Job Discussion Forums

[Michael In Tainan]

I just started my MA progam this week. It is a MA in Linguistics with an option in TESL and I will also get my TESL certificate. I am hoping it will only take me 2 years at the most.

Tonight I was looking at another University and they offer a MS in Education with an option in TESOL. The actual titile is: MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION (TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES)
This program seems to be a little shorter than the one I am currently enrolled in.

So, my question is: which one is more attractive to universities when trying to get a job? MA in Linguistics or MS in Education?

Also, I am a certified high school history teacher. I taught ESL in Taiwan for 4 years. I am a single male, 31 years old. I am doing this because I would like to work in KSA. ( I hear that is where all the money is!!!)

Thank you

[scot47]

It does not matter. What counts is that you have one !

[QatarChic]

[younggeorge]

[veiledsentiments]

If you want to guarantee that every employer will accept it, I would stay in your current program. I wouldn't switch unless there was a significant benefit in time spent, costs, etc. If all you would gain was a semester of time, I wouldn't bother.

VS

[Henry_Cowell]

Graduate degrees in "education" are often considered to be a bit suspect and dodgy. This doesn't mean that they ARE suspect/dodgy. But the field of education does have that reputation.

Stick to an M.A. in linguistics, especially if you're primarily interested in language teaching. If you want to be a school administrator, counselor, curriculum developer or tester, then a degree in education is a bit more appropriate.

[31]

That is primarily INTERESTED not interesting.

[Henry_Cowell]

Thanks, 31! At least I edit my posts after somebody has pointed out a mistake.

[veiledsentiments]

Most people are not aware that you can easily edit posts and also delete duplicates or those things you typed late at night and would like to make disappear forever!!

Just use the buttons in the upper right of your message.

VS

[31]

Or better still, lets not point out spelling mistakes and minor grammatical mistakes.

[Hector_Lector]

Should that not be �let�s�?

[31]

Shouldn't that be 'shouldn't be,' with the question mark inside the inverted commas?

[veiledsentiments]

Funny Hector...

But, if one posts on a board full of English teachers, one shouldn't be surprised that one of them will correct one's errors.

[Hector_Lector]

It could be �shouldn�t that be�, but �should that not be� is certainly not an error. It is a sign of education, probably in a school in North Britain, where abbreviations in writing are frowned upon as being vulgar. And most certainly it shouldn�t be �shouldn�t that be �let�s?��, which would would reflect an ill-spent youth, implying hours spent in caf�s and billiard halls rather than at home, toiling by the feeble light of a sputtering candle. I didn�t get where I am today by frittering away my time in such establishments. The Devil makes work for idle hands (take note, 31). And what is more, VS, if this board were full of English teachers, more would be made of the bad spelling, ignorance of grammar and appalling use of punctuation, all of which abound.

[31]

But Hector we both got where we are and are in the same TEFL trap.