posted in the educator’s ELIS record.

3. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED COURSES TO OBTAIN BOTH THE ESL AND BILINGUAL ENDORSEMENTS?

The following are required courses to obtain both the ESL and Bilingual Endorsement (18 graduate credit hours). NOTE: No elective option.

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education (3 credit hours)
• CIL 505 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language (3 credit hours)
• CIL 506 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students (3 credit hours, must pass language proficiency test with an outside servicer)
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students (3 credit hours)
• CIL 531 ‐ Cross Cultural Education (3 credit hours)
• CIL 512 ‐ Literacy in a New Language: Linguistic Considerations (3 credit hours)

**Must pass the Illinois language proficiency assessment in the target language (for which the endorsement is to be issued). https://www.il.nesinc.com/Home.aspx

NOTE: The associated Target Language Proficiency assessment is not required if the educator holds a Seal of Biliteracy and it is posted in the educator’s ELIS record

4. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED ESL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS TEACHING LICENSE ENDORSED IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHING FIELD OR A LICENSE WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL?

The following are required courses to obtain the ESL Special Education Approval (9 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education
• CIL 505 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for the Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS1) Professional Educator License (PEL) ESL Special Education Approval.

5. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED ESL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL OR ENDORSEMENT?

The following are required courses to obtain the ESL Special Education Approval (9 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education
• CIL 505 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for the Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS1) Professional Educator License (PEL) ESL Special Education Approval.

6. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS TEACHING LICENSE ENDORSED IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHING FIELD OR A LICENSE WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL?**

The following are required courses to obtain the Bilingual Special Education Approval (9 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education
• CIL 506 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for the Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS1) Professional Educator License (PEL) Bilingual Special Education Approval.

**Must pass the Illinois language proficiency assessment in the target language (for which the endorsement is to be issued).  https://www.il.nesinc.com/Home.aspx

NOTE: The associated Target Language Proficiency assessment is not required if the educator holds a Seal of Biliteracy and it is posted in the educator’s ELIS record.

7. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL OR ENDORSEMENT?**

The following are required courses to obtain the Bilingual Special Education Approval (9 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 500 ‐ Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education
• CIL 506 ‐ Methods and Materials for Teaching Bilingual Students
• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for the Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS1) Professional Educator License (PEL) Bilingual Special Education Approval.

**Must pass the Illinois language proficiency assessment in the target language (for which the endorsement is to be issued).  https://www.il.nesinc.com/Home.aspx

NOTE: The associated Target Language Proficiency assessment is not required if the educator holds a Seal of Biliteracy and it is posted in the educator’s ELIS record.

8. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED ESL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES FOR SCHOOL SUPPORT PERSONNEL IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS TEACHING LICENSE ENDORSED IN A SCHOOL SUPPORT PERSONNEL AREA?

The following is the required course to obtain an ESL Special Education Approval for school support personnel (3 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for the School Psychologist, School Counselor, Speech Language Pathologist ESL Endorsement.

9. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED BILINGUAL SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL COURSES FOR SCHOOL SUPPORT PERSONNEL IF I ALREADY HOLD AN ILLINOIS TEACHING LICENSE ENDORSED IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHING FIELD OR A LICENSE WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION APPROVAL?

The following is the required course to obtain the Bilingual Special Education Approval for school support personnel (3 graduate credit hours).

• CIL 510 ‐ Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

NOTE: Qualifies for School Psychologist, School Counselor, Speech Language Pathologist Bilingual Endorsement, Bilingual Special Education Approval.

**Must pass the Illinois language proficiency assessment in the target language (for which the endorsement is to be issued). https://www.il.nesinc.com/Home.aspx

NOTE: The associated Target Language Proficiency assessment is not required if the educator holds a Seal of Biliteracy and it is posted in the educator’s ELIS record.

10. WHAT ARE THE PREREQUISITE REQUIREMENTS FOR IRC COURSES?

There are no prerequisites required to take Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education ‐ CIL 500

To take other ESL/Bilingual endorsement classes, Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education ‐ CIL 500 is a prerequisite

To take either Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students ‐ CIL 510 or Technology Instruction for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students ‐ CIL 532, there are two prerequisites: Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education – CIL 500 AND a Methods course (either English as a Second Language – CIL 505 or Bilingual – CIL 506).

