Graduate Certificates

Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (CTEFL)

Why this Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (CTEFL) program enhances the professional knowledge and practical skills of in-service and pre-service classroom teachers in Armenia and throughout the region. It is designed to meet the needs of those current and future teachers who may not have the time or aspiration to pursue a Master’s degree but want to keep up with the latest developments in the field and improve their teaching. CTEFL courses have been carefully selected to build a highly practical experience with hands-on assignments, observation and teaching fieldwork.

Career Paths

CTEFL is perfect for those interested in starting a career in teaching English and for teachers who want to continue improving their own teaching but do not have time to pursue the two-year Master’s degree in TEFL. Typically, CTEFL graduates secure English language teaching positions in language centers around the country. For teachers already working in the schooling system, CTEFL enhances their teaching skills and boosts confidence leading to more challenging and rewarding work opportunities and contributing to potential promotions on the job.

Those who complete CTEFL successfully and reside outside Yerevan including Artsakh are eligible to apply for a teaching position to start a new or support an existing branch of the AUA’s After-school English Program in their local communities.

‘As a student teacher, the CTEFL program enabled me to design a wide variety of activities encouraging student-centered and communicative learning, develop effective lesson plans, and employ numerous up-to-date assessment tools to measure my students’ progress. Today, my classroom is a positive teaching and learning environment that promotes my students’ engagement in the study process and bolsters their academic performance’.

Tatevik Barseghyan, CTEFL 2019 Alumna

Certificate Completion Requirements

To complete CTEFL, students must successfully complete the CTEFL courses/modules with a grade point average of 3.0 or above. CTEFL graduates who wish to pursue further study towards the MA TEFL program may transfer their CTEFL courses towards the MA TEFL Program.

Curriculum

The year-round CTEFL runs for two academic semesters – Fall and Spring, each lasting 15 weeks. CTEFL students take their classes along with MATEFL students, following the same schedule. See samples of schedules from Spring 2023.

CTEFL courses include three courses of a total of 9 credits:

Teaching Language Skills (3 credits)

This course introduces the underlying theories and classroom practices for teaching ESL/EFL reading, writing, listening and speaking. The course highlights the nature of literacy and oral language development, beginning language skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, pronunciation), and meaning-focused language instruction. This practical course focuses on developing students’ technical abilities to effectively design classroom activities that target language skills and integrate them into coherent lesson plans. Three hours of instructor-led discussion per week.

Classroom Assessment (3 credits)

This course will lay the foundations for the students to learn about various principles and issues regarding research methods in second or foreign language teaching and classroom research. The course will look at the various viewpoint involved in research, the issues raised by quantitative and qualitative research, how the research program is to be structured and carried out, and how to report findings. Three hours of instructor-led discussion per week.

Teaching Practicum (3 credits)

The purpose of this course is to consolidate the theory and practice of teaching EFL and engage students in reflective practice. This course combines face-to-face classes on topics related to practical aspects of teaching EFL classes (e.g., lesson planning, classroom management) and fieldwork experience including EFL class observations and supervised teaching.

Application to CTEFL

To be considered for acceptance, applicants must meet the AUA general certificate admission requirements and the CTEFL-program requirements. For information regarding application to CTEFL, visit the Admissions website.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Fees are calculated per credit unit, as per university policy.
AUA provides need-based financial support to CTEFL students. Assistance may range up to 90% of the total tuition costs, according to the financial situation evidenced in the submitted documents. For more information, visit: https://finaid.aua.am. Apply for CTEFL and financial aid at im.aua.am.

Financial aid granted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2023:

53% of CTEFL students received on average 69% needs-based financial aid (ranging from 25% to 90%)

How is the Special CTEFL different from the year-round CTEFL?

Both CTEFL programs have the same courses: Teaching Language Skills, Classroom Assessment, and Teaching Practicum. The year-round CTEFL lasts two academic semesters – Fall and Spring, each lasting 15 weeks. The schedule and location of the Special CTEFL vary depending on the needs of the partner organization.

When will the Special CTEFL program start and how long will it last?

The dates and schedule of the Special CTEFL program change from year to year. Please come back late in 2023 to learn about the dates and schedule for this program.

Where do the Special CTEFL classes take place?

The location of the Special CTEFL classes is arranged with the partner organisation. It may vary from Yerevan to other regions of Armenia or Artsakh and be complemented with online classes. For more information, come back in late 2023.

What is the language of instruction at AUA?

The language of instruction at AUA is English.

What are the Certificate Admissions requirements?

To be considered for admission, applicants must meet the AUA general graduate admission requirements and the TEFL-program requirements. For more information, please refer to the AUA Application Procedures

Is there an English language proficiency requirement?

