Regardless of your major, if you’re interested in teacher education or teaching abroad, having English as a primary or second teachable area can add substantial value to your career.
As of Winter Term 2022, the UBC Department of English Language & Literatures will offer a new Minor in English: Teacher Education Preparation, which is open to all UBC undergraduate students from any faculty. For those who plan to apply to Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) programs at the UBC Faculty of Education or elsewhere in Canada, this new minor provides an efficient and defined pathway to accumulate the necessary credits to have English as a teachable area.
Streamlined, transcript-visible, no matter your major or faculty
The new Minor in Teacher Education Preparation has a practical outcome: a credential—printed on your transcript—that streamlines all of the upper-level English courses you need in order to apply for an Education degree with English as a teachable area, regardless of your faculty or major.
“Sometimes students at UBC feel like they had to ‘pick a team’ when they applied to Science or Arts,” says Dr. Tiffany Potter, a Professor of Teaching who helped to design the new minor. “This minor creates an accessible route for multi-talented students who are already planning to be teachers of science, math, social studies, physical education, fine arts, or French, for example, to qualify with a second teachable area, but without the heavy credit demand of a double major.”
“A Minor in Teacher Education Preparation gives UBC students the essential tools to become a great teacher before they start working, and it increases the likelihood of acceptance into Bachelor of Education programs here at UBC or elsewhere without the need to do extra courses.”
“The ability of a teacher to help their students excel and reach beyond expectations is rooted in how well they understand language use and how to facilitate interest and fluency with reading and writing across media, genres and modalities,” says Dr. Kedrick James, Professor of Language and Literacy Education in the Faculty of Education. “A minor in English prepares teacher education candidates to work with real students facing real learning challenges.”
A Minor with major flexibility
The Minor in Teacher Education Preparation was designed as a career booster for students in any faculty that allows an Arts minor. It provides students with maximum flexibility by allowing them to combine existing English courses in Literature, Language, and technical writing in ways not currently possible in other English minors.
“The selection of online-by-design courses are offered without timetabled hours, and can fit into any program’s schedule or be taken on co-op terms or while away from Vancouver in the summertime.”
For every requirement, there are several courses to choose from based on your own interests, and it’s possible to take some or even almost all of the courses for this program in newly created online-by-design courses. “The selection of online-by-design courses are offered without timetabled hours, and can fit into any program’s schedule or be taken on co-op terms or while away from Vancouver in the summertime,” says Dr. Potter.
This flexible format affords students additional agency to complete the program in a timeframe that works best for them. For students who prefer in-person delivery, there are more than 50 different upper-level English courses offered in person every year, across history and from around the world.
A minor in Teacher Education Preparation also offers flexibility when it comes to career possibilities. Beyond teacher education, the new minor is an excellent program for students who are interested in obtaining the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) diploma and certificate programs at UBC, or those who want to teach English internationally.
Transforming your teaching career
“English is a teachable area for those who recognize that language is inherently linked to thinking, learning, and communicating and who wish to share with others their knowledge and passion for English in all its forms,” shares Dr. Marianne McTavish, Associate Dean of Teacher Education at the UBC Faculty of Education.
“This Minor in Teacher Education gives you the background knowledge to develop strategic and effective pedagogies that reach all students and help them to discover their own passion for learning,” writes Dr. James. “I heartily recommend the Minor in Teacher Education Preparation for anyone who wishes to continue to pursue and share their passion for literacy, language and literature beyond their Bachelor degree.”
To learn more about how a second teachable area in English can transform your teaching career, be sure to check out the English Minor in Teacher Education Preparation to get started.