11. MAY I USE MY COURSES FOR THE ENDORSEMENT TOWARD MY PROFESSIONAL RENEWAL?     

College coursework must come from a regionally accredited Illinois community college or an Illinois university/college with an approved educator-degree program. One semester hour is equal to 15 hours of professional development (PD). One quarter hour ​is equal to 10 hours of PD.​Coursework completed through an out-of-state institution may not be used towards professional development unless approved by an Illinois Approved Professional Development Provider.

https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Professional-Development-for-Educators.aspx

12. DOES ISBE HAVE A PreK-12 BILINGUAL and ESL ENDORSEMENT MATRIX? 

This PreK-12 Bilingual/ESL matrix can be found on ISBE’s Multilingual webpage at https://www.isbe.net/Documents/PreK-12-Bilingual-ESL-Matrix.pdf and includes programmatic definitions such as bilingual instruction, ESL instruction, and sheltered instruction. 

There are also several tables in this document that reference the bilingual/ESL endorsement across different grade spans including: 

• PEL with EARLY CHILDHOOD endorsement (BIRTH-2nd GRADE)
• PEL with ELEMENTARY endorsement (GRADES 1-6) Non-Departmentalized
• PEL with MIDDLE SCHOOL endorsement (GRADES 5-8) Departmentalized
• PEL with SENIOR HIGH endorsement (GRADES 9-12) Departmentalized
• PEL with ESL endorsement only (PRE-K-12)

13. WHAT IF I HAVE TAKEN SOME OF THE ESL AND/OR BILINGUAL COURSES AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY?

If you have taken courses with another university, you must first verify this coursework with ISBE. NLU cannot recommend candidates for Endorsement with courses taken at other institutions. To find out if non‐NLU coursework has met a state requirement, you have the following options:

Contact the prior university to find out which Endorsement requirements have been met.

Apply for the Endorsement in ELIS and ISBE will send you a list of deficiencies, if any.  With this information, NLU/IRC can work with you to determine the remaining required courses needed for the Endorsement.

14. HOW DO I EARN THE REQUIRED 100 CLINICAL HOURS FOR THE ENDORSEMENT(S)?

For each course, you will earn 20 clinical hours. Instructors may incorporate the clinical hours differently; some examples of possible assignments include: interviews, practicing lessons, visiting cultural museums, surveying the EL population in schools, etc. Clinical hours cannot be waived, and all students must participate. If a student is not currently teaching, the instructor will provide options to earn the required clinical hours.

15. WHO SHOULD I CONTACT FOR ENROLLMENT INFORMATION ABOUT COURSES TAKEN AT THE IRC?

Your first point of contact for enrollment information for courses held at the IRC is via email: IRCadmin@cntrmail.org or by calling 224.366.8555.

16. WHO SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE A COMPLAINT OR CONCERN WITH MY COURSES TAKEN AT THE IRC?

Your first point of contact for a concern with a course at the IRC is Rosie Garcia at rgarcia@cntrmail.org and/or Josie Yanguas at jyanguas@yahoo.com. 

17. WHERE CAN I FIND MY GRADES AND VIEW OTHER NLU RECORDS AND INFORMATION?

The coursework from your IRC courses will be recorded on your National Louis transcript. You can view your grades, request official transcripts, pay any bills with NLU and request your endorsement when completed through the NLU portal http://my.nl.edu. If you have been admitted to National Louis, you will receive your username and password from the Office of Admissions. If you are a Non‐Degree Seeking student or your admission to NLU is pending, you can obtain your username by contacting Academic Advising at advising@nl.edu. The Office of Information Technology recommends logging in through Google Chrome. You can then update your password. If you need additional help logging in, please call the help desk at 1‐866‐813‐1177.

18. HOW DO I OBTAIN MY ENDORSEMENT WHEN MY COURSEWORK AT THE IRC IS FINISHED?

If all coursework for the endorsement was taken at the IRC or NLU, the process to request a bilingual/ESL endorsement begins with NLU’s online form via the student portal. Please go to https://www.nl.edu/licensure/instructions/ for instructions. You should NOT apply in ELIS for the endorsement. Any student who applies directly to ISBE will have to wait significantly longer (usually 5‐6 months) for a transcript review to get the endorsement added.

