Liberal Studies, 40 credits
General Education Requirements
Oral Proficiency Exam
Immersion Experience
Major Course Work
Minor Course Work
Content Examinations and Portfolio Requirements
Multicultural Education and Human Relations Requirement
Conflict Resolution Requirement
Professional Education Requirements—Secondary Major and Minor
Advisor: Professor François Tochon, 144D Teacher Education Building, 263-7570, ftochon@education.wisc.edu
Secondary admission eligibility requirements: minimum 54 transferable college-level credits (junior standing); 12 major credits completed beyond 204; minimum 2.75 cumulative grade point average in the major; 2.75 GPA on all transferable college-level course work (Note: Both the cumulative GPA and the cumulative GPA based on the last 60 credits will be calculated. The higher of the two will be used for program selection; see Last 60 Credits Rule); completion of immersion experience; passing scores on the Pre-Professional kills Test. Admission is limited and competitive. See Secondary and World Language Education for additional information regarding the program's structure, requirements, and admission procedures. Italian certification program applicants may be grouped with applicants to the French certification program for selection purposes.
The requirements of the Italian certification program are integrally related to the certification requirements for Secondary French. Placement for student teaching will be made in French, as practice teaching in Italian alone may not be feasible. Students are strongly encouraged to become certified in both languages by completing a minor or double major in Secondary French. All students must consult with the French program advisor to discuss the selection and sequencing of professional education requirements.
Note: Admission criteria and program requirements may be modified from one admission period to the next. Changes in this program are anticipated in the near future and may be significant. The most current program information is available in Education Academic Services, B117 Education Building, 608/262-1651; www.education.wisc.edu/eas. Students are encouraged to monitor the EAS Web site and confer regularly with an EAS advisor regarding changes.
Graduation requirements: 2.75 GPA overall, and 2.75 GPA in each of the following: major, minor, upper-level major, and professional education course work (excluding practicum and student teaching). Degree candidates must meet senior and major residency requirements. Graduation grade point averages are based on UW-Madison course work and may be modified by the Last 60 Credits Rule. Certification also requires passing a content examination in the subject area(s) in which certification is sought.
The liberal studies requirements combine academic strengths and interests with an opportunity to explore a wide selection of courses offered across campus. Students will complete course work in humanities, social studies, and science. Effective summer 2007, three additional requirements—ethnic studies, global perspectives, and U.S. or European history—will be required of all students in the School of Education. See Teacher Certification Liberal Studies Requirements for specific course work.
Effective summer 1996, new freshmen must complete a group of campus-wide course requirements known as the General Education requirements. This initiative is designed to provide all UW-Madison students with a comprehensive, well-rounded program of studies. See General Education Requirements (GER).
This program already requires at least one course, Curric 305, that is also approved to meet the General Education Communication B requirement. The course can be used to meet both requirements.
Beginning fall 2007, students admitted to the WLE program must provide evidence of completion of an American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview administered by Language Testing International (LTI) prior to beginning their first student teaching experience (second semester of the professional sequence). The required proficiency level for student teaching is Intermediate High or above. Because it may take as long as three months to obtain results, students admitted to the program must schedule their OPI's no later than the end of their first month in the program (September). The results and official certificate must be reported by the end of the first semester (December). If verification of at least Intermediate High is not made at that time, students will be asked to postpone student teaching and take measures to improve their spoken language proficiency before continuing in the program. Contact LTI to set up an Oral Proficiency Interview: LTI, 95 Church Street, Suite 310, White Plains, NY 10601, (800) 486-8444, (914) 948-5100, testing@languagetesting.com, www.languagetesting.com. Students are responsible for costs associated with the OPI. See the faculty program coordinator with questions about this requirement.
If the student teaching is in French, students will also be required to take and pass the proficiency exam in French following the same time line.
Participation in an intensive immersion experience is one of the most important and meaningful ways of developing competence in a language. In preparation for the proficiency exam, students seeking certification in this language must participate in an approved immersion experience which emphasizes prolonged and intensive interaction within the target language and culture.
Program applicants must complete and document a full-semester (or minimum four-month long ) immersion experience as a prerequisite to being admitted to the professional program. The immersion experience must be completed by July 15 preceding the program start. The experience must also have been completed no more than three years before this date.
An approved experience involves significant interaction and day-to-day functioning in the host language, including use of the target language on a daily basis such as in college-level courses, a training program, or a work experience. The immersion experience need not involve attendance in an academic program only, but may take some form such that the language of routine communication is the target language. Simply living with relatives or traveling as a tourist is not considered an immersion experience for the purposes of admission to this program. Most students choose to participate in a structured educational or exchange immersion program.
