[quote="PsyGuy"]When it come to ESL teachers ISs look for someone that's certified with a state certificate and have ESL experience in a K-12 school. Very few people actually get a degree in ESL, until a masters, because there aren't many universities that offer it. your schools added endorsement in ESL sounds like a minor and will be fine.

A K-12 ESL certificate normally doesn't let you teach English Lit, but with advance enough students your ESL class could look and be run like a regular English Lit class.

You could major in English Lit and get your degree in that and then do the minor in ESL to add that endorsement, and that wold be a nice marketable combination.

What the schools statement means is that there education department can certify you in the core subjects, of English, math, science, and social studies, but they don't have an initial certification in ESL, so to be an ESL teacher you can take their added endorsement area and after you get your certificate in English lit immediately add the ESL endorsement. You just can't do ESL by itself.[/quote]

That sounds very encouraging! I'm excited about this. That's what I'll do. I'll major in English lit. & take the additional courses w/ the Master's program to earn my ESL endorsement.

One question about that: It does state that to obtain the endorsement while in the Master's program, you need to take 6 credits for a foreign language. Do you think it'll make me more marketable to major in English lit w/ a minor in French & take the additional courses within the Master's program to obtain my ESL endorsement?

Also, when I do student teaching/look for jobs in the States, what should I do exactly? Should I student teach/find work as an English lit. teacher or as an ESL teacher? How would I go about gaining IB experience-I'm not sure that IB schools offer an ESL class here. Not sure what'll be more marketable for me to do...

[quote="ringler24"]I have the same license from New York State/ city. It only qualifies you to work with ELLs, not high school English. I mean I can work with high schoolers but I would be their ESL teacher not their English teacher. I would be really surprised if an Inernational school would consider you qualified to teach any kind of Enlish literature or high school English. The license and experience does not prepare you for that.[/quote]

Thank you for clearing that up. I misunderstood what she said.

After looking into it furthur, it looks like my school doesn't even offer an ESL program, anyway.
It appears that I will have to major in English for my Bachelor's degree and while I'm earning my Master's in Teaching I will need to enroll in additional courses to simply receive an ESL endorsement. Not sure how helpful that will be. PsyGuy said that international schools look for a degree in ESL, which isn't offered at my school.

I was able to find this:
The School of Education offers the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) ESL K-12 endorsement for pre-service and in-service teachers.
You can earn the endorsement by planning with an advisor to incorporate the ESL courses into an existing Master’s or certificate program or pursue the endorsement only as a non-degree seeking student. The ESL endorsement program at VCU requires 18 credit hours of ESL coursework and 6 credit hours of a foreign language

My school is confusing me, though.

This is what my school's prgram says:
Master Of Teaching

Concentration in Secondary Education

These programs prepare the student for a career as a secondary school teacher — grades six through 12. Teaching endorsements are available in English, history/social studies, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry and earth science. An added endorsement is available in English as a second language.

It looks like it doesn't offer strictly an ESL degree. It says ESL is offered as an added endorsement. What does this mean exactly? I am so confused and sometimes the school takes a while to reply.

I just heard back from a teacher in an international school in Beirut! She gave me some info on her experience teaching, which I didn't know!

This is copy/pasted from a portion of her email:
ESL vs. English:
I have my masters in ESL and the certificate I got in NYC if for grades K-12 meaning I can virtually teach anything from a self contained classroom at the elementary level to a high school English class. It's very versatile! I think ESL is a huge bonus to have because all schools have ELLs these days and that will just be one leg up on the competition if you can teach them. Also, if you are looking to go international, at least some portion of the kids won't have English as first language so you can use your ESL credentials as a selling point.

I had NO IDEA that I could major in ESL instead and be able to teach ESL and English in the international school setting. This is awesome!

[quote="dutchschultz"]As someone who is certified in the state of Virginia let me give you the correct information regarding licensure since much of what PsyGuy states is incorrect.

