Wheaton College TESOL & Intercultural Studies

08/27/2026

New Grad Student orientation took place on Monday. President Ryken welcomed the entire group totalling 300 new grad students in all disciplines. TESOL had our own orientation with a live and an online session. Later TESOL participated in the Academic Fair which gave opportunities to share our program with incoming undergrads.

08/20/2026

11 students were on Wheaton Campus from Aug 10-14th for an intensive late summer course taught by Dr. Pam Barger. “Theological Perspectives on Language and Education” challenged students to think theologically about content, curriculum and various contexts for learning.

08/10/2026

A few scenes from Wheaton's TEFL Certificate program on the campus of Colorado State University back in July. This training program (now in its 22nd year) prepares teachers to work cross-culturally in a number of countries through rigorous, graduate-level courses. As an administrator, Dr. Alan Seaman was impressed with the quality of this year's instructors -- all long-term teachers based overseas with in-depth knowledge of their cultural contexts.

07/30/2026

TESOL M.A. alumna Savanna Fox has been selected by the U.S. Department of State for a 10-month fellowship project training teachers and teaching English in China at Shandong Normal University. Savannah brings years of university-level ESL/EFL teaching experience, including roles with the University of Illinois Chicago's Intensive English Program, DePaul University, and the College of DuPage. She previously lived and taught in Qingdao and Harbin, China. That experience continues to shape a teaching philosophy centered on student-centered, hospitality-oriented classrooms and genuine cultural exchange.

As an English Language Fellow in Jinan, Savannah will teach oral English, pronunciation, reading, writing, and TESOL methodology to university English majors, and will lead teacher training seminars for local educators. Congratulations, Savannah!!

07/23/2026

Each year, some students in Wheaton’s MA TESOL program research and write a thesis, which is a major research project published through the Wheaton College Library.

This year we’d like to feature one of our online Flex students, Caroline Mabry. For her thesis, Teacher Perspectives on Newcomer Schools and Academies: A Case Study, Caroline researched newcomer English language programs in Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. Her methodology combined library research, classroom observations of multilingualism, a survey, and in-depth interviews with K-12 teachers and administrators.

Caroline’s excellent study provides an articulate and compassionate portrait of these programs for newly arrived immigrants to the United States.

07/16/2026

During the past semester Dr. Alan Seaman worked with a talented team of World Relief Chicagoland teachers and administrators on "Curriculum 2.0", a grant-funded project involving the systematic development of employment-focused English language courses. Several of the courses have already been launched, preparing immigrants for areas such as entrepreneurship, healthcare, and food service. The creativity and resourcefulness shown by World Relief’s staff is remarkable as they adapt to changing times!

07/09/2026

In late June, Dr. Alan Seaman traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent Illinois at TESOL's annual public policy summit. With delegates from over 40 states, he received two days of briefings on current immigration and education policy, then met with members of Congress for discussions related to current policy. This year's summit was co-sponsored by NABE, the National Association for Bilingual Education. The FY27 federal budget is being debated and was the primary focus. Dr. Seaman enjoyed meeting other TESOL professionals from across the United States.

07/07/2026

Which structural issue do you believe will have the greatest impact on English language education over the next three years?

06/26/2026

World Relief Chicagoland does fantastic work with literacy and English classes. Featured in this video are one of our professors, Robyn Hackett and TESOL MA Alumna Sarah Taylor.

06/15/2026

This year's ICLL conference theme is "Exploring acculturation through language acquisition". Check it out! Richmond, Virginia in October!

Registration is open now for the International Congress on Language Learning this October! Learn more and register today to reserve your spot!