Skip Navigation
Search

Woman speaking in class

Become a Foreign Language Teacher

MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING SPANISH, ITALIAN & FRENCH

The three Master of Arts in Teaching Foreign Languages programs are designed as courses of study leading to New York State certification for teaching Spanish, Italian and French* in the secondary schools (grades 7-12), with  extension options for grades 5-6 or for grades K-12. *Beginning with the Summer 2021 Admit term, the MAT - French program is also available in a fully online format!

This program is designed for those who have little or no previous coursework in education or formal classroom teaching experience. Like all of Stony Brook's MAT programs, this program is offered in collaboration between the School of Professional Development and  the University's Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature, the Department of Languages and Cultural Studies and the University's Distributed Teacher and Leader Education program.

The MAT is not a program for teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). For TESOL information, visit the Department of Linguistics

 

  • Program Requirements

    Program Requirements


    The degree program consists of 47 credits, distributed among the areas listed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is three credits. All degree requirements must be completed within five (5) years from the semester date of admission as a matriculated student.

    LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE
    15 credits; courses not listed are selected with the approval of a departmental advisor

    Spanish (HEGIS 0802)
    SPN 503 Spanish Linguistics
    SPN 510 Hispanic Culture
    Plus three additional 500-level SPN literature courses (to be selected by student and advisor)

    Italian (HEGIS 1104)
    ITL 501 Contemporary Italy
    ITL 508 Advanced Grammar and Stylistics
    One of the following courses in Italian Linguistics: ITL 509, ITL 511, ITL 512, ITL 513
    One course in literature
    One elective course

    French (HEGIS 1102) – Also available 100% Online
    FRN 501 Contemporary French Culture and Institutions
    FRN 507 Advanced Stylistics
    FRN 510 French Phonetics and Diction
    Plus two additional graduate-level FRN literature courses

     

    PROFESSIONAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION - 26 credits

    CEE 505 Education: Theory and Practice
    CEE 565 Human Development
    CEF 547 Principles and Practices of Special Education
    FLA 505 Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages
    FLA 506 Portfolio Development (prerequisite FLA 505)
    FLA 507 Critical Pedagogy or FLA 540 Foreign Language Acquisition Research or CEE 594 Language Acquisition and Literacy Development (formerly LIN 544)
    FLA 549 Field Experience I—Grades 7-9 (one credit; corequisite FLA 505)
    FLA 550 Field Experience II—Grades 10-12 (one credit; corequisite FLA 506)
    FLA 554 Student Teaching Seminar (prerequisites FLA 505 & 506; corequisites FLA 551 & FLA 552)
    FLA 571 Technology and Education or FLA 570 Introduction to Media for Language Teaching

    FIELD EXPERIENCE AND CLINICAL PRACTICE

    Students will be required to complete 100 clock hours of field experience related to coursework prior to student teaching or practica. These experiences include practicing skills for interacting with parents, experiences in high-need schools, and experiences with each of the following student populations: socio-economically disadvantaged students, students who are English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.

    SUPERVISED STUDENT TEACHING - 6 credits

    Prior to student teaching , students must participate in an official ACTFL OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) and receive a minimum spoken proficiency rating of Advanced-Low as defined in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines-Speaking (1999). Students must contact Language Testing International (LTI) and arrange for either a telephone or computerized OPI.

    Courses:
    FLA 551 Supervised Student Teaching High School Grades 10-12: Foreign Languages (prerequisites FLA 505 & 506; corequisites FLA 552 and 554)
    FLA 552 Supervised Student Teaching Middle School Grades 7-9: Foreign Languages (prerequisites FLA 505 & 506; corequisites FLA 551 and FLA 554)

    WRITTEN PROJECT

    Students in all degree programs will be required to complete a four-week foreign language teaching module specifically designed for the Supervised Student Teaching project.

  • Teacher Certification

    Teacher Certification


    Stony Brook University requires that students must have completed an undergraduate degree and have at least 36 credits in the content field for admission to the MAT program. This course of study should be substantially the equivalent to that of a Stony Brook undergraduate degree program.

    The Master of Arts in Teaching is a New York State registered and approved program that qualifies students for license upon successful degree completion. Students must complete all courses required for the MAT and must receive a grade of B or better in all pedagogy and foundation courses as well as an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in all course work attempted while matriculated in a graduate teacher preparation program.

    Workshops

    Teacher preparation candidates must be fingerprinted and must also complete certification workshops in:

    • Child Abuse
    • Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) 
    • School Violence (Project Save)
    • Identification and Referral of Substance Abuse 

    See Certification and Licensing Workshops for details and schedules.

    Tests

    All students will have to complete the  Educating All Students Test and the revised CST (Content Specialty Test) in the area of the Certificate. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor the TEACH website at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/ to ensure that they are taking the appropriate examinations.

    NOTE: As of April 27, 2022, the NYS Education Department eliminated the edTPA as a certification requirement.  Effective September 1, 2023, in lieu of the edTPA, all students in teacher preparation programs will be required to complete a teacher performance assessment.  This assessment will be developed, administered, and evaluated by Stony Brook University instructors.

  • Tuition and Financial Information

    Tuition and Financial Information


    Cost of Attendance
    Tuition and fee information can be found on the Bursar's website.

    Payment Plan
    Stony Brook recognizes the need for helping students manage the expenses of higher education. To this end, the University offers a Time Option Payment Plan (TOPP), a program that allows students to make equal and consecutive payments throughout the year.

    Financial Aid
    For information on financial aid options, contact the Stony Brook Office of Financial Aid at (631) 632-6840, or visit the Financial Aid website.

  • Application Information

    Application Information 


    Minimum Requirements To Apply*

    • An academic major (or a minimum of 36 credits) in the program language
    • A minimum GPA of 3.00 in your overall bachelor's degree program
    • A minimum GPA of 3.00 in language studies

    Electronic transcripts should be sent to   spd_transcripts@stonybrook.edu . Paper transcripts and supporting materials should be sent to:

    Elizabeth-Anne Tolson
    Dept. of Languages and Cultural Studies 
    Humanities 2127 
    Stony Brook University 
    Stony Brook, NY 11794-5359

    *As of Spring 2022, Graduate Record Examination scores are no longer required for admission into MAT programs.

     Deadlines and Application Links

  • Contact Information
     

    Contact Information

    For program questions, please contact:
    Dr. Sarah Jourdain, Director
    Foreign Language Teacher Preparation Program
    Stony Brook University
    Stony Brook, NY 11794-4310
    Telephone: 631-632-7440 
    Email: Sarah.Jourdain@stonybrook.edu 

    For advisement relative to specific content areas, contact a Faculty Advisor:

    French
    Madeline Turan, PhD
    Email: Madeline.Turan@stonybrook.edu
    Telephone: 631-632-7445

    Italian
    Irene Marchegiani, PhD
    Email: Irene.Marchegiani@stonybrook.edu
    Telephone: 631-632-7440

    Spanish
    Javier Uriarte, PhD
    Email:  Javier.Uriarte@stonybrook.edu

    For application procedure questions, please contact:
    MAT Admissions 
    School of Professional Development
    2321 Computer Science Building
    Stony Brook University
    Stony Brook, NY 11794 - 4434
    Telephone: 631-632-7050
    Fax: 631-982-7311
    Email: spd@stonybrook.edu 

 

 

Stony Brook University is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Its teacher education programs have been awarded full accreditation by AAQEP through June 30, 2030.