Scholarships for ESOL Teachers
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers are in high demand in public schools in the United States. They teach a specialized subject that often requires going to college to get an ESOL endorsement or certification beyond their first bachelor's degree and teaching certificate. A few sources of scholarships for ESOL teachers are available to help cover the costs of this training and education.
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State Higher Education Board
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Since teachers in general are in high demand, most states have established an alternative certification path for people with bachelor's degrees who want to become teachers, but who do not have an education degree and teacher training. In addition many states' higher education boards have a few scholarships for those who wish to become teachers. You will likely have to agree to teach in a high-need, low-income school for about three or four years to take advantage of these scholarships.
An example of another type of state-run ESOL scholarship for teachers is the Idaho Grow Your Own program, which provides scholarships to ethnic minority students in Idaho who want to pursue a degree in bilingual education and English as a second language.
Federal TEACH Grant
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The federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program is a similar program that offers up to $4,000 a year in financial assistance to students who are willing to teach in a low-income area. Grant recipients must teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school. One of the high-need subject areas targeted by this grant is English language acquisition.
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Institutions
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Contact the college or university at which you want to study to become an ESOL teacher to see what kinds of scholarships it offers. In addition to general scholarships, it may also offer scholarships specifically geared toward students who want to teach ESOL. Western Governors University offers 50 $5,000 scholarships for its online master's in ESL and ESL endorsement for teachers program. A similar program is offered by Penn State-Harrisburg. The ESL Program Specialist and Leadership Certificate Program offers grants for tuition and fees for students pursuing the certificate.
TESOL
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The professional organization, TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) offers professional development awards to attend its annual conference. It also offers grants for graduate study, travel and the development of pedagogical material. These awards and grants are available to its members.
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