Students are encouraged to consult with the International Academic Programs (IAP) office in 252 Bascom Hall regarding campus-based study abroad programs. Experiences must have prior approval of the faculty program coordinator, Prof. François Tochon. To obtain prior experience approval, download the approval form from the EAS Web site (www.education.wisc.edu/eas), complete it, meet with the program coordinator, and obtain authorization. Bring two copies of the form to your meeting, get signatures on both, and leave one copy with the program coordinator.
Native speakers are normally considered to have fulfilled this requirement without further documentation, especially if they received their secondary education in an environment where the target language is the primary means of communication. Heritage speakers are usually considered to have fulfilled this requirement; such applicants must consult with the program coordinator regarding an exemption.
Minimum 36 credits in Italian. Students must complete at least 15 credits of upper-level major course work (numbered 300-699) in residence on the UW-Madison campus. The courses listed below are Italian listings in the Timetable unless otherwise indicated.
Complete 16 credits of Elementary and Intermediate Italian, or equivalent:
101 First Semester Italian, 4 cr
102 Second Semester Italian, 4 cr
203 Third Semester Italian, 4 cr
204 Fourth Semester Italian, 4 cr
Complete 20 Credits beyond Italian 204 to include:
Conversation and Composition, 6 cr; complete one pair of courses:
311 Advanced Composition and Conversation, 4 cr, and 312 Advanced Composition and Conversation, 4 cr
323 Corso Superiore di Lingua e Stile, 3 cr (or approved substitute), and 324 Corso Superiore di Lingua e Stile, 3 cr
Complete the following:
321 Introduction to Italian Literature, 3-4 cr, and 322 Introduction to Italian Literature, 3-4 cr
Italian Civilization, 3 cr: 649 or 650 Storia Della Civilta Italiana (or approved substitute) Two more courses in literature or civilization (400 or 500 level), 6-8 cr
Students who expect to become teachers of Italian should elect courses in related fields, such as art history, history, other languages and literatures (especially English), music appreciation, and philosophy. Prospective teachers should take every opportunity to increase oral mastery of the language. The Italian Club at the university offers lectures and films about Italy, and opportunities to converse in Italian. Occasionally, modern and classical plays are presented for the public.
The Italian minor requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75, based on all Italian minor course work taken on the UW-Madison campus. The graduation grade point average may be modified by the Last 60 Credits Rule.
Students interested in completing a certification minor in Italian must also complete a major in another certification subject area; it is not possible to be certified only in a minor area. Contact the program coordinator to discuss the feasibility of combining this minor with the major subject area—not all combinations may be possible. Interested students must apply and be admitted to the Italian program; admission is limited and competitive. See Admission Procedures under Secondary and World Language Education. All students, whether completing their first degree or adding on a teaching minor to a prior certification, should expect to complete at least one methods course, practicum and student teaching experience in the minor to be recommended for certification; consult with the program coordinator. The oral proficiency exam and immersion experience discussed above are also required.
Students in Elementary Education may complete this minor as an "academic" minor only. Completion of this course work provides a depth of study in an academic discipline, but does not lead to certification to teach foreign language in the elementary school.
Contact Education Academic Services (EAS), B117 Education, for additional information regarding this minor. Applications to both Elementary and the Early Childhood through Adolescence program are on the EAS Web site, www.education.wisc.edu/eas, beginning October 1 and are due by March 1. (This deadline may change to February 1.)
The Italian minor requires a minimum of 26 credits to include:
8 credits of Italian 101 and 102, or equivalent
18 credits above Italian 102, to include at least 2 credits in composition and conversation
All individuals seeking an initial Wisconsin State teacher's license after August 31, 2004, are required to take and pass an approved content examination in the subject area(s) of interest. These tests, the Praxis II: Subject Assessments/Specialty Area Tests, are offered through the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Teacher education students at UW-Madison must take and pass the exam for their program area(s) and submit scores to EAS before entering their final, full-time student teaching semester. See Content Examinations for more information.
Certification also requires each student to develop and maintain a teaching portfolio. For more information, see Portfolio.
This requirement consists of courses, workshops and experiences that broaden understanding of diversity as it relates to the practice of teaching and the field of education. See Multicultural Education and Human Relations Requirement.
All students pursuing teacher certification must have formal training in conflict resolution. See Conflict Resolution Requirement.
Note: After August 31, 2004, students completing a foreign language program are licensed to teach the language in Early Childhood through Adolescence. Prior to this time, students were licensed to teach in secondary education only, usually grades 6-12. Foreign language program requirements are in the process of responding to the new licensing levels. For example, the World Language Education program (currently French, German, and Spanish) has created a new, four-semester sequence that includes methods course work and field experiences at both the elementary and secondary levels. The other foreign language licensing programs offered at UW-Madison (i.e. Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese) are continuing to modify program requirements to include the new licensing levels. These changes may be significant. Students should consult the program advisor and the EAS Web site at www.education.wisc.edu/eas for the most current program requirements and admission procedures.