World Languages Endorsement

Academic Prep  |  Entrance Test

student teaching world languages

Do you want to share your knowledge and passion for world languages with young learners? Do you want to motivate students to develop bilingual skills? 

Become a language teacher and help open a world of opportunities and perspectives up to future generations.

With all of our emphasis on International Baccalaureate and language immersion schools, Oregon continues to experience a shortage of qualified world language teachers.

Our one-year program needs bicultural candidates with French, German, Japanese, Mandarin, and Spanish language expertise and a commitment to improve student language learning. 

This endorsement qualifies you to teach as a middle or high school (grades 5-12) world language teacher.


Program Features

  • World Languages instructional methods courses with teacher experts
  • 34-weeks of field-based, public-school practicum with outstanding faculty and mentor teachers
  • An integrated and equitable approach to serving the diverse learning needs of students from different sociocultural communities
  • 4-term post-baccalaureate program leading to a master's degree in education and licensure
  • In-program support for completing requirements for adding additional endorsements (of your choice) to your license 

Pre-Program Content Preparation for Admissions

Major in a Target Language

Applicants have experiences that foster advanced language proficiency and in-depth cultural understanding and typically come from undergraduate majors in:

  • French
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Mandarin
  • Spanish

Applicants will be required to submit a world languages academic preparation form listing courses from their undergraduate and/or post-baccalaureate transcript that align with state standards for World Languages teachers.

  • language learning
  • literature of language
  • culture of native speakers
  • cultural experiences

This correlates with the content of the required NES/ORELA language test. 


Cultural Experience / Work with Youth (paid or volunteer)

Requires cultural experiences that foster advanced language proficiency and in-depth cultural understanding as well as time spent working with youth developing communication skills, patience, energy, and enthusiasm.

World Languages Academic
Preparation Form


Applicants interested in pursuing a Certificate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching are encouraged to contact the SLAT program directly.

Entrance Subject Area Test Requirement

UOTeach requires a passing World Language Oregon Educator Licensing Assessment (NES/ORELA) test for admissions.

Applicants are encouraged to take the applicable world language test early in the application process.

The tests often require scheduling at a testing center that has capacity to assess your specific language. The test may be taken multiple times but admission cannot be finalized without a passing score.

Out-of-state applicants must take the NES/ORELA subject area test. The Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSCP) will not accept any test outside of NES/ORELA for students from in-state licensure programs.

Testing Fee Waiver

Students on financial aid can apply to NES for a test fee waiver. This process takes several weeks and must be completed prior to registering for the test.

Complete the fee waiver application and bring it to your Financial Aid office for process.

UOTeach does not require the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).