{ NCCC Adds New Academic Program for Fall 2009 }

SANBORN, N.Y.  (June 4, 2009) — Niagara County Community College announced today it and Niagara University will jointly offer a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program, beginning in fall 2009.

The TESOL jointly registered program at NCCC is designed to give students the knowledge, skills and experiences to prepare them for transfer to Niagara University, where they can complete a Bachelor of Arts degree to be eligible for certification to teach TESOL grades K-12 in New York State.

Opportunities for employment in this certification remain high. There is a growing demand within New York State and around the world for trained professionals to teach English and heritage languages to speakers of other languages. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, by the 2030s, demographers say English language learners will account for approximately 40 percent of the entire school-aged population in the United States.

TESOL teachers are in large demand. It is estimated that currently there are approximately 10- to 20,000 English teaching jobs available worldwide. English is the number one second language in the world. Internationally, it is estimated that approximately 1 billion people worldwide are studying or wanting to study the English language. English is the international language of business, trade, science, tourism, the Internet, diplomacy, media and air traffic control.

Students enrolled in the NCCC TESOL program will participate in approximately 60 hours of field placement experiences in TESOL classrooms during their education courses. The program also emphasizes related course work in liberal arts and sciences as required by Niagara University.

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