First off, what you need to obtain original licensure depends on the program that you complete. For example, in order to get certified at VCU you must complete all subject coursework that the VA Dept. of Education states as being needed, whereas other programs will get you licensed in any field that you can pass the Praxis II content test in. You take education courses in these programs but they don't care whether you have an undergraduate major in the content area or not. I know a guy who has an MBA but will get certification in biology and social studies. He wasn't a biology major but was able to pass the Praxis II. This guy will choose to student teach in both areas or will choose one area to student teach in.

In the state of Virginia you can add any other endorsement to your license through testing except special education, elementary education, and ESL. These three endorsements require coursework and special education and elementary education require additional tests. There is no Praxis II test for ESL in the state of Virginia.

The scores needed to pass the Praxis II content tests in Virginia are some of the highest in the nation. You can check out www.ets.org/praxis to see what scores are needed and to see the basics about the tests. That being said you only need about an 80% on the Praxis II to pass in Virginia. For example, the passing score in social studies is 161, with the highest score being 200, whereas West Virginia requires a 148.

Teachers receive either a collegiate professional license or a postgraduate professional license. A postgraduate professional license is given when an applicant has a master's degree (doesn't matter in what) versus only having a bachelor's degree for the collegiate license. They are both valid for 5 years and in order to recertify a teacher needs to do 180 hours of professional development. If you have a collegiate license then you must take a class either in the content area or education; this class is worth 90 points. Thus, a person could take 2 courses and get recertified. You should realize that most schools do professional development and you can get paperwork for this PD and it will count towards your recertification.[/quote]

Thank you so much for the information! It is just so much information that they provided on the website, so I think you for explaining it in a way that I can understand.

[quote="PsyGuy"]@dutchschultz

No, it's pretty correct, your post confirms most of what I wrote. Thanks for the deeper info though what Virginia will and will not accept as PD towards recertification. All states are different and mine was a general response, not specific to Virginia.

@futureteacher

Primary has a lot of demand, but it's a very saturated teacher pool. Many schools save primary positions for teaching couples early in the recruiting season. Typically, one teacher will be in something like math, science, computers and the other in primary. It would be very hard and I wouldn't advise becoming a primary teacher with your family situation. There would be far too many teachers that wold be cheaper to hire.[/quote]

Thanks, PsyGuy! You have been extremly helpful and patient with answering all of my questions. You are appreciated!!

I have one more questions.

As far as student teaching goes, does a governor school for government & international studies hold the same weight as an IB school? Just wondering.

[quote="vaellteacher"]I have noticed over the years that there are more job openings for Math and Science positions than English and Social Studies.
If I asked around my state side school employees what are the needs area they would also say Math and Science and there are fewer jobs for English or Social Studies. As we can see when we go to our school district website and the posted job openings.
In fact, I THINK there are loan programs that will forgive part of your school loan if you teach in a high needs area which I DO NOT THINK includes Social Studies and English.
Now in the states there are more openings for Reading Teachers which is different that English Teachers.
When I went to the IS job fair this year the posted postions behind the schools were mostly for Math and Science and English and Social Studies were just a few. There were Economics positions. I do not recall any Special Education postions but there also seemed to be a need for Elem teachers. Of course I do not have the actual data to support any of this, just the experience in the school system and at the IS job fair this year.[/quote]

Hmm, interesting. Do you think it would be better for me to land a job as an elementary teacher in stead of secondary? I heard some ppl say elementary teachers ar enot in demand, but then some websites say the job outlook is good and projected to grow. Any info on that?

[quote="ringler24"]I think questions specific to your program of study as an undergraduate and feasibility of double majoring/minoring and such should be directed at your academic advisor. No one on here knows the ins and outs of your degree program, but your advisor does.[/quote]

That's what I was just thinking, lol. I am getting carried away here. I will reach out to my advisor and see what they think.

