The goal of the Master of Arts in Teaching World Languages (MATWL) program is to prepare the highest quality language educators for the state of Kentucky and beyond. The MATWL program is designed to prepare candidates who will possess a high level of content knowledge, excel in pedagogy, and perform as competent professional language educators.
Typical applicants include anyone with a BA from a US institution or the equivalent, teachers who are employed with an emergency certification and second-career professionals as well as teachers seeking professional development.
The MATWL program offers a number of advantages for applicants in that it can be completed in one year or can be extended to multiple years for those who are unable to take the required courses as full-time students. Students complete their course work with a field internship in a public school where they teach with a cooperating teacher.
The program is offered in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures in cooperation with the Department of Hispanic Studies and the College of Education. MATWL graduates can specialize in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Latin, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish.
Admission Requirements
Applicants for admission must be concurrently approved by the Graduate School and the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Applicants are reviewed by the Director the MATWL Program in consultation with the MATWL Program Faculty Committee.
Candidates seeking admission to the MATWL program must meet the following requirements.
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Language proficiency. Students must demonstrate proficiency in the target language with a rating of at least Advanced Low on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (Intermediate High for Russian, Chinese, & Arabic). Oral Proficiency Interviews can be taken through ACTFL or by contacting the director to schedule one for a particular language). Candidates must also document a course of study that reflects mastery of language structure, a broad range of modern and classical literature, and the history of the relevant culture(s). Candidates in Latin must document a course of study that reflects mastery of language structure, knowledge of the literature, history, mythology, and culture of ancient Rome and Greece, and proficiency in oral reading.
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Undergraduate BA in the Language of study. Documentation of such a course of study typically consists of an undergraduate major in a world language or equivalent. Although each language area has its unique requirements, candidates typically have 48 to 66 credit hours in their academic teaching specialties.
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A minimum 2.75 overall undergraduate GPA, a minimum 3.0 GPA in the language-specific field, and a minimum 3.0 GPA in any previous graduate work
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200 hours of experience with children 6 to 13 years of age and 14- to 18-year old adolescents as well as community and cross-cultural experience.
Program Website: https://mcl.as.uky.edu/ma-twl
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