MA TESOL Certificate Program

This course offers the students an in-depth overview of linguistic theories and discusses how today’s generative theory of linguistics can inform the practice of language teaching. The course also familiarizes the students with the main subfields of linguistics (i.e., phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics), presents the most up-to-date evidence from neurolinguistics pertaining to language theory and teaching, and introduces the concept of interlanguage. Throughout the course, much attention is paid to the interaction of linguistic theory and language teaching.

This course gives an overview of effective pedagogical techniques for teaching English to speakers of other langauge. Students will learn methodological approaches that support teaching receptive and productive skills as well as some practical classroom ideas for integrating skills in the EFL classroom. The course includes an introduction to task-based learning, CLIL, and English for specific purposes. Emphasis is on culturally and contextually appropriate pedagogy.

This course outlines the steps toward developing an English language course designed from data obtained through needs-based analysis. Students are taken through the steps of how to prepare for units of curriculum in a scope and sequence that is designed for longer periods of time than a typical daily lesson plan. Students are given an opportunity to apply a theoretical framework in assessing learner needs, outlining goals of and objectives of the course, developing the syllabus and preparing appropriate materials and assessments. Attention is also given to the application of information technology and multimedia use for English language learning. Students analyze current teaching materials including evaluating textbooks and language learning resources as well as examining and integrating technological tools within their teaching context.

This course deepens the students’ knowledge of assessment and exposes students to the language tests available for today’s classroom and institutional use. The course also provides the guidelines and criteria for examining and evaluating English language tests. In the second part of the course, students are taught how to design, implement, and evaluate valid and comprehensive language tests for the assessment of adult language proficiency. The course introduces the students to the statistics commonly employed in language testing. Finally, the course challenges students to utilize authentic assessment measures, ensuring that both formative and summative evaluation occurs within the English language curriculum.