[quote="ringler24"]You should contact Search directly for a solid answer on this but I would think doing the Sarch internship might not be possible with children because their are visas involved. Even if you fully covered the expenses of having your kids with you they still would need a visa to reside abroad and I'm doubtful schools would sponsor dependents if it's only for an internship.[/quote]

Ok, I will do that. Thank you!

[quote="PsyGuy"]*Ugh* I feel the same way, but its true in EVERY subject. I know so many teachers that know the material for the course very well, but anything beyond that and they are completely loss. Its not just new teachers either, its the veteran teachers, who never restudy or approach their subject again. I have to blame schools for some of it though as well, the bulk of PD tends to focus on teaching (methodology/pedagogy) and not content.[/quote]

What subject do you teach, if you don't mind me asking?

[quote="PsyGuy"]@Walter

Because its not stupid, and your logic is flawed. walter just doesnt know what hes talking about.

English teachers have about as much demand as social studies/humanities teachers do. Its not really that complex. Yes core subject areas are the largest in a school, but the humanities (including english) have much lower turnover, and fewer vacancies, per year.

@FutureTeacher33

Gosh thats a lot of questions to reply too.

Its going to be hard for you to get your foot in the door with your family situation, no matter what field you choose to teach in. You of course have a better chance at getting into a third tier school, or a school in an undesirable area like the middle east. Really the best option for you may very well be to stay stateside for 5 years building up your experience. If you could do it at an IB school and/or in an AP program that would increase your marketability substantially. Its just so much harder and a more saturated market for those with only around 2 years experience.

You can add other endorsement and certification areas, but generally a certificate only gets you an interview. Schools want to see that you have actual experience teaching. If your an english teacher with 5 years experience and you get an endorsement in Physics, and have never taught it thats not going to overly impress a recruiter. In that situation you go into the same pile as the other newbies. They may need you, but your not going to be a strong candidate. Your best options are to stick with something you do and do well, and show a recruiter/school how those skills and experience will add value to the schools program, and benefit students. Adding complimenting endorsements for english could include drama, speech, journalism. They would increase your marketability at small schools that wouldnt justify a full time teacher. You dont really need any course hours in these fields though to add the certification endorsement. You dont need a certification to be proficient in technology, you could get a technology education certification, but you just need to demonstrate to a recruiter during an interview that you have the skills.

The bulk of marketable extra curricular activities either involve ESL or sports/athletics though. Its the drama ;teacher" that does the school productions, and the music 'teacher' that handles the recitals. The PE teacher usually handles the major sports as well. An extra curricular for an english teacher might be: School paper, yearbook, speech/debate, literary guild, creative writing club, etc.
Many teachers just do english corner or tutoring in their subject area.

Special ed (SPED) is a odd situation. In a number of middle eastern and asian cultures, those with disabilities are not provide opportunities in their culture. Usually these students are taken care of by the family or if the family has money in special schools. The vast majority of ISs are private schools, they dont get government aid, and so they are funded by tuition. Special education programs are expensive, so that means to fund them parents have to pay, and there usually isnt a demand at small schools to justify the expense. the schools that do supply SPED are typically the large ISs and the top tier schools. This means that if your a SPED teacher your much more likely to be hired at a top tier school (one that would have less a problem with your family situation), but the lower end of the market there is almost no demand at all, which means you could find yourself unemployed or unemployable. Even at the big schools, they dont do SPED programs to the standards required by the USA department of education.

Thats the thing with fine arts positions there is demand but you have to have a very special skill set. Yes, you need to be proficient in both 2D and 3D art mediums, to be a credible art teacher. You cant just get by on art history and culture. You have to be able to draw, paint, and sculpt, sorry (and it would help if you could do digital as well).
There is a demand for everything, but field like art which may have trouble filling positions, dont have a lot of demand in numbers. A small school might have only one art teacher, compared to the english department which could have 4 or more. That reduces the odds of getting hired. The major problem though in fields like art and music is that in the states there is zero demand, and without any demand, you cant get a job to build the experience you need to get into an international school. You could be subbing for a decade as an art teacher waiting for a full time position. Art, music, dance and other fine art teachers are essentially artists that need a regular pay check. If its not your thing, your not going be a very successful teacher at it.

