Teaching ESOL to Adults with Limited Literacy (TEALL) Certificate 

With the support of the Office of the Mayor, the New York City Council, and the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Literacy Assistance Center offered the TEALL Certificate Program at no cost to all participants who were selected for 2019-20.

We have made the difficult decision not to offer TEALL in 2020-21. Our feeling was that the course works best when participants are able to observe and practice in a face-to-face ESOL literacy classroom, which may not be possible this year. 
​The information below is for your reference.  Click here to be informed about future TEALL courses.

Course Description 
This certificate program provides insight into the needs of adult English Language Learners who have minimal first language literacy. The course addresses questions such as:
  • Where do you start?
  • How are these learners’ needs different from other adult learners?
  • How can you create engaging activities when their skills are so minimal?
  • What does the research say about best practices in teaching adult English language literacy learners?

Format 
Participants attend 27 hours of in-person classes, in addition to 80 hours of study and reflection online as part of a professional community of practice. 

Course Objectives & Outcomes 
By the end of the course, participants will be able to identify the needs of literacy learners and will be able to create evidence-based instruction for learners in both literacy and multi-level English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classrooms. The course features a range of activities including classroom discussion, hands-on activities, and observations of ESOL literacy classes, as well as an online component that allows participants to reflect on assigned readings and material presented during in-person meetings.  

Participant Expectations
To receive a certificate in this course, participants must attend all in-person sessions, participate in online forums, and complete all required activities and assignments. One component of the course will be developing and implementing a project with their ESOL literacy learners. Those not currently teaching literacy learners will be assigned to co-teach in a literacy level classroom for 15 to 20 hours.

Admission requirements
Admission to this program is by application. It is open only to individuals who
  1. have either a TESOL certificate OR a Bachelor's or Master's degree in TESOL and
  2. are currently teaching adult ESOL in NYC. ​

Class Sessions - Saturdays
March 21, 2020 11:00 - 3:00
March 28, 2020 11:00 - 3:00
April 11, 2020 11:00 - 3:00
April 18, 2020 11:00 - 3:00
May 2, 2020 11:00 - 3:00
May 16, 2020 10:00 - 5:00

Note: The LAC is offering two courses this Spring, Advanced Strategies in ESOL and TEALL. Applicants may only apply to one of these two programs. 

Instructor Bios 

William Linn is the ESOL Specialist and Coordinator of ESOL Certificate Programs at the Literacy Assistance Center. In addition to leading ESOL professional development and curriculum design projects, he is one of the two facilitators of the LAC’s Teaching English as a Second Language to Adults (TESLA) course, the Foundations of Adult Education course, and the Teaching English to Adults with Limited Literacy (TEALL) course. William has also taught English Applied Linguistics at the SIT Graduate Institute where he received his MA in TESOL in 2011. Will holds a certificate in Compassionate Communication for Language Teachers from the Institute for Collaborative Learning in Costa Rica. He started teaching ESOL at community organizations in 2008 and became a licensed ESOL teacher educator in 2015.

Judy Trupin, Senior ESOL Fellow, was previously the director of ESOL certificate programs at the Literacy Assistance Center. She continues to work with the LAC, sharing her expertise on curriculum development and research-based strategies for teaching ESOL. Judy has been an ESOL adult educator for nearly 30  years, and has worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, trainer, and administrator. She has taught all levels of ESOL from basic literacy through advanced.  Judy is a nationally certified trainer for the BEST Plus assessment, holds New York State K-12 ESOL certification and an M.S. in Teaching ESOL, and is a certified yoga instructor.


To learn more about the content of the TEALL course, please contact William Linn at Willl@lacnyc.org.

Info about TEALL

Please click the button below to be informed about future offerings of the TEALL course.

Digital Literacy

The LAC Academy's online learning platform, Moodle, offers participants the opportunity to build on their digital literacy skills. Skills covered in Modules 1, 2, and 4 of this assessment are particularly important in an online learning environment. Each module begins with very basic tasks, but stick with it, they get more challenging! Assess your Digital Literacy skills here