A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline. Previous teaching experience is not required.
Alternatively, you may be considered on the basis of employment or relevant experience; please contact us to check.
If you are studying at a Chinese 211 institution, you must have a minimum overall average of 80% for courses and at least 80% on the dissertation. For non-211 institutions, you must have an average of 85% for courses and 80% on the dissertation.
For 2020 entry we accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified*:
IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module)
TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 23 in each module). We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
PTE Academic: total 67 (at least 61 in each of the "Communicative Skills" sections)
CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 176 in each module)
Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
For 2021 entry we will accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified*:
IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module)
TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 23 in each module). We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 176 in each module)
Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
*(Revised 21 February 2020 to remove PTE Academic from 2021 entry requirements. Revised 21 April 2020 to include TOEFL-iBT Special Home Edition in 2020 and 2021 entry requirements.)
Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.
Suitable for both experienced teachers and newcomers to the field, this Master's degree is designed for students who plan to teach English as a second, foreign or additional language (EFL, ESL, TESOL) in the UK or internationally, as well as students who plan to work or do research in the contexts of teacher education, teacher training, management, course design, materials development, policy design, language analysis and/or assessment.
This programme combines theory and practice to equip you with the essential language teaching skills you need to teach English to speakers of other languages. It allows you to upgrade your knowledge of language, methodology and curriculum design and shows you how to focus on the needs of the learner.
You will learn to design, implement and evaluate substantial research or development tasks, and adapt your planning and teaching approaches to changing contexts and circumstances.
You will graduate with greater professional knowledge and enhanced confidence in your ability to teach the English language to any student.
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Compulsory courses:
Language and the Learner
Second Language Teaching Curriculum
TESOL Methodology
Sources of Knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature
Conceptualising Research: Foundations, Assumptions and Praxis
Option courses may include*:
Bilingual Education
Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching
Critical literacies and critical pedagogies in L1 and L2 contexts
Evaluation and Design of TESOL Materials
Global Englishes for Language Teaching
Investigating Individual Learner Differences
Language and Intercultural Communication Pedagogy
Language Awareness for Second Language Teachers
Language Testing
Online Language Learning
Second Language Teacher Education
Teaching Languages to Young Learners
Teaching Text Across Borders
Text, Discourse and Language Teaching
Theory and Practice of Second Language Learning
(Not all options run every year.)
*(Revised 22 June 2020 to update option courses list.)
With a strong foundation in teaching and research, our students are employed worldwide in all areas of the English language teaching profession. Examples roles include:
training other TESOL teachers
management of TESOL education
teaching English at primary, secondary or tertiary level
teaching English in specialised fields (e.g. business English)
designing TESOL curricula, materials and policies
Representatives from international teacher recruitment agencies visit our campus every year to talk to our students and conduct on-campus recruitment interviews with shortlisted candidates for TESOL-related posts.
The MSc is a good introduction to an advanced research degree. You will also develop a range of highly transferable communication and professional skills which can be applied to roles in any field.
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