ESL Endorsement: The Michigan ESL Endorsement acknowledges the special training a certified teacher has had to enable him or her to work with students whose home language is not English. In some districts it also allows K-12 certified teachers to teach English as subject matter to students for whom English is a second language.

The Proposal to the Michigan Department of Education Professional Standards Commission for Teachers explains in detail the background. In 1997, the Michigan Board of Education, recognizing the need for this area as a specialization, voted to implement the ESL Endorsement. The current educational requirements are summarized in the document Standards for Professional Preparation and Certificate Endorsement in English as a Second Language in the State of Michigan.

There are three avenues for getting an ESL endorsement:

1. Through your undergraduate institution. If you have the appropriate course work, your undergraduate institution can recommend an ESL endorsement along with your teacher certification.
2. After certification, you can enroll in a Michigan graduate education program (usually 18 credit hours are required for the endorsement). The university then recommends the endorsement to the state upon your completion. If you plan on getting an MA in TESOL (usually one and a half to two years of full time study), be sure that the MA program you plan to attend can recommend the endorsement. Often the MA program is in the Linguistics or English Department, whereas the Endorsement is offered through the Education Department.
3. If you have a K-12 teaching certificate from the State of Michigan and the qualifications for the endorsement from an out-of-state institution, you can fill out an out-of-state application directly to the Department of Education. A downloadable copy of this application is available.