Amy Loewen transferred all of her credits earned in the Certificate Program in Teaching English as a Second Language to the University of San Francisco’s M.A. in TESL. Saving both time and money, this path expedited her transition to teaching. A recent graduate of the certificate program, Loewen recalls the moment during her first class when she knew she was in the right place.
“Even after being out of school for so long, I had the feeling that I could really dig into the field and make a new career for myself—not just teach a few private students every now and then, but write papers, do a master’s and really get excited about everything from sociolinguistics to what causes interlanguage transfer,” she says. “I found it completely fascinating. It’s a way to bring my love of language and culture together with my desire to improve people’s lives and empower them.”
Because the Extension curriculum offers an in-class practicum, Loewen finds herself more at ease in her current position teaching at College of Alameda. “That’s an incredibly valuable opportunity because lots of people graduate with a master’s in TESOL and they’ve never taught,” she says.
Coming full circle, Loewen is delighted to be teaching an upcoming pronunciation course to TESL students at Extension.