Explore our Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages taught Master's degree.

P-X9PR full-time; P-X9PRP part-time or P-X9PS part-time (fixed 2 years)

MA

1 year full-time;
2-4 years part-time

3 October 2022

Applied Linguistics

University of Warwick

Warwick's TESOL programme is designed with course features that will appeal to those who want to advance their career in English Language Teaching. This MA's structure allows Warwick to capture new, cutting edge developments and showcase staff expertise in a growing range of specialist areas.

The MA TESOL programme will help you develop an in-depth understanding of the links between research, theory and professional practice in the area of teaching English to speakers of other languages.

The programme has been designed for English language teachers with varying levels of professional experience, from teachers who have less than two years’ experience to those who have taught for many years. Potential students include teachers, teacher trainers, materials or curriculum developers, and other professionals who work in the area of second/foreign language education, either in the state sector or in private language institutes at primary, secondary or tertiary levels.

Skills from this degree

For this degree, skills that will be developed include:

• Research skills (e.g. qualitative/quantitative research design and methods; action research, etc.)
• Professional development skills (e.g. teaching, observing, mentoring, reflective practice)
• Language teaching materials and lesson plan design skills (e.g. materials for young learners, adults, English for Specific Purposes etc.)
• Language analysis skills (e.g. conversation analysis; discourse analysis)

Modules are taught by a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. Importance is placed on research-led teaching and developing students understanding of research principles and methods, as well as the ability to reflect on the relationship between theory, research and practice.

In term three, you will work closely with a dissertation supervisor to complete your own research project. The dissertation draws on the academic and professional knowledge and interests you have developed in terms one and two and is closely linked to work you have done in the research methodology module.

Class size will vary depending on type of module (core or optional) and teaching session (lecture or seminar), ranging from around 10 students (for some optional modules) to around 80 students (for core module lectures).

There are 10 weeks in each term. For both terms one and two, you will usually have 8 weeks of teaching contact with the remainder of each term dedicated to module related reading, assignment work and optional tutorials.

Assessment on the programme is by coursework and final dissertation - there are no formal examinations. The following are example types of coursework you might submit for assessment on the MA:

• Written assignment (e.g. a 2,000 word assignment which includes an appropriately referenced literature review)
• Teaching materials/lesson plans with rationale
• Blog writing (e.g. blogging about useful ICT tools for ELT)
• Language analysis

Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

Mid-point 2:ii undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline.

• Band A
• IELTS overall score of 6.5, (with 6.5 in writing).

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Pathway 1 (students with less than two years of teaching experience)

Foundations of TESOL Methodology

This module provides a solid foundation in TESOL theory and practice. It explores both historical and contemporary developments in TESOL in order to give you a broad understanding of the field of English language teaching. Through such exploration, you are encouraged to reflectively engage with and develop your own beliefs about language learning and teaching, particularly in relation to educational contexts you are familiar with and/or will return to as a practising teacher.

And

Foundations of TESOL Professional Practice

This module is designed to complement the ‘Foundations of TESOL Methodology’ module which principally focusses on developing critical awareness of English language teaching approaches and methods. Approaches and methods will be further explored in this module, particularly through actual classroom teaching practice. For this, you will plan and design your own lessons in a collaborative environment with input from peers and tutors. More specifically, the module involves an action research style project which encourages you to reflect critically through observation and analysis of your own and your peers’ teaching, as well as through the research you do in relation to your own teaching.

Or Pathway 2 (students with more than two years of teaching experience)

Innovations in TESOL Methodology

TESOL is a forward-looking field, and new ideas and practices are constantly promoted. But what is really new, what kinds of change have most value, and how can innovation be brought about most appropriately? This module will help you consider innovations in TESOL in relation to your own teaching contexts. We introduce you to recent innovations, such as: technology; values; language; learning and assessment/resource-based ideas and practices. You will critically evaluate new ideas, according to provided frameworks and ones you will develop yourself. You're introduced to ideas on how to navigate and bring about change successfully, with reference to reflective practice, practitioner research, occupational psychology and innovation management.

And

Professional Practice in TESOL

This module will enable you to investigate aspects of published material including skills and language work, use of IT and considerations of critical pedagogy. You will work in collaboration or alone to produce material that could be used in a stated context for language teaching or language teacher education as well as an academic rationale for this.

Plus both Pathway 1 and Pathway 2 take the following core modules:

Sociolinguistics of English as Global Language

This module introduces you to key concepts in sociolinguistics, as reflected particularly in contemporary debates surrounding the nature of ‘language’ and ‘standard language’, multilingualism/bilingualism, and what it means to communicate ‘effectively’ and ‘appropriately’. Aspects of lingua franca communication, intercultural pragmatics and related issues of learner and teacher identity will also be addressed. On this basis, key challenges in the teaching of English as a global language in a classroom environment will be explored.

SLA Insights for TESOL Practice

This module explores areas of second language acquisition (SLA) research that are relevant to TESOL practice. It considers how SLA is affected by individual learner characteristics as well as social-interactive processes in the classroom, and focuses specifically on features of SLA that can be positively shaped by teachers.

Spoken Interaction

This module aims to develop skills in the collection, transcription and analysis of spoken interaction. You will focus on capturing samples of speech for analysis and teaching purposes; exploring the relationship between context and the construction of talk; understanding different approaches to the analysis of spoken interaction; applying conversation analysis to spoken interaction; and identifying the main features of classroom interaction. As well as learning how to capture spoken data and transcribe it, you will choose an area of analysis for your assignment. Students report that spoken interaction analysis tools are often helpful with dissertation research.

Approaches to Written Discourse

The module aims to teach you to understand, critically evaluate, and use a wide range of contemporary approaches suitable for the analysis of written discourse (in the broad sense) as linked to social setting, and to understand the pedagogic implications of such analyses.

Research Methods in TESOL

Designing and undertaking a small scale research project independently is a core part of the programme. This module will take you through the process of writing a well-structured MA dissertation. It will encourage you to engage with and critically evaluate research in the broad field of TESOL, and familiarise you with different approaches to ethical research.

The module will cover a range of data collection methods and analytical options relevant to TESOL contexts. You will be encouraged to undertake research relevant to your own interests after formulating focused/answerable research questions. The module will also address questions about how to present an appropriately structured, clearly articulated proposal.

Dissertation

• Specialism in Classroom Motivation
• Literature and Drama in TESOL
• Management and Leadership in TESOL
• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in TESOL
• Teaching and Researching Young Language Learners
• Specialism in Teacher Education and Development
• Specialism in Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning
• Using Corpora for TESOL
• Assessment in TESOL

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