SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHER EDUCATION

SLATE is a multidisciplinary program for students with an interest in second language acquisition and second language teaching. Students cannot earn a Ph.D. in SLATE; instead, students in this program earn a Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education in conjunction with a Ph.D. in one of the cooperating units.
Students in the SLATE program can work with faculty from a number of different academic units across the campus. Co-operating faculty hold appointments in various units in the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

SLATE: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING IN THIS PROGRAM?

Students in the SLATE program receive a Certificate of Advanced Study in SLATE. This document, along with the documentation provided by your transcript, provides evidence that you have credentials in addition to those demonstrated by your earned doctorate. Thus, you can show potential employers that you have competency in the field of second language acquisition, through your participation in the SLATE program.

In addition to earning this credential, SLATE students become members of a group with shared interests in SLA that goes beyond the faculty and students in your own department. Each semester, SLATE sponsors lectures by well-known scholars in the field; other activities such as student brown bag seminars, when SLATE students have an opportunity to share their work with other students, are also planned for the future.

WHERE CAN I GET ANSWERS TO OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SLATE PROGRAM?

SLATE maintains a website [http://slate.lang.uiuc.edu/] which contains information about program requirements, cooperating faculty, students in the program, and up-coming SLATE events. SLATE also informs students of changes in program requirements, new SLATE courses, and lectures of interest to SLATE students through the SLATE Listserv.

You can also ask questions by e-mailing the SLATE virtual office at SLATE@uiuc.edu. If you want to talk to someone in person, you can call (217) 265-6308 to speak the Program Director, Dr. Rakesh Bhatt. Most questions about SLATE can be answered by your SLATE advisor or one of the other SLATE cooperating faculty.