cloudman7777

Should I major in linguistics or english in order to teach english as a foreign language?

jingle

You could go either way, and in either case you would want to take courses in the other department. All universities and colleges have English Departments; Linguistics Departments and programs are rarer but most schools offer at least a course or two in the anthropology department.

In addition, I believe there's a standard certification for ESL teachers, often offered through schools of education as part of the teacher certification program.

IAmPOS

Linguistics. You're not going to be teaching Shakespeare in an ESL class.

zapfino

I'm assuming you're a native speaker of English, so you can major in whatever you like; it's not necessary to major in English or linguistics. You can complete a certificate in TESL.

Some TESL program are offered by special programs focused on that area, and some are offered by linguistics depts. Ypou would only need teacher certification if you wanted to teach in a US elementary or secondary school. If you teach children or adults in a foreign country, a TESL certificate is the most relevant credential.

If you wanted to major in linguistics, you might consider a dept. that offers a track in applied linguistics. If you wanted to major in English, you might consider a dept that offers a track in English/American linguistics, e.g., U. Wisconsin.

cloudman7777

yes i am an AMERICAN!!! sorry i got carried away anyways yea im a native speaker and i want to become a professor so i plan on going to grad school. Should i take TESL courses online or at a campus??? also what schools have TESL courses i could take on campus?

jingle

I'm not sure I understand your career goals. Teaching ESOL in the US doesn't require you to be a professor, because ESOL teaching happens at the K-12 level, community centers, and so on. US universities require students to be proficient at English before they enroll. Some faculty do specialize in teaching writing to students for whom English is not a first language, but those students are already reasonably fluent.

Teaching English in a country where English isn't the first language is a different matter. In countries where English is widely spoken, e.g. most of Western Europe, you would need a PhD in English +, usually, fluency in the language of the country where you'd be teaching. In some cases the latter wouldn't be a requirement--one of my (American) students was offered a job in Sweden with the understanding that he would learn Swedish over the course of a few years. But more commonly, English professors in Germany, Japan, Spain, India, etc. are natives of those countries educated in the US or the UK.