Schools and recruiters are too busy to reply to questions that dont involve viable teaching candidates. You may be lucky and get a few brief replies, but they arent going to offer you much in the way of real consideration or building a a relationship.
You should start your job application process at the start of the year you will be certified in at the end of it. So if you are looking for a job in 2013/2014, you should start during the summer of 2012. IS recruiting season starts in November (late October).

Most ISs arent really bilingual (unless your at a specific bilingual school) the vast majority of them the medium of instruction is english. Its important to make the difference that in 'english' there is english literature (which is what I assume you are perusing) and ESL/EFL which is teaching english as a language. They are very different (though have about the same demand in ISs).

Being familiar with technology is pretty important, but at your age I have to imagine you probably already are. There are a number of veteran teachers who barely know how to use word, and check their email. They dont know how to use a projector or word, and a smart board would become an expensive coat rack in their room.
We are moving away from powerpoint and towards video as the new technology standard. educating yourself on the various Google tools, and apple iLife/iWork applications is good advice.

Teach for America and the various teaching fellows programs (programs in Texas, New York, DC, etc), are basically the elite alternative certification programs, they get you certified.
Its possible you could teach in the Peace Corp, but unless you were interested in teaching for DODEA, your preference isnt of much use in the IS market. No more then any other study abroad experience would be. Its not going to add any marketability for you.

When it comes to IB there is a big difference between training and experience. Generally training is better then nothing, but no amount of training is going to equal any amount of experience, and what schools look for is IB experience. You get experience by teaching at an IB school. It would really help you if you could do your student teaching at an IB school, and you should try for a placement at such a school if you can. Getting into an IB school as soon as possible in your career would improve your marketability. If you cant get into an IB school, getting a student teaching placement with an AP english teacher who teaches AP english classes would be the next advice.
There is an IB teacher award which is a sort of 'pseudo' certification. in my experience it doesnt add much to a teachers resume, either they already have IB experience and the award doesnt really help them on their resume, or they dont have experience and it adds very little. A number of schools offer the program as a graduate level certificate, and a few offer it at the undergrad level (there is one in the USA and one in australia). You can take them as part of a certificate program or as bart of a degree, typically in international education (George Mason University in Virginia has such a program), you can find the school list here:

----://www.ibo.org/programmes/pd/award/

Your list of minors is perplexing, my comments are:

1) Computer Science: Even as a minor, you will need to have to do some programing. That means math, and do you even like programing? I sense you dont, so I cant recommend this. Im sure your school already has a computer/technology proficiency requirement, and technology changes so fast, that by the time you graduate what ever coursework you had would be outdated.

2) German, Spanish, French, Portuguese: Like all foreign languages unless you major in it, and are committed to developing and maintaining your language proficiency over a lifetime, its not going to add very much to your resume. Without using it on a daily basis, you will loose any proficiency you gain very quickly.

3) Writing, Creative Writing: Same thing and if you have a degree/major in English you will likely already have a course or two in creative writing. A creative writing minor is really just a minor that says, i didnt have a minor and wanted the easiest possible minor I could do.

4) Philosophy/Religious Studies: Every year there are a couple vacancies at Christian schools for a religious studies teacher, often part time in conjunction with another field. to really be a viable candidate they would have to want you for something else, or else you would need to be a social studies/humanities teacher as well. You could leverage philosophy into a TOK (thats Theory of Knowledge in the IB program), but again thee are only a couple vacancies a year, and are only offered to those who already have lots of IB experience, meaning you need to have taught something else before moving into TOK. Usually the Psychology teacher moves into the TOK position.

