Certificate Requirements

Certificate students take three or four courses: a second/foreign language teaching methods course, a course in second language acquistion, and an additional course or two, as described below. Students also complete a capstone project which may be a research paper, a materials development project, or an experiential practicum or portfolio.

The SFLT Graduate Certificate requires a minimum of 18 credits, consisting of coursework (13-15 credits) and the capstone project (3-5 credits). There are no restrictions on credit sharing between a graduate certificate and a graduate degree program. No credit sharing is allowed between multiple graduate certificates.

All Certificate courses must be taken for a grade, unless a course is only offered as credit/no credit, as is true for some of UW's teaching methods courses. Up to 5 credits may be at the 400-level.

For information on enrollment, approvals documentation, course substitutions, MyGrad notations, and getting the Certificate to appear on your transcript, see the section "Administrative Procedures."

Here is a detailed description of these requirements:

  1. One Course in Second or Foreign Language Teaching Methods:
    (Choose from among the following)
    • Asian 510: Teaching Asian Languages (5)
    • English 5721: Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language (5)
    • English 5751: Pedagogy and Grammar in Teaching English as a Second Language (5)
    • Education, Curriculum & Instruction 548 : Methods in Teaching English as a Second Language (4)
    • Education (EDTEP) 5882: Teaching World Languages in the Secondary School I (5)
    • Education (EDTEP) 5892: Teaching World Languages in the Secondary School II (3)
    • Japan 544 : Foreign Language Teaching in the Japanese Context: EFL in Japan and JFL in North America (5)
    • Near Eastern Languages and Civilization 595 : Modern Methods and Materials in Teaching Near Eastern Languages (3)
    • Romance Linguistics/German/Scandinavian/Slavic/Near Eastern 518 : Foreign Language Teaching Methodology. This 2-credit course is generally offered with a 3-credit companion course, as follows, to form a 5 credit course:
      • French 510: Methodology of French Language Teaching (3)
      • German 576: Modern Methods and Materials in Teaching German (3)
      • Scandinavian 594 : Modern Methods and Materials in Teaching Scandinavian and Baltic Languages (3)
      • Slavic 519 : Slavic Language Pedagogy (3)
    • Spanish 510: Methodology of Spanish Language Teaching (5)
    • Another course in Second or Foreign Language Teaching Methods , as approved by the SFLT Graduate Advisor and the SFLT Certificate Director
  2. One course on Second/Foreign Language Acquisition:
    (Choose from among the following)
    • Linguistics 549 : Second Language Learning (5)
    • English 571 : Theory and Practice on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (5)
    • Education, Curriculum & Instruction 545 : Multilingual Socialization and Development (3)
    • Japan 4411: The Acquisition of Japanese as a Second/Foreign Language (5)
    • Spanish 542 : Topics in Spanish Second Language Acquisition (5)
    • Another course on Second/Foreign Language Acquisition , as approved by the SFLT Graduate Advisor and the SFLT Certificate Director
  3. One or two additional courses (not from the Methods Course category) related to second language acquisition, teaching, or linguistic analysis3 of the language of specialization.

    Examples are shown below. (Two courses are required only if additional credits are needed to meet the 13 credit minimum coursework requirement. For courses which are not language specific, students should consult with the instructor about focusing on their language of specialization for course assignments and papers, wherever possible.)
    • Asian 503*: Seminar in Asian Linguistics (5)
    • Chinese 545: Seminar in Applied Linguistics (5)
    • Chinese 540: Seminar on Chinese Linguistics (5, max. 15)
    • Chinese 544: Chinese Dialectology (5, max. 15)
    • Chinese 442: The Chinese Language (5)
    • Chinese 443: Structure of Chinese (5)
    • English 574: Research Methods in SLA (5)
    • English 576: Testing and Evaluation in English as a Second Language (5)
    • Japanese 440: Introduction to Japanese Linguistics (5)
    • Japanese 441: The Acquisition of Japanese as a Second/Foreign Language (5) Note: This course is open to graduate students specializing in any foreign language, with permission. Contact instructor for details.
    • Japanese 443: Topics in Japanese Sociolinguistics (5)
    • Japanese 540: Seminar on Japanese Linguistics (3, max. 15)
    • Education, Curriculum & Instruction 542: Assessment of Second Language Students in K-12 schools (3)
    • Linguistics 580*: Problems in Linguistics (4)
    • MELC 457/557: Turkic Linguistics
    • MELC 560: Language and Ethnicity
    • Russian 451: Structure of Russian (5)
    • Scandinavian 460: History of the Scandinavian Languages (5) VLPA
    • Slavic 470: Special Topics in Slavic Linguistics (3-5, max. 15)
    • Slavic 550: Synchronic Slavic Linguistics (5)
    • Slavic 551: Introduction to the Study of Slavic Languages (5)
    • Slavic 570: Special Topics in Slavic Linguistics
    • Spanish 404: Dialects of World Spanish (5)
    • Spanish 407 / Spanish Linguistics 407: Bilinguism (5)
    • Spanish 541: Topics in Spanish Applied Linguistics (5)
    • Spanish 543: Heritage Language Learning and Teaching (5)
    • Turkic 542: Comparative and Historical Grammar of Turkic Languages (3)
    • Turkic 543: Comparative and Historical Grammar of Turkic Languages (3)
    • Independent Study or Research* (various numbers, such as ARAB 600, ASIAN 600, EDC&I 600, FRENCH 600, GERMAN 600, GREEK 600, HEBR 600, ITAL 600, LING 600, RUSS 600, SCAND 600, SLAVIC 600)
    • Another related course, as approved by the SFLT Graduate Advisor and the SFLT Certificate Director
    * when topic is related to second/foreign language teaching, second language acquisition, or analysis of the language of specialization.
  4. Capstone project (3-5 credits): The purpose of the capstone is to provide a deepening of professional expertise or practical experience, depending upon the needs and interests of the student, as determined by the student in consultation with the Capstone Advisor and SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisors. The final product will be an academic paper or portfolio.

