Credential for Teaching Content in a Foreign Language

Good day! I'm sorry for the somewhat unclear title - part of why I'm posting is that I can't seem to get the search terms right to find what I need.

I teach economics and have some professional development funding available. Since I have many students who speak English as a second language, I am interested in learning a foreign language to improve their experience. I'm curious if anyone knows about programs that are specifically designed for this - e.g., is anyone aware of a program that offers, say, an MA in Teaching Econ in Spanish?

On searching, I find a lot of combined programs (Econ and Spanish) and a lot of resources (econ worksheets and flashcards in Spanish) but I haven't found any that are specifically designed for developing facility for teaching content in a second language.

I appreciate any help or suggestions!

 

There are a lot of MA in TESOL or M.Ed. in CI - ESL. They are not content-specific, however. Anyway who wants to teach ESL regardless of their content area can pursue one of these degrees.

 

I'm a bit mystified as to why the OP is searching for a degree that specifically involves teaching, economics or the combo. He already knows the subject and how to teach it.

I've had teachers of foreign-born origin - who qualified professionally in their homeland. As far as I know, all they had to do here was to present good degrees (they did) and
make sure their English skills were good (and they were) and they were good to go,for university teaching. Unless, perhaps they were like my economics professor, who was from Iran. She arrived here as a qualified engineer, then switched careers, migrating to business. After earning an MBA here, she taught business subjects. English? Dynamite! No problem.

I'd say the key thing here is to learn Spanish - and maybe concentrate on the vocabulary germane to economics. A degree program in Spanish might be overkill. I don't think I ever met a foreign-born instructor who had a specific degree in the English language - although they certainly had the verbal/written skills to earn one, if desired.. Everything else is in place. Le deseo la mejor suerte del mundo. (I wish him the best luck in the world.)

 

Thanks for the clarity. I totally misunderstood what he was asking. I think your recommendation to learn Spanish might be his best option. As Johann said, he's already an SME in economics. He just needs to learn the second language and deliver the content in a similar way as he would if he was teaching in English.

 

Yes - and be able to handle students' responses and questions in Spanish - as they occur. That's the trickier part - but essential learning.

 

Not sure what your current level of Spanish is now, but you might want to start with the EdX certificate from University of Valencia - https://www.edx.org/professional-certificate/upvalenciax-basic-spanish . Then maybe find a university that will let you "self-design" a Spanish/Teaching Econ degree.

 

I don't like Edx certificates' titles....

So you get a 'professional' certificate in 'basic' Spanish... how can we call 'basic' skill 'professional' ? That doesn't make sense.. and many employer can immediately figure out the certificate was earned online.
Their poor naming convention makes their certificates kinda fake.

 

https://thebestschools.org/magazine/employers-online-degrees/

https://www.northeastern.edu/bachelors-completion/news/are-online-degrees-respected/

"61 percent of HR leaders firmly believe that online learning is of equal or greater quality to more traditional methods."

Only 61% of employers think online degree is as good as traditional degree.
Personally, I haven't seen any Fortune 500 employees with online bachelor's.
I've seen a few Fortune 500 employees with online master's but I don't think big corporations will hire someone who has online bachelor's.

Online bachelor still works if you know someone in the company and company is relatively small, and you have the right skills. Then they will still give you a chance.

But Microsoft, Forbes, Apple won't hire someone with online bachelor's unless it's a very low wage position... if you get real traditional master's degree, then it may improve a little.