5) Foundations of Special Education: This is probably the most marketable one. As a minor youd be OK as an entry level special education teacher, and youd obtain a skill set that would help you in any classroom. Many ITs (international teachers) have undiagnosed, or unserved special needs children in their classroom.

If i understand correctly, your asking if your husbands career can afford all the expenses of your family, would that effectively reduce the number of dependents, and make you more marketable?
It may make you more marketable, but from a recruiters point of view I would say no, because i only see two ways it works:
1) Your husband gets posted overseas, and your applying as a local hire really, thats doable. The issue though is then your following your husband, and really only have the local schools to choose from, if they need an english teacher, then they may consider you, but then you dont really have a recruiting job search issue anymore.
2) What your really offering is to under cut or under bid the other applicants. At some of the third tier school that might work, but at the other schools such a strategy would work, and would cause problems when the other teachers find out (and they will). The other issue is that you would really be negotiating away benefits that have out of pocket value. Basically your dependents cost more to a school in the following categories: Airfare, Tuition, Insurance, and Housing. Airfare is the easiest, as you could absorb the cost of flying out your family yourself. Tuition isnt really feasible. where are your kids going to go to school, and can you pay tuition at the school yourself. That could easily come out to 1-2 months salary per child. Can you work for free for half the year just or the job. Insurance is the same, you need insurance for your family and you cant really do without it. Youd have to pay out of salary to the school for the premiums. Housing is the same, usually schools give a fixed amount, or provide a certain size apartment. All youd be doing is subsidizing the difference our of salary.
In all those situations what your really doing is just offering to do the job for the school at a lower salary then a comparable candidate. Even so there are some things like visas, the school cant get around, and as other posters have said, the only real message you would be sending to the school is that your desperate.

When it comes to tiers in rating a school, they are only helpful when comparing schools within the same region. So you can compare the schools in Lebanon (Beirut) to one another and there is going to be a tier one school among them, but you cant compare a tier 1 school in Lebanon to a tier 1 school in Italy, or South America and say that they are the same.

South/Central america is friendlier when it comes to families, but in general the salaries are low, about $15-$20 thousand a year. Its fine on the local economy, but it takes forever to save, and you end up leaving with very little.

Search does accept interns and many of them are paid. Its similar to student teaching, accept in student teaching you work with another teacher on a daily basis for a semester. Your kind of like an assistant teacher, and do a lot of teachers aid type things. An internship (being an intern) is a year long position where you are mentored by another teacher but you pretty much run your own class, or perform other duties independently.[/quote]

Thanks for your response! I wasn't expecting one person to answer all of my questions, but it is appreciated.

5 years stateside isn't too much longer, I may consider doing that. And that is great advice to do my student teaching in an IB school. I will look into that right away! I have an Introduction to Teacher Prep course this fall where we get introduced to teaching as a profession and complete 10 hours of classroom observation. So, I will research some IB schools in my area and decide on one to do my student teaching and observation, that way I can build a relationship with them and possibly better my chances of securing a job there!

As far as special ed, these are the requirements to be certified in my state:

