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Programs of Study, 1997-1999
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHER EDUCATION (SLATE)
Chair of SLATE Program: Molly Mack
Correspondence and Information: SLATE Program, 3070 Foreign Languages Building, 707 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
GRADUATE FACULTY
Professors: E. Bokamba, C. C. Cheng, W. Dickerson, A. O. Hadley, B. Kachru, Y. Kachru, H. Maclay, B. VanPatten
Associate Professors: L. F. Bouton, J. R. Cowan, G. Cziko, F. Davidson, G. Garcia, J. F. Lalande II, J. F. Lee, M. Mack, N. Markee, E. McClure, D. Musumeci, J. Packard, B. VanPatten
Assistant Professors: A. M. Escobar, R. Jimenez, F. Seiko, S. Shinall, H. Yamashita
CERTIFICATE OF ADVANCED STUDY IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHER EDUCATION
This certificate is offered by the multidisciplinary program in SLATE in cooperation with various units. The Ph.D. program in SLATE is a research-oriented program for those with interests in second language acquisition and second language teaching. The SLATE program has the combined support of faculty members in a number of different units across the University. The supporting faculty hold appointments in various units in the Colleges of Education and Liberal Arts and Sciences, including the Departments of Curriculum and Instruction; East Asian Languages and Cultures; Educational Psychology; French; Germanic Languages and Literatures; Linguistics; and Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; as well as in the Division of English as an International Language. Other units also provide valuable courses relevant to the SLATE certificate; hence, students in the SLATE program have access to a wide range of resources within the University.
The SLATE program is designed to meet the individual needs of its students. The course requirements in the affiliated units are generally flexible and allow freedom for students to conduct work in specialized subfields tailored to their academic interests and goals. In recent years, students have studied such topics as cognitive and affective factors in second-langauge (L2) learning and teaching; communicative competence; computer-assisted language instruction; curriculum development; L2 reading strategies; psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic aspects of second-language acquisition; and L2 speech perception and production. What unifies these various fields of specialization is the rapidly growing discipline of second-language learning and teaching. SLATE students must fulfill course requirements in four core areas-linguistics, psycholinguists/sociolinguistics, second language studies, and research methods.
ADMISSION
Application to the SLATE program is made directly to one of the cooperating Ph.D. granting units listed above. (NOTE: SLATE students receive SLATE certification upon successful completion of the program's requirements in conjuction with the receipt of a departmentally based doctoral degree. The Division of English as an International Language, while being a cooperating unit, does not at present offer a doctoral degree.) Admission is subject to all regulations of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois. The applicant must have an M.A., M.A.T., or the equivalent in an appropriate related field. For example, a master's degree in education, English as a second language, a foreign language, or linguistics is appropriate. The applicant must have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent in previous graduate work. Foreign applicants for whom English is a non-native language must satisfy English proficiency requirements before admission can be granted. Some experience in teaching a second language is recommended.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid is granted only through individual departments. A limited number of teaching and research assistantships, tuition and fee waivers, and fellowships are available each year through cooperating departments. Applicants can indicate their desire for financial aid by checking appropriate boxes on the application for admission. Financial support for a limited number of qualified SLATE candidates may also be available through assignments in the Intensive English Institute, EOP Rhetoric Program, Language Learning Laboratory, or Office of Student Teaching. Applicants should contact these units directly for details. The SLATE Executive Committee itself administers no financial aid.
STATUS OF PROGRAM
The SLATE certificate, while available only to doctoral students, is not itself a doctoral degree, nor can students receive a "SLATE Ph.D." SLATE students must fulfill all required course work in a SLATE-affiliated Ph.D.-granting unit, in addition to meeting SLATE course requirements, and their Ph.D. is then awarded in their Ph.D.-granting unit.
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