Certificate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching

Considering a career in languages?

There are over 6,500 languages spoken in the world today, and most people live and work with speakers of more than one language. There is tremendous interest and need to learn national and international languages in the US and around the world.

The Certificate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching is available to undergraduate students and is awarded upon graduation. It is great way to kick-start your career in the following areas:

• • Teaching one or more languages (English, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Korean, Chinese and others) abroad or in the US
  • Translation
  • International Business, Non-profit work, Leadership
  • Curriculum Design and Assessment
  • Area studies and Applied Linguistics
    • Language planning and policy
    • Multi-cultural and multi-lingual awareness
    • Immigration issues
    • Revitalization of languages
    • US residency and citizenship requirements
  • Preparing for an MA in Education to teach languages in K-12 schools
  • Preparing for an MA in Linguistics (e.g. LTS) to teach languages at a university or community college

What is the SLAT certificate?

The Certificate in SLAT can be added to a UO undergraduate degree. It is not a stand-alone certificate nor a graduate certificate (see the one-year MA in Language Teaching Studies for a post-graduate degree).

The SLAT certifies that the student is knowledgeable and skilled in topics related to second language education and knowledge about a specific second language.

The certificate is easily added to a major in Linguistics, a language major (Spanish, Japanese, etc.), a Global Studies major, an Education major, and an English major, but it is designed to be useful and accessible to students in any major.

See SLAT Course of Study page for more detail.

What can I do with a SLAT certificate?

• The SLAT certificate is a valuable credential for applying to various language teaching positions overseas. Many students use it to find employment abroad as an English teacher in a country that they want to travel to or live in.
• The SLAT also prepares you to work with language learners in private schools, language institutes, and community-based language programs that don’t require an MA.
• The SLAT provides you with many career-readiness skills, such as design and planning skills, leadership, collaboration, communication, and group management. These skills can be transferred to many careers in education, human resources, business, and global relations, among others.
• A SLAT certificate complements or meets course requirements for other UO undergraduate programs, e.g. a B.A. in Global Studies.
• The SLAT’s focus on language education is excellent preparation for K-12 teacher certification programs such as the University of Oregon UOTeach program. It provides a background in language education specifically that most Education programs do not provide. NOTE: an undergraduate certificate does not license you to teach in Oregon public schools. 
• The SLAT also prepares you for an MA in Language Teaching Studies. This degree allows you to teach a language at the university or community college level.  SLAT courses must be passed at the 90% (A-) level or higher to be counted towards the LTS MA. 

Read FAQs about the UO SLAT certificate
Compare the UO English SLAT certificate with TESOL and other ESL certificates