    To arrange for a Capstone Project:
    1. Review the list of Core Faculty to consider who might serve as approvers of the completed Capstone. Two approvers are required, and both must be on the core faculty.
    2. Meet with the SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisor to discuss which type of capstone is most suitable and to consider potential Capstone Advisors and approvers. The SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisor may serve as Capstone Advisor, in which case the student must also appoint a second approver. Students may appoint a Capstone Advisor who is not a member of the core faculty, but in that case, two core faculty approvers are still required.
    3. Meet with the Capstone Advisor, and prepare a proposal that includes:
      • purpose and scope of the capstone
      • the tasks to be completed
      • the amount of time to be allotted (time allotted should be 9 hours per week for 3 credits, 12 hours per week for 4 credits, and 15 hours per week for 5 credits)
    4. Submit the proposal. The proposal must be approved by the Capstone Advisor, and also reviewed by the core faculty members who will serve as final approvers (see "a" and "b," above).
    5. Enroll in 3-5 credits of Linguistics 548 ''Capstone Project for the Graduate Certificate in Second/Foreign Language Teaching'', with the Capstone Advisor or SFLT Graduate Advisor as instructor. To do this, contact phoneme@uw.edu to request enrollment in LING 548. Please include your name, project title, number of credits, and the name of the core faculty member who has agreed to serve as instructor.
    6. The completed capstone must be approved by two core faculty members.

    Three types of capstone projects are possible:
    1. Research Paper: This project is most suitable for students who have research agenda they would like to explore based on previous Certificate coursework. The capstone research project involves original or library research in the area of second/foreign language pedagogy or second language acquisition, and writing of a high quality literature review or research paper. The topic should increase the student's academic expertise in this field.
    2. Materials Development: This project involves preparation of substantial original materials to teach the student's foreign language of specialization. Materials are to be presented in a portfolio containing: 1) a description of the materials included, the student population for whom they are intended, and how they are to be used, 2) the materials themselves. These materials must be authored by the student and of a substance and quantity consistent with the credit value of the capstone. They may include: lesson plans, instructional materials, such as listening materials, communication tasks, reading material with associated tasks, workbooks, powerpoint presentations, textbook chapters, technology-based materials, or other appropriate instructional materials. Materials must be original materials, not a collection of materials from other sources. Materials from other sources may be included, but sources must be approriately cited.
    3. Teaching Practicum and Portfolio: For this project, the student must link him/herself with a mentor teacher, with approval of the mentor teacher and the student's SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisor, whose classes s/he attends and observes, serving as a classroom volunteer, and assisting with materials development for the class. The experience must also involve assisting with classroom teaching. The final product of this practicum is a portfolio including classroom observation notes, materials developed, lesson plans for the lessons taught, and a memo from the mentor teacher providing written feedback and documentation of the student's participation in the teaching practicum.

  5. Administrative Procedures
    Along with fulfilling course and capstone requirements, in order to receive the Certificate, your courses and capstone approvals must be entered into MyGrad. To make this easy for you, we have a Tracking & Approvals form that lays out the steps. You will submit everything to Paul Aoki, who does the notations in MyGrad.
    Please note the following:
    1. Course exceptions must be approved by two core faculty, generally the SFLT Graduate Certificate advisor and the program chair, Amy Ohta. Keep approval emails to submit with your Tracking & Approvals form.
    2. To document approval of your Capstone by two core faculty approvers, have them send you their approval by email. Forward the email, with approver cc’d, to Paul Aoki. Write the approvers names on your Tracking and Approvals form. Save the approval emails to submit to Paul Aoki.
    3. Paul Aoki does the MyGrad notations. Please submit your completed form and documentation via email. Paul is also glad to meet with you in person to do the notations.
    4. Earning of the Certificate is documented with a notation on your transcript after Paul has completed all notations into MyGrad. If you need a letter documenting your completion and the general content of the program, please contact Amy Ohta. The program does not issue an actual paper certificate.
    5. Questions? Please ask your SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisor, the program chair Amy Ohta, or Paul Aoki.
  1. Graduate students specializing in any language are welcome.
  2. Students who are not in the College of Education's Teacher Education Program (TEP) should contact the instructor for permission to enroll.
  3. Students specializing in linguistics, whose coursework already consists of courses in linguistic analysis, should take a course with applied linguistics or pedagogy-related content, as approved by the SFLT Graduate Certificate Advisor. Students whose programs substantially overlap with the SFLT Graduate Certificate may not enroll (only 6 credits of overlap in coursework are permitted).