Job Discussion Forums

[teacherfromca]

I don't care about quality or prestige or what country it's from. Just getting the MA degree in TESOL, that's all. I know the UK and Australia have many options(I'm American). So, what's of importance:

1. Money(cheapest)
2. Time (quickest)
3. No requirement go to campus.
3. It should be a real school/ a real degree(not a fake school or anything like that).

As an example with price. Macquarie University from Australia will cost me 53,000 Australian dollars, or 39,000 USD to complete the MA. That's way too expensive. Anything at about 10,000 USD?

[mmcmorrow]

I think there are several distance MA in TESOL programmes in the UK for under 10k GBP - for example, the programme from Lancaster Uni is 9, 925 GBP, which is just over $15k.

[nomad soul]

Start your research with an Internet search using cheap ma tesol online as well as a search of Christian/faith-based colleges. Also check out http://www.mastersintesol.net/programs/masters

[pooroldedgar]

I believe that the University of London offers a fair-priced one with no campus involvement.

[shamblaram]

The Brit MAs tend to be the cheapest. If you're doing it by distance-learning/online, the fees are now pretty much the same for International students as for UK citizens. Most are roughly £7000/$10000.

Top of my head: Nottingham U, Birmingham U, Portsmouth U, Southampton U, Leicester U (Leicester have a list of countries which gets you a reduction, approx. £1000- if you're residing in Vietnam, for example, while studying)

They have a mix of different sounding MAs (TESOL, ELT, Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics & TESOL etc...), but much of the content is the same (or you can tailor it to be more TESOL than AL). The end result- a qualification to get you one of the better-paying jobs- is certainly the same, as most 'better-paying' ESL/EAP jobs ask for an MA in TESOL/ELT/TESL... or App. Ling. I'm guessing from your post that it's a valid qualification you're after, that's all. Any of these should do.

You do these Masters degrees at your own pace. They tend to recommend two and a half to three years. But you can do them in two years if you want- equally you can take up to four years to finish.

The quickest MA I've heard of is Sunderland University- 18 months.

Good luck

(PS Nottingham and Birmingham ask that an applicant's undergrad grades are minimum a '2.1', Leicester a '2.2'. They may be lenient on this, but that's what they say they require. Don't know how these grades translate for US BAs but very roughly a 2.2=60-65%, a 2.1=65-70%, a 1st=70%+. Just something to consider)

[teacherfromca]

Perfect. Anybody actually do a web-based master's from any of these universities?

[shamblaram]

I'm doing one through Nottingham (web-based/online/distance... same thing obviously).

I'm now in China, but at my previous Uni teaching job in Vietnam, there were three other teachers all doing an MA via Nottingham, two doing it via Leicester, one via Portsmouth; also one via Aston and two having finished an MA in TESOL & Ed.Technology from Manchester (forgot to mention those in my last post).

I've heard that the Leicester MA is a bit easier (although that's just conjecture, something to do with having to do less online tasks during each module en route to the module assessment, normally a 3000 word essay). But I can only speak for Nottingham.

My MA is Applied Linguistics, but you can do App.Ling and ELT. These degrees are housed in the English department. It's not a walk in the park- the department is relatively prestigious, so it asks for quite a lot, but it's manageable while working. If you're not working (say, sitting on a beach in Thailand, lucky you!), the MA would be pretty easy-going.

Nottingham also have an MA TESOL which is housed separately in the Education department. You asked for the 'easiest' MA. From memory, the requirements for the MA TESOL were lower, so, again just conjecture, maybe that route would be less complex/less work/easiest.

Others will have to chime in here, but maybe... a TESOL MA is easier (less intellectually taxing) generally, in that the studies tend to be much more related to the practical side of teaching, as opposed to Appl. Ling which can be more related to the theory of language & communication learning. But as I've said, often the name of the degree (TESOL, ELT, App.Ling, etc..) is irrelevant as the programs allow you to pick and choose modules, and both TESOL and App. Ling overlap a lot.

[buravirgil]

I'm intrigued how various programs tailor study toward a specialization. Such variability elevates this information above the framing of the thread, which is cynical insofar as Wilde observed: Knowing the price of everything, and the value of nothing.

It's not simply credential creep, but there are intersections.