8VAC20-22-540. Special education – general curriculum K-12.
Endorsement requirements: The candidate must:
1. Have graduated from an approved program in special education – general curriculum; or
2. Have completed a major in special education – general curriculum or 27 semester hours in the education of students with disabilities distributed in the following areas:
a. Core coursework: 12 semester hours distributed among the following areas:
(1) Foundations – characteristics that include knowledge of the foundation for educating students with disabilities;
(2) Foundations – legal aspects that include an understanding and application of the legal aspects, regulatory requirements, and expectations associated with identification, education, and evaluation of students with disabilities;
(3) Assessment and management of instruction and behavior that includes an understanding and application of the foundation of assessment and evaluation related to best special education practice; of service delivery, curriculum, and instruction of students with disabilities; and of classroom management techniques and individual interventions; and
(4) Collaboration that includes skills in consultation, case management, and collaboration.
b. General curriculum coursework: 15 semester hours distributed in the following areas:
(1) Characteristics: 6 semester hours. Skills in this area shall include the ability to demonstrate knowledge of definitions, characteristics, and learning and behavioral support needs of students with disabilities who are accessing the general education curriculum at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, including but not limited to, students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, mental retardation; developmental delay; autism; other health impaired; traumatic brain injury; and multiple disabilities;
(2) Individualized Education Program Implementation: 6 semester hours. Skills in this area include the ability to apply knowledge of assessment
58
and evaluation throughout the K-12 grade levels to construct, use, and interpret a variety of standardized and nonstandardized data collection techniques; to make decisions about student progress, instruction, program, accommodations, placement, and teaching methodology for students with disabilities who are accessing the general education curriculum and the standards of learning; and to demonstrate the use of assessment, evaluation, and other information to develop and implement individual educational planning and group instruction with students with disabilities who are accessing the general education curriculum across the K-12 grade levels.
(3) Transitioning: 3 semester hours. Skills in this area include the ability to prepare students and work with families to provide successful student transitions throughout the educational experience to include postsecondary training, employment, and independent living which addresses an understanding of long-term planning, career development, life skills, community experiences and resources, self-advocacy, and self-determination, guardianship and legal considerations.

So, with minoring in Foundations of Special Ed, I do not know if I will meet the requirements to be fully certified. But then again, you did mention that the requirements here in the U.S. are not the sam for international schools. So, do you believe a minor would be enough for me to be able to work as an entry level special ed teacher internationally?And do you think it's a good idea to emphasize this to a recruiter/during an interview that many ITs (international teachers) have undiagnosed, or unserved special needs children in their classroom to make myself more marketable as a hire w/ dependants? Or would saying something like that just make them upset?

This is what the minor entails at the university I'm attending (copy/pasted from the official website):

The minor provides an opportunity to explore the field of special education and disabilities, for focused investigation of human behavior within the context of educational institutions or explorations related to possible or real career needs. Completion of this minor does not result in licensure or endorsement for teaching in the commonwealth of Virginia.

The minor requires a minimum of 21 semester hours. If one or more of these courses is taken to satisfy a general studies requirement or a major requirement, it may also be counted toward the minor.



EDUS 300 Foundations of Education

3



EDUS 301 Human Development and Learning or EDUS/PSYC 305 Educational Psychology

3



TEDU 330 Survey of Special Education

3



Selectives (select any four):•TEDU 444 Introduction to Learning Disabilities
•TEDU 531 Collaboration and Special Education Law
•EMOD 400 Characteristics of Children/ Adolescents with Emotional Disturbance
•MNRT 400 Characteristics of Children and Youth with Mental Retardation
•HPEX 431 Adaptive Physical Education
•TEDU 541 Infants and Young Children with Special Needs

And as far as my subject specialty, yes, I am pursuing english literature, not ESL. However one day, I may work towards obtaining my TEFL certificate.

As far as minoring in religious studies, I know there are other international schools that are religious based, would that minor put me at an advantage in those sorts of schools? Also, there is a minor that I forgot to mention that is Arabic studies or something like that. Do you think that sort of minor will put me at an advantage since I'm looking to secure a position in Beirut? Aside from that, being that Lebanon is in the middle east, do you think in general I have a good chance of being accepted that? Or do they receive more applicants that I may think?

When I mentioned my husband, I was not saying that! No way! There is just a misunderstanding here, lol. I am saying that if a school offers this package that is not 'family-friendly' and wishes not to hire teaches with multiple dependants because it's a burden on the school financially, then I was proposing that I accept the offer as is and anything that is NOT covered by the package, my husband and I can provide for ourselves. Like, if the kids are not covered under health insurance at the school, we can take care of that. Do you understand what I'm saying? I know we're communicating by typing so I know things can get misunderstood.

In addition to student teaching at an IB school here in the States, it sounds like I great idea to do an internship with an agency like Search. But with doing an internship, would that also be hard for me to accomplish because I will still have my family who would need to come with me?

