Non-native English-speaking graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are required to demonstrate oral English proficiency prior to being appointed as classroom instructors, including face-to-face and online instruction and office hours. The only exception to this policy is for appointments that require grading only. Graders are exempt from demonstrating oral English proficiency if they have no oral interaction with students. Graders who have oral interactions with students (e.g., through office hours) must demonstrate oral English proficiency.

This campus policy was initiated in response to Illinois state law and applies to all prospective non-native English-speaking teaching assistants regardless of country of origin, nationality, or the language of instruction in any high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree program they may have previously completed.

Please note that requirements regarding English proficiency for teaching are different from requirements for admission to the Graduate College.

Graduate students are encouraged to fulfill the oral English proficiency requirement for teaching prior to arriving on campus by obtaining a qualifying speaking score on the TOEFL or IELTS. Scores are valid if received within two years of the first day of enrollment at UIUC.

As a service to the campus community, CITL offers the campus-based English Proficiency Interview (EPI) as another means by which prospective TAs can demonstrate oral proficiency in English and fulfill campus policy and Illinois state law.