Do I have to have a Masters degree specifically in French to teach French?

Discussion in 'Education, Teaching and related degrees' started by s10swany, Jan 30, 2012.

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  1. s10swany

    s10swany New Member

    I am wanting to get a masters in History to teach History at the college level, probably at a community College.My question is I would like to teach french at a community college as well. Do I have to have a masters in French to teach French or will my Masters in History count? By the way I am fluent in French.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    What we generally hear is that the minimum requirements for teaching a subject at the college level is 18 grad credits in that subject area. So, technically, you do not need a Masters degree in a subject in order to teach that subject. However, reality has a way of interfering in such plans because what you will find is that you will be facing stiff competition for those jobs and some of your competitors will not only have Masters degrees but will have Doctoral degrees as well.
     
  3. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Yesh......
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I had a teacher at Quincy College for American Government (which I dropped after the first couple of classes after I found out I passed the CLEP exam) who had his degrees in Political Science, but he was born & raised through his teen years in Italy, so he was fluent in both English & Italian. He also taught Italian at the school, despite having no formal academic training in the language at the college level.
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Yeah Bruce, but let's face it. That's Massachusetts, an aberration.:jester:
     
  6. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Bonjour,

    It depends on the school. Some schools would accept a masters in any area plus 18 credits in the teaching area while others need you to have a masters or at least a bachelors in the teaching field.

    If you teaching languages, you might want to try the teaching certificates as a foreign language from ACTFL. Many schools acept these certificates to teach languages.

    Home - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
     
  7. Kojak

    Kojak member

    Yes, you should obtain it
     
  8. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'll never be in the real position to act on my opinion but I woulf never hire a person to teach French simply because they spoke French. The USA is full of people who speak English but how many of them, just by virtue of speaking English, are actually competent to teach English?
     
  9. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    My ex girl friend had a master in french and was teaching french at the high school level but couldn't hold a conversation in french. Not because you have a degree in French, it means you can speak it.
     
  10. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Generally, I have seen community colleges require a Bachelor's in the language PLUS a Master's in either the language in or in linguistics (including applied linguistics). Have you ever thought about teaching high school language courses? The requirements vary, but are typically less stringent.
     
  11. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Also, even if you can speak it and teach it, it is an entirely different skill set altogether if you want to interpret it. C'est pourquoi ce que je fais est spécial :)
     
  12. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    I have my undergrad degree in education and two Western European languages. With an M.A. in linguistics, are you saying that I could still possibly find work as a foreign language teacher at the college level without formally getting degrees in the specific languages?
     
  13. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Yeah, maybe you're right. But on the other hand, your xgf was the one with the job and our fluent French friend is unemployed.
     

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