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TESOL MA

Purposes of our graduate programs in TESOL

BYU's TESOL MA program provides professional-level preparation for careers in teaching English to speakers of other languages in any of the following areas:

  • Intensive English programs at universities
  • ESL/EFL courses for private companies
    • Community college and university-level ESL courses
    • Adult education ESL programs for immigrants and refugees
  • English as a foreign language (in non-English speaking countries)
  • Supervision/Administration of ESL/EFL programs
  • ESL/EFL teacher preparation

Other TESOL teacher-preparation options

Our TESOL graduate program does not focus on K-12 teacher preparation in the United States. That is the purpose of the TELL program in the McKay School of Education, which leads to the Utah State ESL Endorsement http://education.byu.edu/esl/.

TESOL MA

Students completing an MA in TESOL will specialize in one of the five areas (as determined by their choice of MA thesis or project topic and their graduate committee). These areas (and their associated learning outcomes) are as follows:

  • Research: Analyze, perform and communicate professional level research
  • Specialized Teaching Knowledge and Skills: Demonstrate advanced specialized language teaching knowledge and skills in one or more of the language skills and elements by:
    • Examining, selecting, and using methods conducive to effective learning of particular language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing) and elements (Culture, Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation)
    • Examining, evaluating, and creating materials to support effective language teaching and leaning
    • Critically analyzing research in language acquisition and teaching, and applying it to classroom contexts
  • Curriculum and Materials Development: Develop professional quality curricula and materials for English language teaching
  • Assessment and Evaluation: Create and interpret effective measures of language ability
  • Administration and Supervision: Understand and practice recognized principles of effective teacher development and program operation

Advisement

The Thesis or project committee is appointed when a student is admitted to the TESOL MA program. The chair of this committee serves as the academic advisor for the MA student.

Admissions

  • Deadline for application is January 15th (only once a year). Application is made directly to the Linguistics and English Language Department.
  • Admissions decisions are based upon:
    • Undergraduate GPA
    • Letter of intent (including experience, commitment to the profession, and plans for the future)
    • Letters of Recommendation
    • General GRE score - required for admission.
    • Engish language skills for all non-native speakers of English, whether or not they graduated from an English speaking school:  A TOEFL score of 237 (computer), 580 (paper), or 90 (internet based – iBT with minimum scores of 23 in Speaking and 22 in Listening, Reading, and Writing). For further information for international students, please see online at http://internationalservices.byu.edu.
    • Students must begin coursework fall semester.  If you have not taken Ling 330 or equivalent, you can come spring or summer term, but must contact the department to set that up.
    • Apply online at http://www.byu.edu/gradstudies.
    • Program of Study (containing required and anticipated elective courses).
    • Note: Accepted students will meet with their assigned committee chair during the first semester of the program to adjust and finalize this list as needed.
    • Brief proposal (500-750 words) of intended thesis research or project addressing its purpose, nature, and feasibility.
  • The number of students admitted to the TESOL MA program depends on its capacity (which is projected to be a total of 15 active students) and the number of students who exit the program.
  • Students admitted to the MA should plan to meet with their committee to identify a timeline for completing their project or thesis and adjust and finalize their program of study.

Requirements

  • Thirty-six total credits for TESOL MA, including credit hours from the core courses and electives listed below.
  • Complete thesis or project and successful defense.  '
  • Competency in one language other than English at the 200 level.  This requirement may be fulfilled while taking program coursework; but those language credits do NOT count toward the total credits needed for the program.

Core Courses

First Year (all required)

  •   Ling 601 – Linguistic Foundations-Sound (3 credits).  To be taken during a student’s first semester in the program.
  •   Ling 602 – Linguistic Foundations-Structure (3 credits).  To be taken during a student’s first semester in the program.
  •   Ling 603 – Linguistic Foundations-Meaning (3 credits).  To be taken during a student’s second semester in the program.
  •   Ling 610 – TESOL Methods and Materials Overview (3 credits).  To be taken during a student’s first semester in the program.
  •   Ling 611 – TESOL Methods and Materials Application (3 credits).  To be taken during a student’s second semester in the program.
  •   Ling 612 – TESOL Practicum (3 credits).To be taken during a student’s second semester in the program.  

Second Year (all required)

  •   Ling 620, Research in TESOL (3 credits). Analyzing and interpreting published research for language teachers, writing a review of literature, recognizing various research approaches and assessing their appropriateness, and designing empirical research that is both valid and reliable. To be taken fall semester of the first year of the MA program.
  •   Ling 640, Language Acquisition (3 credits). First- and second-language acquisition viewed in light of psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics. To be taken fall semester of the first year of the MA program.
  •   Ling 660, Language Testing (3 credits). Construction, analysis, use, and interpretation of language tests. To be taken winter semester of the MA program.
  •   Linguistics 695, TESOL Seminar (1 credit).  Integrating TESOL theory and practice; final preparation for TESOL career paths; refining and publicly presenting and defending thesis or project results.  Offered second semester of the MA program.
  •   Linguistics 699R Thesis credit (6 credits) plus one elective course (2 credits). OR Ling 698R Project (2 credits) plus three elective courses (2 credits each).