19. HOW DO I CONTACT OFFICES AT NATIONAL LOUIS WITH QUESTIONS?

You can call the general call center at 847.947.5151 or find information about the university by visiting the following sites:

Admissions: https://nl.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions/

Transcript Requests: https://nl.edu/student-services/office-of-the-registrar/transcript-requests/

Curriculum & Instruction Master’s Degree information: https://nl.edu/national-college-of-education/programs/educational-leadership-programs/med-or-eds-in-curriculum-and-instruction/

Financial Aid and Grants: https://nl.edu/tuition-and-aid/

20. WHERE DO I FIND ADA INFORMATION?

Center for Student Accessibility Resources is committed to inclusion, accessibility, and equal opportunity for all students with disabilities at NLU. We provide accommodations to students with disabilities, as well as foster disability-inclusive excellence and success across our NLU community.  https://nl.edu/ada-accessibility-services/

21. WHAT IS THE TEACH GRANT, AND HOW DO I FIND FURTHER INFORMATION?

TEACH GRANT: Students who have applied to NLU and been admitted to M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with Advanced Professional Specializations programs may inquire about the TEACH GRANT. This grant may be available to qualified students for the courses taken through the IRC. Recipients must teach four years in a qualified school serving low‐income students to be eligible. Please visit this site for further information: https://nl.edu/tuition-and-aid/types-of-aid/grants/teach-grant/

22. WHAT DEGREE PROGRAMS AT NATIONAL LOUIS CAN MY IRC COURSEWORK APPLY TO?

The 18 semester hours of courses required for the ESL and BIL Endorsements can be applied to M.Ed. (or Ed.S.) degree in Curriculum and Instruction with Advanced Professional Specializations. More information about this program can be found at https://nl.edu/national-college-of-education/programs/educational-leadership-programs/med-or-eds-in-curriculum-and-instruction/

The program requires 30 ‐ 43 Semester Hours for the degree, depending on your concentrations. After completing the 18 hours required for the endorsement, a student is typically more than halfway to completion of the degree. Depending on how many courses are taken in a term, you may be able to complete the degree in 3‐5 quarters.

NLU policy requires that the master’s degree must be completed within six years of the first course towards the degree being taken. You would have six years from your first IRC course to earn the degree without an appeal for extension of time.

23. HOW DO I CONTACT AN ADVISOR ABOUT COURSES OR MORE INFORMATION?

If you have already applied to a degree program at National Louis, you should contact Academic Advising at advising@nl.edu or at 1‐800‐443‐5522 x5900. If you have not submitted an application for an M.ED. program, you should contact Enrollment at enrollment@nl.edu or 1‐888‐658‐8632, ext. 5668.

24. HOW DO I REGISTER FOR COURSES AT NATIONAL LOUIS UNIVERSITY WHEN I’M READY?

The course schedule for several upcoming terms can be found at http://www.nl.edu/course_schedule

If you know what courses you’d like to take, you can submit a registration request at https://www.nl.edu/registeronline.

If you have questions about what courses to take for your degree, you should contact Academic Advising at advising@nl.edu or 1‐800‐443‐5522, 5900.

25. WHERE CAN I TAKE THE NLU COURSES I NEED FOR MY DEGREE?

Most of the courses required for the M.Ed./EDS in Curriculum & Instruction can be taken in an online format.

IRC Registration and Payment Policy

IRC Registration and Payment Policy Registration deadline is 4 weeks prior to the starting date of each course based on space availability. Because of limited enrollment policies, registration will be taken on a first come, first served basis.  Please note that, once you attempt to register, your payment will be automatically processed. Should you cancel your registration, you will be refunded the full amount within 30 days, minus the non-refundable $75.00 deposit.

Registration for Fall semester must be paid the full amount of $670.00. Registration for all other semesters must be accompanied by a $75.00 nonrefundable deposit per course. Deposits cannot be applied toward any other courses in the event of cancellation by the participant.  After the second session of the course, there will be NO tuition refunds.

The remaining tuition balance (minus deposit) must be paid no later than four weeks prior to the course starting date. If full payment has not been received four weeks prior to the start date of the course, a student will be dropped from the class roster in order to accommodate others who may be on the waiting list. Please note that in addition to the IRC course registration, you will also need to register with National Louis University during the first class meeting of each course.  A representative from NLU may be available to assist you with this additional step.