TESOL MA
1 Year Full-Time | September Start

The purpose of this module is to develop the participant’s ability in study skills and English language skills for academic purposes.

The module is designed to develop the participants as independent learners. The module is supported by a teaching and learning plan which outlines the formal sessions, together with the tutor-directed study and independent reading. An interactive approach to seminars will draw upon the directed learning undertaken and participants’ own experience of study skills. Directed learning will centre upon a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for interactive activities and use of the discussion board on the e-learning platform.
Independent learning will focus upon the participants identifying those skills which they need to develop and understand through a range of learning activities that might include extended reading, and reflection. The sessions will attempt to follow the principles set out by the CEM model (Sloan and Porter, 2008)

This module will provide you with a range of descriptive, critical, and analytical tools that will enable you to examine the English language. You will acquire the skills required for analysing key aspects of formal language. You will also be equipped with the necessary skills for examining the relationship between language and meaning in a range of contexts. The module highlights phenomena which present difficulties for learners of a second or foreign language and shows how a detailed understanding of language in context—using linguistic data from a wide range of sources, such as narrative, classroom discourse, figurative language, and corpora—can be used as an effective tool in the teaching and learning of English as another language. You will also engage with current debates in linguistic theory and you will develop the skills necessary for discovering patterns in language theory and data.

This module will introduce you to the principles of both TESOL materials and syllabus design, and give you practical experience of developing materials and courses for TESOL students. The experience that you gain through participating in the course and completing the assignments will be of both practical and theoretical use for career development, through further training and potential employment in the TESOL field.

You will consider a variety of learning materials and course designs, tying these in with pedagogic and methodological approaches as far as possible. You will also look at how courses and materials have developed historically, and how linguistic and pedagogic elements are accounted for.

Throughout the module, you will be encouraged to develop a working knowledge of the principles behind designing classroom materials and course syllabuses, and a critical stance towards the examples presented to you. You will also develop the skills necessary to design and critically evaluate a set of language learning materials, and a short course for TESOL learners.

This module will introduce you to current TESOL methodology, trace its development and map its possible future. You will be exposed to current debates in the TESOL profession including issues around the use of native and non-native English teachers. The module also has practicum sessions which require you put theory into practice. The experience that you gain will be of both intellectual and practical value for career development and your potential employment in the TESOL field.

The areas of grammar, pronunciation and lexis, receptive and productive skills and lesson planning will also be considered. You will gain wide ranging experience in planning appropriate lessons and delivering them during the practicum sessions. You will also learn through observing others in practice as well as gain useful feedback from your classmates.

Through engaging in the module, you will be expected to develop, 1) familiarity with a variety of methods and approaches, 2) awareness of appropriate methodology for delivering language lessons, 3) practical skill in using appropriate methodology in the delivery of lessons.

At the end of this module, you will 1) have further experience of TESOL methodology, 2) be able to take a critical stance with regard to classroom practice, 3) have experience of planning and delivering appropriate lessons, and be able to justify the pedagogical choices made.

The module will give you the opportunity to complete either an independent research project of your choice on a topic in English language, linguistics or TESOL, or a practice-based project.

You will be working under the supervision of at least one member of staff either to plan, undertake and write up a small research project, or to reflect on your experience during a teacher-training course. You will learn how to plan, manage and organise a relatively large scale research or practice-based project. To successfully carry out your project, you will need to draw on skills and knowledge acquired during your programme. Throughout your dissertation project, you will learn how to identify interesting research questions and how to apply different data collection and analysis techniques to answer these questions.

The module will equip you with transferrable skills that are highly valued by employers including management, organisational and analytical skills.

You will be required to submit 3 formative assessments totalling 4,000 words (a research proposal, a critical bibliography and a research timeline/plan), and a 12,000 word final dissertation. As well as individual tutorials with your supervisor(s), there will be four two-hour research lectures to support you in your work.

Drawing upon an Applied Linguistics perspective, this 30-credit module explores the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)/English Language Teaching (ELT), and language teaching and learning more generally, looking specifically at ‘what takes place’ in the second language classroom. It investigates the key questions and dilemmas around classroom practice, focusing on the implications of these debates for ELT practitioners and for how they/we teach.

On this module, therefore, you will engage critically with current key debates in second language pedagogy, linking your own teaching and learning experiences to theory and the research literature. Areas examined include classroom interaction and management, language teaching methods and the emergence of a Postmethod era within ELT, and the attributes and attitudes which learners bring to the language learning classroom. Throughout, students’ own (and differing) social and institutional contexts for English language teaching/learning will be recognised.

You will thus reflect critically upon social and historical trends within applied linguistics and English language teaching, recognising the complexity and diversity of ELT classrooms around the world, establishing your own ‘sense of plausibility’ about pedagogic practice and theory in relation to your own (current or future) professional context.

Your studies during this wide-ranging module may also help you identify aspects of the language learning classroom which you find particularly interesting. This may form a basis for studying them further during your MA dissertation.