Instructor Certification Course (ICC)

The Pre-Service Instructor Certification Course (ICC) program at the DLIFLC consists of a four-week, 160-hour course for newly hired civilian and military language instructors. The purpose of the ICC is to meet the changing needs of the DLIFLC and its teachers.

the ICC emphasizes practical matters directly related to the teaching of foreign languages

Because of higher proficiency requirements of the Proficiency Enhancement Program (PEP), the ICC emphasizes practical matters directly related to the teaching of foreign languages. The design accommodates incoming instructors with varying levels of expertise, including those who have lower English proficiency, less skill with technology, little or no teaching experience and educational backgrounds that may not lend themselves easily to the teaching standards and requirements of PEP. The ICC includes an updated certification process that provides for extended mentoring, as needed. Major objectives are:

• To promote the use of best practices in communicative foreign language teaching
• To recognize the main characteristics of adult learning and language learning processes and their relationship to methods in foreign language education.
• To prepare teachers to make informed choices as they help students reach enhanced proficiency goals and meet FLO requirements.
• To develop familiarity with technological resources at DLI and their multiple uses in creating proficiency-oriented lessons.
• Plan and conduct in-school teaching sessions that demonstrate teachers’ understanding of the principles of learner-centered, communicative language instruction.

Selected ICC Content

The Certification Process

Successful completion of the Pre-Service Program requires not only attendance in the ICC course, but also a follow-up certification procedure which includes an extended mentoring process and a final certification observation conducted by an FD specialist and the department chair. The certification visit consists of a pre-observation conference, a class observation, and a post-observation conference.

During the pre-observation conference, the instructor will demonstrate an ability to develop a learner-centered, communicative, structured lesson with specific goals and objectives through a lesson plan that is discussed in the conference.

At the time of the actual observation, the instructor will demonstrate an ability to teach a learner-centered, communicative foreign language lesson that specifically incorporates the practices associated with proficiency listed below:

• Meaningful tasks
• information gap
• Skill integration
• Contextualization
• Pair/group work
• Primary use of target language
• Additional elements of communicative language teaching, including the use of authentic texts, integration of language and culture, and personalization.

The post-observation period consists of a meeting with an FD specialist and the department chairperson. At this time, the instructor demonstrates his/her knowledge and awareness of learner-centered, communicative language teaching by identifying how the observed lesson met the certification criteria. At the conclusion of the conference, the certification decision will be made and announced.

The mentoring process

Some novice instructors might need additional time to learn and adapt teaching practices required to be successful in the intensive foreign language programs at DLI. To meet the needs of these instructors, FD will set up a mentoring program that will consist of several observation and feedback cycles, lesson plan reviews, and opportunities to discuss teaching issues with more experienced teachers and FD specialists. The mentoring can be initiated by the ICC facilitator, the department chair, or the teacher.

In case a teacher does not meet the certification criteria, a mentoring plan will be set up to help the teacher succeed in the process.