STATE WIDE–If you already teach or have a Bachelor’s degree, you could help provide a service that’s now much-needed in Indiana, teaching English to people who don’t know the language. It’s through a new program called Indiana Teachers of English Learners Licensure.
The state is changing, and more people are coming here who don’t speak English than used to, necessitating that they learn English.
“We were once a state where it was the exception for a school to have an English language learner student and now it’s very common,” said Carey Dahncke, the director of a new partnership between the Indiana Dept. of Education and the University of Indianapolis, to help pay for books and tuition for people who want to learn to teach English as a new language.
He tells our newsgathering partners at WISH TV that if you quality, getting the license might only take a couple of months.
“We wanted to provide the option for our current teachers and also anyone with a Bachelor’s degree who’s interested in transitioning to teaching to help support our English learner students,” said Katie Jenner, Indiana Sec. of Education. She said the number of people with such a license has gone up 38 percent in two years.
She said helping people who don’t speak English yet has become a great need in Indiana, and that people who have the ability to teach have an opportunity to serve.
“We know the best way is through qualified teachers,” she said.
