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MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – January or September entry

  • Year of entry
    2023/24 See 2024/25 entry
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months
  • Year of entry
    2023/24 See 2024/25 entry
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months

Study MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at one of the world's best known centres in TESOL and Applied Linguistics.

Reading's Department of English Language and Linguistics has more than 50 years of excellence in the field. David Crystal OBE (awarded for services to the English language, 1995) set up the first linguistics degree at the University of Reading, and sociolinguistics was born at Reading. 

This course is suitable for graduates already working or just starting a career in the field of English as a second/foreign language and who wish to develop and deepen specialist knowledge and skills in TESOL and related linguistic areas. We’re in the top 150 universities in the world for these subjects (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023).

It connects theory with practice to build relevant teaching expertise in key TESOL areas, and provides up-to-date, thorough and critical knowledge of the field taught by top researchers and teachers.

This course offers flexibility through a choice of tracks to suit individual needs and experiences using small-group teaching and a wide choice of optional modules are available. The 'Dissertation Track' is suitable for students who already have teaching experience, and is especially recommended for those who wish to pursue further study. The 'Portfolio Track' is designed for those with little or no teaching experience. It involves completing a portfolio based on classroom observations and teaching experience gained during the summer term in our renowned International Study and Language Institute (ISLI).

Our specialist research areas include:

  • testing and assessment
  • second language acquisition
  • intercultural communication
  • second language teaching
  • multilingualism
  • vocabulary studies
  • language teaching and creativity
  • language curriculum design
  • EFL teacher training
  • child language development
  • language and migration
  • world Englishes
  • sociolinguistics.

For more information, please visit the English Language and Applied Linguistics website.

Overview

Study MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at one of the world's best known centres in TESOL and Applied Linguistics.

Reading's Department of English Language and Linguistics has more than 50 years of excellence in the field. David Crystal OBE (awarded for services to the English language, 1995) set up the first linguistics degree at the University of Reading, and sociolinguistics was born at Reading. 

This course is suitable for graduates already working or just starting a career in the field of English as a second/foreign language and who wish to develop and deepen specialist knowledge and skills in TESOL and related linguistic areas. We’re in the top 150 universities in the world for these subjects (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023).

It connects theory with practice to build relevant teaching expertise in key TESOL areas, and provides up-to-date, thorough and critical knowledge of the field taught by top researchers and teachers.

This course offers flexibility through a choice of tracks to suit individual needs and experiences using small-group teaching and a wide choice of optional modules are available. The 'Dissertation Track' is suitable for students who already have teaching experience, and is especially recommended for those who wish to pursue further study. The 'Portfolio Track' is designed for those with little or no teaching experience. It involves completing a portfolio based on classroom observations and teaching experience gained during the summer term in our renowned International Study and Language Institute (ISLI).

Our specialist research areas include:

  • testing and assessment
  • second language acquisition
  • intercultural communication
  • second language teaching
  • multilingualism
  • vocabulary studies
  • language teaching and creativity
  • language curriculum design
  • EFL teacher training
  • child language development
  • language and migration
  • world Englishes
  • sociolinguistics.

For more information, please visit the English Language and Applied Linguistics website.

Entry requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall with no element less than 6.0 (or equivalent).

Entry requirements: Normally a good undergraduate honours degree (2:1 or above), or equivalent from a university outside the UK. Those with other qualifications and relevant work experience may also be considered. For the MA TESOL dissertation track, you normally need a minimum of one year’s relevant work experience. For the MA TESOL portfolio track, no teaching experience is required. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score, you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Year 1

Compulsory modules

Foundations of Language Study

Explore the phonetic and phonological systems of the English language and the ways in which it can be described grammatically at phrase and sentence level. You’ll study the major formal and functional units involved in the articulation/production of sounds, syllables, stress, intonation, words and the construction of sentences, as well as verb phrase and noun phrase. 

Second Language Learning Principles

Evaluate general theories of learning, considering: the implications of learning theories for second language learning and teaching; the development and relationship of different theoretical accounts of the first and second language learning process; important factors in second language learning connected with the learner and the circumstances of learning; and practical implications of second language learning.

Research Design Methods

Examine the research designs and research techniques in English language teaching and applied linguistics, outlining different types of, and approaches to, research, and the main elements of a research study in terms of questions, hypotheses and variables.

