multilingual research

Multilingual Research Center (MRC)

Outreach

LLRC
One of MRC’s strategic goals is to improve the quality of programs for English and world language learners in the state, and the quality of related teacher education programs.  The MRC has been engaged in two specific interrelated outreach projects to advance these goals: English Learner Teacher Development in Maryland and Teacher Development Activities Related to Chinese Teacher Certification. 

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The MRC has sought to improve the quality and number of teachers in Maryland who are prepared to work with the state’s English learners, a crucial component of its strategic goal, through the development of school system partnerships for specifically-designed outreach programs. 
  • Prince George’s County Public Schools Masters Cohort Program. This 26-month program provides in-service elementary, middle, and high school teachers with the theory and pedagogy associated with teaching English language learners across the content areas. The curriculum is grounded in practical experiences working specifically with the English language learner population within Prince George's County. This program is designed as a face-to-face/online hybrid to accommodate for teachers' work schedules during the academic year: three summers consisting of two workshop-style face-to-face courses, and one online course in both the fall and spring semesters.
  • Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).  To reach working teachers in the state and the region, MRC has initiated a 12-credit, fully online post-baccalaureate certificate program in TESOL that introduces theory and pedagogical practices addressing the language and educational content needs of English language learners in US contexts. This program serves in-service, non-ESOL teachers in elementary, middle, secondary, and higher education who are not familiar with meeting the needs of English language learners within their disciplines, as well as pre-service teachers entering the field and wanting to learn more about working with this particular student population.  
  • Professional Development Programs in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Each year, MRC hosts a four-week professional development program for up to thirty secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers from Suzhou, China. This professional development program consists of four components: advanced English language courses for the teachers, workshops on English language teaching issues, observations of English language courses at local middle and high schools, and social/cultural activities around the Washington, DC metro area.

MRC
  • MEd and MCERT Programs in World Languages with a Certification in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language.

 The MRC also seeks to set national and international standards of excellence for Chinese language teacher preparation, certification, and continued professional development, with the goal of increasing the number of excellent, certified teachers of Chinese in Maryland, the Washington DC area, and the United States.

MEd is a two-year, on-campus, with-certification option, and MCERT is a one-year, off-campus, with-certification option. It provides pre-service Chinese language teachers the theory and pedagogy associated with teaching Chinese language learners across the content areas. Both programs consist of 36-credit hours including 6-credit hours of field experiences (in a local school).