Master of Arts - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

This is a Masters course that can take students into employment anywhere in the world. For students who are enthusiastic about teaching English to speakers of other languages, this University of Essex course offers them vocationally-relevant, research-led training of the highest quality, taught by academics known for their teaching excellence.

Students explore teaching methods and the description of English used in the investigation of language learning and teaching, and study additional topics according to their needs. These might include: how second language learners acquire the four skills as well as language systems; how the four skills, vocabulary and grammar can be taught; how language learning can be assessed and tested; how different aspects of the psychology of language learners and teachers influence learning and classroom practice; how language lessons are planned, how materials are evaluated and designed, and how language classrooms can be managed.

Students also gain hands-on teaching experience through Essex's Teaching Practice I and Teaching Practice II modules.

Whether students have no prior teaching experience or are already an English language teacher, this course can be adapted to suit them. If students have little or no previous teaching experience, they receive ‘hands on’ teaching practice throughout the teaching practice modules, while students who already have more than two year’s full-time teaching experience, can undertake specialist study through the reflective practitioner options instead.

Students will be part of Essex's Centre for Research in Language Development throughout the Lifespan (LaDeLi), a unique research centre specializing in all aspects of language learning and development.

Essex is a leading UK university for language and linguistics research, a place where talented students become part of an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. They're also ranked 13th in the UK for Linguistics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2020).

Takers of Essex's MA TESOL come with the specific intention of entering the ELT/TESOL profession, which they duly go on to do. Experienced English language teachers also join Essex to update their expertise and return to the classroom with a career enhancement.

The specialist knowledge students gain enables them to take senior or specialist roles, not necessarily only in the classroom but also in educational advice and management, programme evaluation, syllabus design and teacher education.