Academic Practices in Applied Linguistics

Receive the academic help and support you need to thrive as a student in the Department of English Language and Linguistics with this online module. 

Portfolio track take these additional compulsory modules

Language Teaching Portfolio

Relate theory of second language learning and teaching to practice through the observation of classroom events, detailed analysis of a language learner, and development of lesson plans and delivery of teaching. You’ll acquire basic knowledge of how to evaluate, adapt, plan and deliver a lesson or part of a lesson, and of how to analyse the language of a learner.

Issues in Language Skills Teaching

Examine key aspects of second language teaching theories, methodologies and practice in relation to the development of second language skills, with particular reference to integrated communicative and task-based teaching approaches.

Dissertation track take these additional compulsory modules

Dissertation

Design, conduct and complete an original research study based on your knowledge and learning.

Language Curriculum Design

Review the principal approaches to the design of language curricula, examine relevant factors in specifying a syllabus, analyse teaching materials in the light of syllabus requirements, consider the processes involved in implementing curriculum innovation, and contextualise language curriculum design within the educational system and educational philosophy.

Optional modules

Approaches to Discourse Analysis

Apply the key methodological frameworks for the description and analysis of discourse, including spoken and written language in use. You’ll consider a range of analytical approaches in the description of authentic language, relating features of text to the context in which the language is produced and understood, as well as the applicability of these approaches in a variety of social and educational contexts.

Child Language Development

Gain an understanding of language development in normal children, together with the experience of encoding child language data and using a computer program to analyse it. This will provide you with a benchmark and system of analysis for interpreting abnormal language development.

Intercultural Communication

Explore how people of different discourse systems or groups communicate with one another in various face-to-face and digitally mediated contexts. You’ll gain an understanding of how assumptions and values that have been constructed or adopted within a specific culture group influence the ways in which people successfully communicate with each other, as well as experience miscommunication, and study a variety of topics in intercultural communication through hands-on analysis of intercultural encounters.

Introduction to Corpus Linguistics

Discover the tools and methods of corpus linguistics (CL) and the application of CL as a tool for the analysis of language use in a variety of registers and discourse contexts. You’ll receive comprehensive training in the use of specialist software for the analysis of language in corpora (large electronic text compilations), and gain hands-on experience in creating, annotating, analysing and summarising corpus-data for your own research purposes.

Language and Migration

Explore the role of language in migration by focusing on the multiple and complex ways that migration has been sustained and constrained through language use for centuries. You’ll examine a range of theories from sociolinguistics, sociology and education studies, learning to apply these theories to different contexts of migration across the world, and study topics such as multilingualism and mobility, and globalisation and language policy.

Sociolinguistics

Focus on the relationship between language and society, and the study of language as a social phenomenon, as you explore diverse areas of sociolinguistic enquiry.

Language Testing Principles

Gain familiarity with the basic concepts, issues and methods of language testing.

Introduction to Speech and Language Pathology

Study a range of speech and language deficits found in adults and children and relate these findings to knowledge of linguistics and normal speech and language processing.

Language Processing

Address the nature of language processing in children and adults and consider evidence from both typical and atypical populations.

Multilingualism and Impairment Across the Lifespan

Examine child language development and outcomes in a bilingual setting, as well as language impairment in bilingual or multilingual individuals, children and adults.

Neuroscience of Language

Explore current research in the cognitive neuroscience of language. 

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £10,500

New international students: £21,350

Tuition fee information

The fees listed are for full-time study, unless otherwise stated. Fee information will be confirmed in offer letters sent out to successful applicants. You can find further information, including information for part-time study, through our dedicated fees and funding page.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government's guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Careers

Graduates from this course enter the following careers worldwide: teacher training; university research, teaching and leadership; testing and assessment; directing, managing and teaching roles within language teaching institutions worldwide including state (governmental) and private sector; translation and interpreting, publishing in the language industry.

In the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, overall, 100% of graduates from English Language and Applied Linguistics are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation (based on our analysis of the most recent HESA data for this subject HESA 2022, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20; includes all English Language and Applied Linguistics responders).

Alis discusses her experience of MA TESOL. 

More than any other factor, my experience on the MA programme at Reading precipitated my transition from teacher and teacher trainer to fully-fledged ELT professional. The MA gave me not just the skills and the discourse that enabled professionalisation, but also the confidence. It was a turning point and I’m enormously grateful.

Scott Thornbury
Former master's student

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