Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Head of the Program: Karen Abel

karen.abel@beitberl.ac.il

Admissions Office: meida@beitberl.ac.il

As the distance between global and local becomes shorter, the demand for English as an additional language is constantly growing throughout the world in general and in Israel in particular, and with it - the demand for teachers who are trained in this field. Our program caters to three different populations:

Bachelors in Education (B.Ed.) with a specialization in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Post-Graduate Teaching Certificate (PGCT) for holders of undergraduate or graduate degrees from an accredited university.
Retraining program for practicing teachers (i.e., of another school subject) who wish to obtain a teaching certificate in English.

Our teacher-training program offers certification in three tracks:

Elementary school – 1st to 6th grades
Jr and High school – 7th – 10th grades
Multiple- age - 1st -10th grades

We offer a wide range of courses, all taught in English, in the fields of:

Language Teaching Methodology
Literacy
English Language and Linguistics
English Literature and Culture

About the faculty

Our faculty and pedagogical advisors are all experts in various fields connected with teacher training and English. They are all active practitioners and published scholars with a wide range of research interests:

Language acquisition
Language policy
Learning disabilities and foreign language acquisition
Teacher cognition and assessment
Multilingualism
British and American literature
Applied linguistics

Certificate Program for Tutors

In addition to our certification program, we offer a certificate program for tutors.

This unique, hands-on program prepares graduates for tutoring or teaching English in small groups at the primary, secondary and adult levels. Areas of study include:

Business English
Creativity and innovation in language teaching (including material development and assessment)
Distance learning
English grammar and pedagogical grammar
Intermediate and advanced learners
Language teaching methodology for beginners
Matriculation exams
Remedial teaching
Teaching English for special purposes
Teaching native English speakers

Program components

Teaching Practicum

One or two days a week, students participate in the practical teaching experience, according to their chosen teacher-training track. They get to observe as well as participate in teaching lessons within the PDS (Professional Development School) model. Students work on long-term projects that involve collaboration between students, mentor teachers and pedagogical advisors.

Online Courses

Our program allows students to participate in a variety of learning environments and experience different instructional delivery methods. Distance education is an integral part of our program in order to provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and strategies required for online teaching and learning. Additionally, this mode of instruction allows students to study some of the courses on their own schedule.

Scholarships

English is one of the preferred subjects of the Israeli Ministry of Education. Students studying in the English Department towards a teaching certificate may be eligible for a scholarship. Please check the criteria for eligibility and exact amounts of scholarships. Additionally, the English Department offers a number of merit scholarships and awards based on academic achievements, diligence and community service.

Learning Environment

We give students personal guidance and support in both the coursework and practical experience. The small class sizes, flexible schedules and excellent teaching make our teacher education program unique. Our online journals highlight some recent student and departmental achievements. Please feel free to read additional details about the English Department at Beit Berl College and our online journals.

On-campus accommodation is available.