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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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 Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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| SolitaryThrush wrote: |
| Thanks for the tip about UMass . . . I've been looking around but haven't found any information about it, though. |
http://www.umassonline.net/degrees/Online-Degree-Master-Applied-Linguistics.cfm
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| Anyway, are there other online MAs in TESOL through American universities that aren't degree mills? |
Look at various state and regionally accredited private universities that offer distance learning degrees and see what they have. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by Chancellor on Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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CdnInKorea
Joined: 08 May 2008
Posts: 39
Location: The Land of the Morning Chaos (Korea)
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 1:15 am Post subject: |
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I'm currently doing an MA in Applied Linguistics through the University of New England, in Australia. Admission was incredibly easy, making me think it's a degree mill. However, now that I'm in it I can say that it's a real program; degree mills don't make courses this challenging (I would think, anyway).
It's only 3,000 AUD per semester too, which isn't bad. PM me if you have any specific questions (I don't have enough posts to reply though, so include your email address). |
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Symphany
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 117
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| Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Sorry to derail this thread, but does anyone with an MA or PhD in another field get rewarding, satisfying work in TESOL? I'm just asking because although I have seen alot of people post about their qualifications related to education, theoretical and applied linguistics, and have seemed to be successful, however I originally majored in History and I was wondering if there was a way to go higher in that study area and not get completely locked out of the TESOL field. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Symphany wrote: |
| Sorry to derail this thread, but does anyone with an MA or PhD in another field get rewarding, satisfying work in TESOL? I'm just asking because although I have seen alot of people post about their qualifications related to education, theoretical and applied linguistics, and have seemed to be successful, however I originally majored in History and I was wondering if there was a way to go higher in that study area and not get completely locked out of the TESOL field. |
Not without some sort of TEFL/TESL certification. Teaching a language is not the same as teaching history or some other general content subject area (e.g. Social Studies, Math, Science). TEFL/TESL isn't even the same as that subject the government indoctrination centers (public schools) call "English" or "Language Arts."
Of course, if you wanted to teach in the government indoctrination centers you could possibly go get dual certification so you can teach both Social Studies and ESL. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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Our recently-gone Director at this university Language Centre had both an MA and a Phd in subjects totally unrelated to education or language learning or management or anything applicable at all....
however, she was generally acknowledged as having been a failure on all levels.
Chancellor's correct. To make a real career in this field, you need to focus on something applicable.
I'm currently sifting through applications for our single job opening (there are far too many...) and weeding out anyone without any quals focused on what we do: education, language, applied linguistics...this is pretty basic if you expect to compete at the career level. |
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jdl
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 632
Location: cyberspace
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| Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:30 am Post subject: |
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Solitary,
Surely there must be at least one university in Japan that offers what you want? Both you and your significant other can study and work together. |
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Symphany
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 117
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:00 am Post subject: |
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Chancellor, Spiral, thank you for your replies. Spiral, I think your information is quite relevant, however the teacher in question may have been a poor teacher. Sounds like a scary scenario anyway.  |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Symphany wrote: |
| Chancellor, Spiral, thank you for your replies. Spiral, I think your information is quite relevant, however the teacher in question may have been a poor teacher. Sounds like a scary scenario anyway. |
So, what are you going to do? |
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Symphany
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 117
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor, both yours and Spiral's replies have definitely given me some food for thought. It doesn't appear that its possible to get serious positions without recognized qualifications. I haven't made a final decision just now, and plan to in the next few years. Information from this forum and others has been a help. Thanks again. |
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jellybones
Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:38 am Post subject: |
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good advice.
Last edited by jellybones on Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:29 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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| jellybones wrote: |
| Ignore everyone on this thread. Call the HR dept of prospective future places of employment and simply ask them if they would hire someone with MA from "x" school. I live in California, and I went through the site: www.cccregistry.org. I called every ESL position listed (which pay very well btw) and asked if they would hire someone with an MATESOL from Anaheim University (completely online school). I was shocked. They said they would in a heartbeat. Furthermore, the people who do the actually hiring didn't know the difference from regionally accredited vs nationally accredited, and they much preferred a graduate from Anaheim University to a graduate from a top Australian brick and mortar university (local bias, I guess). These two things were true for all 6 of the CC's I was able to get through to. They really didn't have any problem with online MA's. |
USA schools simply prefer American schools over foreign schools - as long as the American schools are regionally accredited (there really isn't a "national" university accreditation).
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| I don't know what other states are like, but CA CC's have tons of jobs for MATESOL holders pretty much regardless of where you get the paper. Call your local community colleges and talk to the their HR dept. |
But not all MATESOL degrees are appropriate for teaching at the college level. Some MATESOL degrees are geared toward teaching children in the public school system.
