BILINGUAL/BICULTURAL AND ESL EDUCATION

Minor and Licensure

Most K-12 classrooms across the U.S. include multilingual learners/English learners. Multilingual learners in schools are learning the school curriculum, learning English, and sustaining their home languages and cultures. Yet, there is a shortage of teachers who have Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL licenses. Studying Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education at UW-Whitewater will prepare you to work effectively with and advocate for all students and families and will give you a valuable edge in the job market and as you begin your career.

We offer a campus-based minor Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education for those earning their degree and majoring in an education-related field. We also offer CAMINOS, an online licensure pathway for those who already have an undergraduate degree and are seeking the Bilingual/Bicultural License and/or the ESL License.

Program requirements Apply

Fullbright Scholar

Andrew Hurie, assistant professor who specializes in bilingual education and ESL, was awarded a Fulbright to teach and conduct research in Colombia during the 2024-25 academic year. Hurie has worked with Los Ángeles Children’s Hospital in Pasto and UNIPA, or Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá, by conducting interviews at the hospital, half in Awapit, the language of the Awá people.

Fullbright opportunity

Growing demand

Nearly 11% of K-12 public school students in the United States are multilingual learners.

Top-quality curriculum library

The Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education program has been awarded multiple grants from the U.S. Department of Education, which have helped us establish a multimedia resource library at UW-Whitewater for the university community and area school districts. Located in Winther Hall, the library boasts a wide range of teacher, parent, and children's books, dictionaries, games, videos, and manipulatives for teaching English learners and emergent bilinguals.

Best value for the money

We’re ranked No. 1 for value among all schools in the Universities of Wisconsin System.

Why study Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education at UW-Whitewater?

3 out 4 school districts in the US enroll multilingual learners/English learners
6% of K-12 students in Wisconsin schools are multilingual learners/English learners
Over 4 million, or 75%, of multilingual learners/English learners consider Spanish their home language

The Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL minor provides students with a critical sociopolitical grounding in Bilingual and ESL education along with an understanding of multilingual literacy development, instructional strategies, and cultural awareness needed to work with K-12 multilingual learners, their families, and broader communities.

Students with this minor graduate with one or two teaching licenses in addition to their major area of study license (typically Elementary/Middle Education, Secondary Education, or World Languages). All students with this minor will earn a K-12 ESL license, and, students in the minor who are bilingual (Spanish/ English) can earn a K-12 Bilingual/Bicultural license in addition to the ESL license and their major area licensure.

CAMINOS
For students who have already earned a Bachelor's degree and are seeking the Bilingual/Bicultural License and/or the ESL License, UW-Whitewater offers the CAMINOS program. This post-baccalaureate online licensure program is available for approximately $320/credit and offered as a pathway for an add-on licensure or an initial license. Transcripts will be reviewed to determine which course needs to be taken to meet licensure requirements.

Apply to CAMINOS

What our ESL/Bilingual Education students do

Gain first-hand teaching experience in diverse classrooms

Pursue research with faculty mentors

Student teach abroad

Field study and cross-cultural experiences

As part of this minor program, you’ll participate in ESL and bilingual field experiences through an elementary, middle or high school placement. These field experiences are coordinated with other required field experiences and directed student teaching in your major.

Our students have the opportunity to student teach abroad at two partner sites in Mexico: Guanajuato or Oaxaca. Other international student teaching opportunities can take education majors to Ecuador, Jamaica and Sweden.

Learn more about student teaching abroad opportunities

Campus and community involvement

Our students are active on campus and in the community in many ways:

Undergraduate research

Many of our students work with our faculty members as part of the Undergraduate Research Program or Research Apprenticeship Program.

Service learning

As part of their required field-based experiences, our students work with multilingual learners in classrooms around the region.

Student organizations

Students minoring in Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education might be interested in campus organizations such as:

Aspiring Educators of Wisconsin
Dream Scholars and Colleagues
Latinos Unidos
Voces Latinas

What our graduates do

Green icon of a peer and mentor reading together.

ESL/bilingual classroom teacher in the U.S.

EFL classroom teacher abroad

English language teacher to adults

Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL education jobs: Career success

Our graduates have found employment in K-12 schools throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and in English teaching programs abroad.

UW-Whitewater alumni have attended graduate schools such as:

UW-Madison
UW-Milwaukee
Edgewood University
University of Southern California

Hired Before Graduation

Rosemary Garcia, from Beloit, Wisconsin, earned a BSE in elementary education with a minor in bilingual/bicultural and ESL education, and was hired as a second-grade, dual-language teacher with Turtle Creek Elementary School in Delavan, Wisconsin.

Contact us

Want to learn more about becoming a Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL teacher or studying Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education at UW-Whitewater? education@uww.edu

Our faculty

Our knowledgeable, approachable faculty members have all taught ESL and/or Bilingual Education in the schools or with adult learners. Many of our faculty members have been involved with multi-year research projects focusing on the professional development of teachers, some for up to 10 years.

Also of note, all of our faculty members have either lived or taught abroad in places such as Austria, Ecuador, Germany, Russia and Spain.

Meet our faculty

Program requirements

Students who declare a minor in Bilingual or ESL Education are typically working either toward a Bachelor of Science in Education or toward a Bachelor of Arts degree in a specific major and wish to add a supplemental license.

UW-Whitewater offers the following options for Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education:

Minor:

Post-baccalaureate:

ESL License (K-12) and Bilingual/Bicultural License (K-12) initial licensure option | Caminos Pathway
ESL License (K-12) and Bilingual/Bicultural License (K-12) additional licensure | Caminos Pathway

To complete minor/licensure requirements, you will take courses such as:

Introduction to Bilingual/Bicultural Education and ESL
Survey of Educational Linguistics
Theories for Developing Languages and Literacies
Pedagogical Translanguaging Across Content Areas
Critical Issues in Linguistically and Culturally Sustaining Education
Multilingual Teaching Methods
Language Teacher Advocacy and Communities of Praxis

How to apply

Prospective students can apply by completing the Universities of Wisconsin application for admission and indicate the Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education minor.

Current students can speak with their advisor to declare the Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL Education minor.

Post-baccalaureate students interested in the CAMINOS online licensure program can being their application by completing this survey.