Thesis Option

If you are accepted into the MA program to complete a thesis you will take 6-credit hours of Ling 699R (Thesis credit) plus one 2-credit elective course to be approved by your committee chair. The elective course is to be selected from the list below.

Project Option

If you are accepted into the MA program to complete a project you will take 2-credit hours of Ling 698R (Project credit) plus three 2-credit elective courses to be approved by your committeechair. The elective course is to be selected from the list below.

Electives*

Each of the following electives is a 2 credit course. The selection of electives is to be made with the prior approval of the student's committee chair. Most of these courses will be offered winter or spring (on an as-needed basis) according to the Program of Study submitted by the TESOL MA students.

  • Ling 625, Speaking Theory and Pedagogy. Review historical methods for teaching speaking and pronunciation. Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of phonetics as well as current methods, techniques, materials, and strategies for teaching speaking and pronunciation. Limited practicum included.
  • Ling 631, Grammar Theory and Pedagogy. Examining English grammar and usage as they reflect different theories about language description and applying this knowledge in the ESL/EFL classroom.
  • Ling 655, Culture Teaching. Learning what culture is and how it functions in society. Practicing techniques and creating materials for teaching culture in ESL/EFL and foreign language classrooms.
  • Ling 672, Reading Theory and Pedagogy. Processes involved in reading, emphasizing how this skill is developed in a second/foreign language. 
  • Ling 673, Writing Theory and Pedagogy. Overview of theory, principles, procedures, materials, and issues associated with teaching English writing skills to speakers of other languages.
  • Ling 674, Listening Theory and Pedagogy. Reviewing current theories, research, and teaching strategies of listening in a second language.
  • Ling 675, Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition and Teaching. Studying patterns in vocabulary acquisition and use through published reports and corpus analysis. Learning and practicing current methods of teaching vocabulary and assessing vocabulary knowledge. 
    Ling 676, Technology in Language Teaching. Various technologies and how they relate to theories of second language acquisition. SLA and exploring Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) as an area of inquiry. 
  • Ling 677, Curriculum Development. History and theory of curriculum design in language programs. Analysis and understanding of various curriculum development models and the process of developing language-teaching curricula for specific purposes. 
  • Ling 678, Materials Development. Designing and producing professional-quality language teaching/learning materials of various types: textbooks, software, etc. Materials-development issues, factors, and processes, as well as their application in real-world contexts.  Offered fall semester
  • Ling 679, TESOL Supervision-Administration Internship. The principles and practice of supervising and administering English language programs. Effectively mentoring novice ESL/EFL instructors. 
  • Ling 688R, Internship. Supervised field experience involving English language teaching, testing, or materials development in an approved domestic or international setting (offered Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer).

The following elective courses are offered by Brigham Young University's department of Instructional Psychology and Technology. For information on when they are offered, please contact the IP&T department (422-5097, 150 MCKB).

  • IP&T 560 - Microcomputer Materials Production (3 cr.) Prereq: IP&T 286 or IP&T 515R; CS 103 or equivalent. Designing, programming, and debugging educational applications of microcomputers using a high-level computer language.
  • IP&T 564 - Instructional Design (3 cr.) Identifying instructional problems; specifying objects, instructional strategies, and media; analyzing learning outcomes; developing instructional materials and assessment instruments; validating instructional systems.
  • IP&T 654 - Computers in Educational Measurement (2-4 cr.) Prereq: IP&T 652 Assessing Learning Outcomes or instructor's consent. Types of computerized measurement and assessment methods and item forms, as well as their development, delivery and statistical theory.
  • IP&T 655 - Instructional Print Design and Production (2 cr.) Prereq: IP&T 564 Instructional Design. Applying instructional and visual design principles to produce instructional print materials, using computer-based tools.
  • IP&T 665 - Instructional Visual/Video Production (4 cr.) Rec. prereq: IP&T 515R or equivalent. Designing, producing, and integrating audio, visual, and video instructional materials. Applying digital and other technologies in audio recording and mixing, and photographic and video production.

*Other graduate-level linguistics courses and appropriate courses from other departments may also be used as electives with approval.

Note: Students should plan to meet with their graduate advisor during the first semester of the program to which they have been admitted in order to complete a study list of courses.