Mary Frances Early College of Education professor Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor has been honored with the University of Georgia’s highest award for teaching, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. The Meigs Professorship reflects the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, the value placed on student learning experiences and the central role instruction plays in the university’s mission.

Cahnmann-Taylor is known to instill a passion for poetry, art, and theater in her students – future educators themselves – who go on to teach and lead in schools across the country. However, her influence goes beyond the continental U.S. – she served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Oaxaca, Mexico, in the 2013-2014 school year, investigating American adult Spanish language acquisition. Other awards include the Beckman award for “Professors Who Inspire Social Change,” Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg and Anna Davidson poetry prizes, Jenny Penny Oliver Diversity Award, First Year Odyssey Teaching Award, and the Foreign Language Association of Georgia [FLAG] Leadership Award.

In fact, since her career beginnings as a bilingual elementary educator in Los Angeles, she has dedicated her time, both professionally and personally, to exploring the complexities of U.S. bilingual, TESOL and world language education and the intersections between language, culture, identity, class and power.

Aside from her work on campus, Cahnmann-Taylor teaches in the Endorsement in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) online programs.

To read more about the award and the other exceptional faculty members honored, visit UGA Today’s article.

Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Learn the latest theories, strategies and practices related to second language and multilingual education through UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education’s online Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Online coursework accommodates the working professional and is taught by internationally recognized faculty.

Earning this certificate qualifies you to:

• Teach ESOL in U.S. contexts
• Teach ESOL in international contexts
• Apply for TESOL state licensure with UGA’s on campus MAT program*
• Apply for an on campus TESOL masters program with UGA*

Learn more about this certificate program here.

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