Thanks again!

I'm not sure how possible it is for me to double major, since I am already in a dual degree program for teaching.

Would a double major in French still be possible? If so, do you think it'll take me more years to complete?

[quote="PsyGuy"]First understand that a bachelors degree is about 120 credit hours. About 30 of those hours are general education classes, another 30 are major hours, and about 60 are electives. So your degree in your major what ever you choose it to be is only about 25% of your total degree hours. A major is a very rigidly defined sequence of courses that includes lower division (freshman and sophomore courses) and upper division courses (Junior and Senior courses).

A double major is just taking the major requirement courses within the same level of degree (Bachelors level). For instance a double major in English and a Foreign Language means you have 2 advisors, one in english and one in a foreign language. You take the courses required for both majors. It requires very little organization and collaboration from the school to do this, and one problem is that the higher level course may only be offered once every two years, and only a single section which could cause scheduling conflicts if you have to take two required courses at the same time. Most people double major in very closely related fields, that are often in the same department, such as a dual major in economics and political science. Double majors are common in pre professional programs such as medicine and law. So a student might dual major in Pre-Med and Biology, or Pre-Law and History. Its uncommon for someone to double major in something like English and Physics.

So in a double major you are basically using 30 or so of your elective hours to fullfill a second major (you can triple major as well). Dual degree is a program thats been organized by a school to allow you typically to do a bachelors degree and a graduate degree in less time and with fewer credits then you would if you did them separately. These are also referred to as "5 year programs". The Bachelors/Masters in Education is a common one for teachers, another is the Bachelors/MBA in business. There are many combinations possible. Your basically combining your senior year of your Bachelors with your 1st year of grad school, and applying about 12-15 hours of courses from one degree to the other.

A major is typically about 30 hours (though I have seen majors that are as high as 45 hours), a minor is between 15-18 hours, and unlike a major is composed of: lower division courses and is more flexible, in that you have more options in what courses you can take. The typical sequence is 1-3 lower level required courses and the the rest electives within the field of study.
There is also something called a concentration which is about 9-12 credit hours, and is otherwise the same as a minor, with fewer hours. Most schools dont list concentrations on a transcript.

Depending on your state, you may not need to take any classes at all to meet the requirements to be certified in a foreign language. What it really takes is a lot of time studying a language in depth. My experience is that unless your really committed universities dont prepare people very well in developing real fluency in a foreign language, and those that do or come close major in the language and supplement it with lengthy study abroad programs. A minor in a foreign will look nice on your transcript, but unless you are natively bilingual already is not likely to be of much use.

Most IS (international schools) look for native speakers first who are certified in a foreign language. So a Chinese teacher with a degree in Chinese studies for instance is going to have a distinct edge in recruiting. What they want is someone whos working knowledge of the language is native fluency.

The languages that are most common are the traditional western european languages (in order): French, Spanish, and German. Followed next by Chinese and Japanese.[/quote]

Thanks for your feedback! You have been most helpful.

To be certified to teach a foreign language in my state, these are the guidelines (copy/pasted directly from the source):

8VAC20-22-360. Foreign language preK-12.
A. The specific language of the endorsement will be noted on the license.
B. Foreign language preK-12 – languages other than Latin. Endorsement requirements:
1. The candidate must have (i) graduated from an approved teacher preparation program in a foreign language; or (ii) completed 30 semester hours above the intermediate level in the foreign language. (Endorsement in a second language may be obtained with 24 semester hours of coursework above the intermediate level.) The program shall include (i) courses in advanced grammar and composition, conversation, culture and civilization, and literature and (ii) a minimum of 3 semester hours of methods of teaching foreign languages at the elementary and secondary levels.

I would really like to double major in French to explore the possibilites of being a French language teacher, but because it's not my native language, it seems like I wouldn't be International Schools' first pick. Do you think it's worth getting and going for?