I've consistently advocated on this site for the value of attaining an English, liberal Arts degree and will likely go ignored, by peers and employers alike. But I'll bow out of this thread after sharing this very old, addage: Fast, Cheap, or Good-- Pick any two. It's a maxim applied by practicioners of a craft, and it was taught to me by a technical writing professor.

--Cheers

[steki47]

I did my MS Edu-ESL through Indiana U Bloomington.

http://education.indiana.edu/graduate/programs/literacy-culture-language/index.html

Cost me around $14-15K. I went PT over three years.

[shamblaram]

Don't really understand your post, buravirgill....But I'll say that the 'credential creep' (escalation of qualification requirements for jobs?) is, rightly or wrongly, a fact of life now in EFL/EAP- no idea about ESL.

If you want to get a better-paying job (teaching at a University, or as a Manager), an MA will help. The CELTA (or equivalent) is an introduction course, and since CELTA qualified teachers are ten a penny, Univ hiring committees can ask for more. DELTA-qualified folk, without an MA, might say, perhaps quite rightly, that a DELTA is more practically useful than an MA, even teaching at a university. But universities care particularly about rankings/image now. Just as university chancellors, provosts, whatever.. want PHD qualified staff and research in their academic departments, they like to show their EAP/Foundation department's MA-qualified staff as a mark of their university's quality. Chancellors, provosts, whatever think so, even if not everyone else does. For EAP, which the majority of Univ teaching (English) is, at least at international universities with high paying salaries, maybe managers like MA-qualified teachers because they have had exposure to higher level academic texts, language and systems. Dunno..

Re whether the MA is in TESOL or Applied Linguistics, and that it doesn't matter (is that the 'variability' you are referring to?), again, that seems to be a fact of life.

Finally, whether the quality ('value'?) of the MA is relevant or not, and that managers of University EAP departments don't seem to care, well, again... that seems to be a fact of life (providing that the MA is valid, not from a fake/unaccredited institution). The CELTA used to be the benchmark, regardless of where it came from. For better-paying jobs, the benchmark has risen to an MA- and from what I've heard this has been the case in Europe, ME, Japan, even Korea for a long time, and it's started happening in the foreign owned/joint venture universities in China, Vietnam and Thailand. In ten years time, perhaps better-paying jobs will ask for teachers with PHDs. Perhaps some already are...

[shamblaram]

ps to the OP,

one other thing to be aware about: Brit MAs might be a little different to US MAs, you'll want to check.

In the US, many MAs are purely course-work (right?). While in the UK, an MA almost always ends with a dissertation (an independent research project, say, 10-15 thousand words.)

Having a dissertation instead of a couple more modules may make the MA seem harder (or easier?). But since you're looking for the easiest MA, look carefully at the breakdown of the program- how many modules you are required to complete, and particularly assessments, what is the word count of each assessment- to see what suits you best.

Eg My Nottingham MA is an introductory module (60 credits, 2x3000-word essay assessments), then 6 x optional modules (15 credits each, 3000-word essay assessment for each), and a dissertation (60 credit, 12,000-word research paper). Leicester's MA is an intro module, then 4x optional modules, and a dissertation. And maybe Sunderland's MA, because it's only 18-months long has even less modules (or maybe no dissertation..?).

Just thought I'd mention this before you see an MA with low fees, and think that one's the best for you. It might not necessarily be the easiest.

[buravirgil]

[shamblaram]

Sorry, re the US MA being different, that's what I heard, but I guess I was wrong.

As for the rest of your post, buravirgil, I don't understand what you mean. The CELTA was seen as the best of the introduction courses for TEFL. Now that many/most countries don't accept online TEFL certs, the CELTA is the minimum. A DELTA or an MA (depending on where you're aiming for), helps you rise off that bottom. That's what I meant for 'benchmark'. But maybe I should have said that the 'bar' has been raised.

ps Of course, references are important. But the MA is what will get your job application (for an EAP job) through round one. Without that, if the job spec asks for an MA, it'll get lobbed in the bin even if you have stellar references. I'm guessing the OP knows this which is why he started this thread. Anyway, enough from me.

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

I did the Advanced Certificate from Leicester - which is the first step of the MA. It was fine but quite time-consuming.

Note to our couuins over the pond. "Leicester" is pronounced as in "Lester Young"