MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL

  • Mode of study: Full time or part time
  • Duration: 1 year full time, 2 years part time
  • Entry requirements for 2013 entry: A good honours degree or equivalent, plus initial teacher training and a minimum of three months full-time, relevant, teaching experience.
  • IELTS score: English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 or equivalent with no component less than 6.5.
Print course

Find out more:

Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8299
Email: humanities.admissions@port.ac.uk
Department: School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)

Course overview

The course is ideal for practising ELT/EFL/TESOL teachers who wish to continue their professional development and improve their career prospects. As well as thoroughly reviewing developments in the field, this flexible course allows students to develop their expertise in areas of personal interest. It offers the perfect way to extend knowledge and understanding of learning and teaching while upgrading qualifications.

Course content

The MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL aims to develop an understanding of the general and applied linguistic issues that have a bearing on the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language. It will also enable teachers to reflect on their current teaching practice.

The course is structured on the basis of core units and optional units.

  • Theory & Practice of Applied Linguistics
  • Theory & Practice of TESOL
  • Dissertation / Major Project
  • 2 options from:
    • Analysing, Evaluating & Writing Materials
    • World Englishes
    • Independent Learning
    • Using Technology & Corpora in Language Teaching & Research

Please note. All optional units are subject to staff availability and student demand.

Exit levels

The credit system creates a flexible framework in which you can graduate with one of the following awards, depending on the number of credits gained:

  • MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL: 180 credits
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics and TESOL: 120 credits
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Linguistics and TESOL: 60 credits

Teaching and Assessment

Typically each taught unit runs for twelve weeks and has four hours of teaching per week. Teaching takes place in small seminar groups, allowing students to analyse arguments, contribute ideas and ask questions. Tutors are also available to offer guidance to students on an individual basis.

Most units are assessed through at least two pieces of coursework (typically essays), amounting to 6000 words in total for the unit.

Career prospects

Graduates will be able to progress to jobs in higher education in their own country or elsewhere, or continue on to undertake doctoral research in teaching and related fields. Possession of a Master's qualification is often viewed as a requirement for promotion to a more responsible position in either the private or public sectors or to diversify a career into areas such as educational management, materials evaluation and production, teacher education or external assessment.

Facilities and features

You will have easy access to lecturers with a rich variety of experience in terms of both theory and practice, as well as to modern communications equipment that includes:

• satellite receivers
• 150 computers
• three dedicated digital multimedia laboratories
• a multimedia development unit

We also have our own Learning Resources Centre, which provides a variety of open access resources ranging from newspapers and journals, self-access texts, reference resources such as dictionaries and grammar books, to audio booths, video viewing facilities and stand-alone computers.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8299
Email: humanities.admissions@port.ac.uk