Yes.

a. Applicants can submit official exam results confirming English Language Proficiency either through TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic exams.

b. Applicants to the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (CTEFL) program may fulfill the English Language Proficiency Requirement through a specially designed in-house English proficiency test.

c. Some applicants may be eligible to receive a waiver of the English Language Proficiency Requirement. For more information, please read the English Language Proficiency waiver policy and application form here.

How can I apply?

By the Rolling Enrollment Deadline, you should submit the complete:

An application form for CTEFL. The Application for Enrollment in Certificate Programs is currently available at admissions.aua.am/apply To start your application, first create and confirm your profile. Then, please follow the steps to complete and submit your applications. For any information regarding the application form, please contact the Office of Admissions (060) 612748. Please make sure to specify in your Statement of Purpose whether you are interested in the Intensive Summer format taking place in June/July or the year long program with classes scheduled to begin in Fall. Visit https://tefl.aua.am/ctefl/ for more information.

Applicants who would like to take the CTEFL In-House Assessment, please indicate it in your application form:

Test Subject – English Proficiency Test Test Name – CTEFL In-House Assessment Test Date – June 15 (This is not the exact test date. We will contact you for more information regarding the date and the time for your test and the admission interview).

A Financial Aid Form. The tuition assistance application form can be found here and the list of the required documents (checklist) can be found here. Applicants need to fill in the corresponding application form and submit the hard copy of the TA application form together with the required documents to the Office of Financial Aid by the deadline.

Who is eligible to apply for an English language proficiency waiver?

You may receive a waiver to the English Language Proficiency requirement if you studied at least two consecutive of the previous five years of full-time study at a recognized high school, college, or university where the primary language of instruction is English. Applicants may receive a waiver if they have completed at least two years of full-time study at a recognized high school, college, or university where the primary language of instruction was English. For more information, please refer to the English Language proficiency waiver policy at http://policies.aua.am/policy/143. To apply for the waiver, applicants should create a profile at http://im.aua.am and submit an English Language Proficiency Test Waiver form.

Is there a minimum score for the TOEFL IBT and IELTS Academic exams?

The TOEFL iBT and IETLS Academic target score requirements for admission at AUA are as follows.

TOEFL iBT – 79 or higher IELTS Academic – 6.5 or higher Applicants should note, however, that meeting the scores listed above is not a guarantee of admission. On the other hand, having scores lower does not result in automatic denial. Only those applicants with a 67 or lower on the TOEFL iBT or 5.5 or lower on the IELTS Academic will be automatically denied admission.

Is there a specific date when I must submit my application?

Yes, there is. For more information, please consider visiting https://admissions.aua.am/certificate-programs/#deadline

What if I forgot to attach a required document to my application or did not report my official test score to AUA?

It is your responsibility to submit a complete application. If you forget to send a required document or do not report an official score to AUA, please immediately contact the Office of Admissions and make sure to send those missing documents by email to [email protected].

The Office of Admissions screens all submitted applications for technical eligibility. If your application is incomplete, please note that it will not be considered for further review by the Admissions Committee. Incomplete applications will be moved to the following deadline date. If you fail to complete your application by the rolling admissions deadline date, the Office of Admissions will update your application status to ineligible.

How do I pay my application fee?

Your application fee may be paid online, via Easy Pay Cash Machine (Armenia only), or bank transfer We strongly encourage applicants to make payments online as it may take up to 10 business days for your account to reflect Easy Pay or Bank Transfer payments. Detailed instructions are available on the payment page in http://im.aua.am once you have submitted your application.

What can I expect to pay for tuition as a Certificate student?

For more information, applicants are encouraged to review https://catalog.aua.am/graduate-certificates-tuition-and-fees/

Does AUA Offer Financial Aid?

Yes. AUA is committed to providing the best possible education to its students. As such, AUA’s admissions process is need-blind. AUA policy is that no Armenian citizen admitted to AUA will be denied study because of demonstrated financial need, as determined by the AUA Financial Aid Committee based on a number of factors. AUA offers a number of financial aid opportunities for both Armenian citizens and international students. For more information, applicants are encouraged to review https://catalog.aua.am/financial-aid-definition/.

How can I apply for Tuition Assistance?

The tuition assistance application form can be found here and the list of the required documents (checklist) can be found here. Applicants need to fill in the corresponding application form and submit the hard copy of the TA application form together with the required documents to the Office of Financial Aid by the announced deadline on their website.

Is there a specific date when I must submit the tuition assistance application form?

Please refer to the Financial Aid website for the deadlines for Tuition Assistance applications https://catalog.aua.am/financial-aid-deadlines/

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