LTC FAQ
Who can apply for LTC Portfolio?
Any Master’s or Doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin may apply for the LTC Profolio Program.
If you are interested in linguistics, literature, and/or culture of any language, the LTC Portfolio enables you to receive advanced professional development in either the language teaching track or language program coordination track, which builds upon the fundamental instruction provided by required departmental 398T courses. You will further have the opportunity to expand your professional expertise through exposure to a variety of applied linguistics subfields and to allied disciplines that support the development and refinement of both theoretical and practical applications for language teaching and program direction.
Students in the portfolio program will receive training in language and culture pedagogy, applied linguistics, theory and practice of language acquisition, and program coordination offered by faculty in six language departments and the Department of Linguistics in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as through courses offered by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, and the TLC.
To watch Dr. Garza's information session on the LTC Portfolio Program: Part 1 and Part 2
What are the two tracks available for the LTC Portfolio?
You can choose either the language teaching track or the language program coordination track. If you choose the teaching track your course-work must reflect that focus and upon completion of the program and graduation, your official university transcript will read "Portfolio in Language Teaching." If you choose, instead, the program coordination track, your course selections must reflect this focus and your official university transcript will read "Portfolio in Language Program Coordination."
See the required courses below.
What are the LTC Portfolio application requirements?
You can enter the protfolio program at any point in your graduate work, though we recommend applying as early as possible.
- You must discuss the LTC Portfolio Program with your Departmental Graduate Advisor.
- You must fill in the online application to choose a track and declare yourself part of the LTC Portfolio Program.
What courses may I take for the LTC Portfolio Program?
You must take four courses for 12 hours of credit in graduate-level classes in the area of Language Teaching and/or Program Coordination. The list of approved courses is here. Two of the four must be the following:
- LTC 389 (new course number; same course), Proficiency-Based Language and Culture Instruction: Theory and Practice
- A departmental 398T course, Supervised Teaching in World Languages.
If you are interested in the Language Program Coordination track, you must also take LTC 397P, Practicum in Language Program Coordination.
At least one course must be taken outside your home department (LTC course, for example).
No more than one Conference Course (Independent Study) may be taken for the portfolio program, except in unusual circumstances and with Portfolio Advisory Committee approval.
Porfolio courses are available every semester, including summer terms.
Note: You must maintain a 3.0 GPA in LTC Portfolio courses. These classes may not be taken for Credit/No Credit. Undergraduate classes do not count toward the LTC Portfolio.
May I apply an approved course I took before applying for the LTC Portfolio Program?
Yes, as long as your have not had a break in enrollment, took the course for a grade and received a grade of 3.0 or higher for it.
May I take an approved course Credit/No-Credit?
No, you must take the course for a grade and receive a grade of 3.0 or higher for it.
Do any undergraduate classes count toward the LTC Portfolio Program?
No, they don't and the only graduate courses approved for the Program are listed on this website.
What are benefits of the LTC Portfolio Program?
The 2007 MLA Report on Foreign Languages and Higher Education, among its many critical recommendations to the field, suggests institutions “enhance and reward graduate student training in languages and language teaching” and “teach graduate students to use technology in language instruction and learning.” The graduate LTC Portfolio is designed to prepare you to become successful and productive collegiate language professionals and to reinforce language teaching as a scholarly activity.
To these ends, the proposed portfolio focuses its course offerings on the language classroom, curriculum and materials development, and learning outcomes offered by faculty in six language departments and Linguistics in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as through courses offered in Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, and the Texas Language Center.
Completion of the portfolio will ensure you are given the necessary tools both to implement best practices and conduct research in these environments and you will earn an additional credential in preparation for entering the job market in language, literature, and culture programs.
After completing requirements for the LTC Portfolio and graduation, your official university transcript will read "Portfolio in Language Teaching" or "Portfolio in Language Program Coordination," depending on which track of courses you completed. You may also request a printable certificate from the Texas Language Center.
When should I apply for the LTC Portfolio Program?
Fill out the online application and join our listserv as early as possible so we can count you as part of our Portfolio Program, and you receive all our email announcements.
What do I do when I've met the requirements for the LTC Portfolio Program?
You will need to notify the LTC Advisor of your graduation date as soon as you've completed the requirements.
Can I meet with someone from the TLC for advising?
If you have already met with your departmental Graduate Advisor, further advising is not required for LTC Portfolio students, but you may contact Betsy Brown at the Texas Language Center to schedule an appointment.
I have more questions. Who can I talk with about the LTC Portfolio Program?
If you have more questions about the LTC Protfolio Program, contact the Texas Language Center at 512-471-6574, tlc@austin.utexas.edu.
