Why This Summer May Be the Right Time for You to Earn Your Illinois ESL Endorsement

Published: February 11, 2025

Author: T. Sunderland

Why This Summer May Be the Right Time for You to Earn Your Illinois ESL Endorsement It’s said that teachers don’t have the summer off; they just do a year’s worth of work in 10 months! If you’re one of these masters of efficiency, you can maximize your time even more by:

pursuing your endorsement in Teaching English as a Second Language this summer,
learning how to help all students in your classroom, but especially those students who may speak/read/write in more than one language,
improving your marketability in the process, and,
positioning yourself for professional advancement.

Whether you already teach or are preparing to teach, here are five reasons to make this summer count by completing your ESL training.

#1 Illinois schools need ESL-trained teachers.

Students whose first language may not be English need instructors who understand the language process.

In 2018, the number of students statewide whose native language is not English jumped from a previous 4.4 percent to 12.1 percent of the total PreK-12 population in the state.
From 2010 to 2016, the number of teacher candidates enrolled in and completing teacher preparation programs dropped 53 percent.
Twelve percent of teacher vacancies statewide are linked to bilingual education.

The state’s strategy for addressing its TESL teacher shortage has included recruiting retired teachers, which clearly indicates that the market is good for TESL-trained teachers.

Illinois’s large immigrant population, much of which is positioned in the Chicagoland area, has resulted in a growing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) and plentiful opportunities for the state’s ESL teachers. According to the American Immigration Council, Illinois’ growing number of foreign-born citizens, most of whom hail from Mexico, are vital to the state's economic vitality. More than one in six workers in Illinois and about one-third of all business owners in the Chicago metro area are immigrants.

As seen in the statistics above, a large immigrant population translates into an equally large number of ELLs. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there were 228,640 ELLs in Illinois in 2018. That number has increased significantly today.

Illinois continues struggling to educate its ELL population, as the U.S. Department of Education reported teacher shortages in ESL, Bilingual Education, and Bilingual Special Education as of the 2021-2022 school year.

Illinois’ challenges have resulted in outstanding opportunities for educators who have focused their careers on teaching ELLs.

#2 Illinois law requires ESL- or bilingual-trained teachers.

By law:

When 20 or more students share a native language other than English, Illinois schools must provide bilingual instruction.
When one to 19 non-native English-speaking students populate a classroom, Illinois schools must supply ESL instruction.

Teachers equipped with ESL endorsements stand ready to bridge the gap between the student’s native language and the English language to meet the needs of all learners within the classroom.

They build relationships with the students’ families and help all families continue to learn.

#3 You can make significant progress toward the ESL endorsement this summer.

Teachers pursued ESL endorsement in prior years by adding evening and weekend ESL classes to schedules already packed with hefty teaching loads and family obligations. They might finish the program in one year if they complete the courses in the proper sequence without missing a beat. Not surprisingly, the time commitment presented barriers for many.

All online courses provide greater flexibility today. Better yet, when you can complete several online courses in one summer-like you can at Greenville University, save time, help your ELL students by the next school year, and reduce stress throughout the regular school year.

#4 Meet pressing community needs as you pursue professional development.

Ultimately, teaching affords you opportunities to impact your community positively. Teaching in a high-need subject area like English as a Second Language maximizes your impact. At the same time, the credits you earn for your endorsement easily transfer toward a master’s in TESL.

#5 The skills you develop will help you navigate immediate challenges in your classroom.

Best of all, you can immediately apply the skills you learn in your classroom. One in five schoolchildren speaks a language other than English at home. That means 20 percent of the students in your classroom will likely benefit from the language boost you give them as you deliver lessons. You will help them understand the fundamentals of English so that they improve their comprehension lesson-by-lesson, day-by-day, and ultimately succeed. Understanding the language process and helping our ELL students and families also helps our native English speakers understand different cultures, traditions, languages, and communities.

Additionally, strategies for teaching English language learners help ALL students learn better, so you will build instructional practices that serve students from all backgrounds more effectively.