Applied Linguistics for TESOL

Overview

Course Summary

The Applied Linguistics for TESOL MA course at Durham University is designed for anyone with an interest in the wider aspects of teaching English as a foreign language, combining innovative classroom practices with an understanding of issues such as language structure and research methodology.

The course offers a core of syllabus design and assessment, with greater depth provided through further required modules focusing on both theoretical and practical aspects of the English language and on classroom practice. You will then have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge base by taking three or four further optional modules covering a wide range of relevant areas. The MA is completed by a 15,000-word dissertation.

ELC MA courses are delivered via lectures, seminars, practical sessions and micro-teaching sessions, giving you a solid grounding in both the theoretical and practical aspects of the field. In many cases, contact hours will be a mixture of these approaches (rather than, say, a session consisting solely of a two-hour lecture). The balance will depend on the particular module, with some more suited to a lecture/seminar approach, others being of a more practical nature.

The focus throughout the courses is on independent learning and student engagement, you are expected to participate in presentations, micro-teaching and the like. The average weekly number of contact hours over the first two terms is 12, you will fill the remaining time with reading, class preparation and assignments.

In addition, starting in the first term, you will attend a series of dissertation sessions (typically 2 hours per fortnight) culminating in a poster conference in the third term. You are assigned a dissertation supervisor, and can expect three or four meetings during the third term and the summer.

You will have an academic tutor, with whom you will meet on average once a term and all staff have office hours.