Virginia Law

The program in adult English as a second language shall ensure that the candidate holds an active license with a teaching endorsement or endorsements issued by the Virginia Board of Education and has demonstrated the following competencies:

1. Knowledge in the growth and development of the adult learner;

2. Knowledge in methods and materials in the teaching of English to adult speakers of other languages;

3. Skills in the teaching of reading and writing to include (i) the five areas of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension; (ii) similarities and differences between reading in a first language and reading in a second language; and (iii) a balanced literacy approach;

4. Knowledge in adult second language acquisition;

5. Knowledge of assessment methods in instruction of English to adult speakers of other languages;

6. Skills in teaching the adult learner;

7. Understanding of the effects of sociocultural variables in the instructional setting;

8. Skills in teaching a variety of adult learning styles;

9. Proficiency in cross-cultural communication;

10. Proficiency in speaking, listening, and reading;

11. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing; and

12. Understanding of and proficiency in andragogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.