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| I've been talking classes through AU now and it isn't the greatest. You have to contribute to a forum like Dave's all the time and you don't learn much. Everyone is overly polite and don't expect much input from the big man. He's a bit like Krusty the Clown at Kamp Krusty, if ya catch my drift. Just get that MA and you can make your parents happy by telling them you won't always have to be in a hakwon/bushiban/eikaiwa and you'll be back in the USA making bank in 2.5 to 10 years (maybe 20). |
You're assuming that ESL teachers all make a lot of money in the US.
I suspect that your post is nothing more than trolling. |
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jellybones
Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Chancellor wrote: |
| USA schools simply prefer American schools over foreign schools - as long as the American schools are regionally accredited (there really isn't a "national" university accreditation). |
I agree that national accreditation is sorta bologna, and you would have a lot of difficulty transferring credits to a regionally accredited school (AU claims a letter from their dean will make this easy). That's why I was surprised.
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| But not all MATESOL degrees are appropriate for teaching at the college level. Some MATESOL degrees are geared toward teaching children in the public school system. |
In my state this is called a K-6 multiple subject credential.
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| You're assuming that ESL teachers all make a lot of money in the US. |
I think the pay is pretty good... 
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| I suspect that your post is nothing more than trolling. |
Sorry. I shouldn't have said "ignore everyone" I just remember when I was searching for legitimacy for my academic plans on Dave's, and I remember the relief I felt when I decided to be proactive and call places. |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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| jellybones wrote: |
| Chancellor wrote: |
| USA schools simply prefer American schools over foreign schools - as long as the American schools are regionally accredited (there really isn't a "national" university accreditation). |
I agree that national accreditation is sorta bologna, and you would have a lot of difficulty transferring credits to a regionally accredited school (AU claims a letter from their dean will make this easy). That's why I was surprised. |
Transferring credits involves more than a letter. The school whose credits you want transferred will have to send a copy of your transcript and, in some cases, even course descriptions for the receiving school to evaluate. Ultimately, it's the receiving school that decides what it will or will not accept.
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| In my state this is called a K-6 multiple subject credential. |
Only K-6? Is there not also a 7-12 in the land of the Californicators?
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| I think the pay is pretty good... |
"Pretty good" is a subjective term.
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| Sorry. I shouldn't have said "ignore everyone" I just remember when I was searching for legitimacy for my academic plans on Dave's, and I remember the relief I felt when I decided to be proactive and call places. |
Doing a bit of research before making those calls will cut down on the number of calls and on the questions you'll ask in those calls. For example, the state of West Virginia has an alternative teacher certification program I might be interested in pursuing (to gain some extra teaching experience before going overseas). After exploring the state education department's Transition to Teaching Program website, I only had a few questions; so, I sent an e-mail to the appropriate contact and received the answers I needed. You have to admit it's a lot better than just blindly making a bunch of phone calls. The legitimacy of academic plans depends on what one hopes to accomplish once those plans are completed. Do you want to teach in the government indoctrination centers (public schools)? If so, state teacher certification must be part of your academic plan. Do you want to teach adults overseas? Other than in the university setting, a CELTA or similar TEFL certificate will likely be enough. Do you want to teach in a foreign university? Each one has its own requirements but I suspect that most of them are going to want you to have more than just a four-year undergraduate degree.
Here's what it all comes down to: when we talk about CELTA or Trinity or one of the other TEFL certification programs, we're talking about nothing more than an entry-level certificate for teaching adults. For those making TEFL a career, many have decided to get more training by going on to do the DELTA or to get a MATESOL degree or a master's in applied linguistics. If you don't want to go the degree route and you already have a bachelor's degree, you can get a graduate certificate in ESL. |
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chinagirl
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 235
Location: United States
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| Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:35 pm Post subject: master's |
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| Perhaps this is slightly off-topic, but I would like to contribute. I can only speak for teaching in NY public schools, but without a state-issued certificate in teaching ESL K-12 complete with student teaching, you cannot get in the door here. If you are only interested in teaching adults at the community college, for example, then a master's in TESOL from any regionally accredited school (online or not) is OK. But those jobs pay poorly compared to public school teaching, which has much better benefits and salary. A certificate in teaching adults such as the CELTA may get you some part-time teaching at a community center or library, but again, not enough to generate a livable income. My advice for people looking long-term is to do a combined masters and public school cert. It's worth the effort. Even if you don't teach in the public schools, it makes you much more marketable in the current economic climate. For Spanish speakers, a bilingual cert is a golden ticket here for public school teaching. |
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