Job Discussion Forums

[Drizzt]

So I was searching for an MA program in either applied linguistics or TESOL when I stumbled across an interesting program offered at UT called Foreign Language Education. It seems tailored perfectly for me, but I want some advice from those of you who have an MA already to evaluate the broad description given on the department page.

What I really want to do is teach EFL or ESL at the community college/university level both at home and overseas. Additionally I wouldn't mind teaching another language at the college level (my undergraduate degree was in Spanish and I'm now learning Mandarin [informally] in Shanghai where I also teach). Other possibilities I've considered is doing translation work between the langauges I am familiar with. The program claims to prepare you for these things, but I'm worried that it's too broad and I will not be able to land a job. On the one hand I like the fact that it's broad because I feel like it will give me flexibility in career opportunities, but on the other hand, if it's too broad I might not be able to market it well.

Any suggestions are MORE than appreciated!


Foreign Language Education



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Background and Purposes


The graduate program in Foreign Language Education at The University of Texas is devoted to the preparation of foreign/second language teachers, teacher educators, the investigation of problems of language teaching and learning, and the preparation of supervisors of language programs. It is also concerned with innovations in teacher education, with the creation of materials to improve teaching, and with research and experimentation in relation to crucial problems facing the foreign language teaching profession, including teaching English as a second language.

The Faculty works closely with the various disciplines related to foreign/second language teaching and attempts to make the specialist in language teaching a product of the entire university and not simply that of a language department, a department of linguistics, or a department of the College of Education. In order to implement new methods and ideas and to chart future plans based on projected needs, Foreign Language Education also works with local school districts, educational agencies, and research centers as well as with the U.S. Office of Education and other national professional agencies such as the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), and the Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).



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Degrees

Foreign Language Education offers specializations leading to the M.A. and the Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education, including applied linguistics, foreign language teaching, and teaching English as a foreign language or second language (ESL/FL). A course of study for the Ph.D. includes competence in the following areas: the second language, linguistics, psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, methods of foreign language teaching, media, and research methods. A course of study is arranged which will fit the goals, abilities and previous background of the individual student.

The M.A. course of study consists of two options: (a): six hours of a thesis, twelve hours of education courses related to language teaching, and twelve hours in language, linguistics or a combination of these; or (b): three hours of a report, eighteen hours of education courses, and twelve hours in language, linguistics or a combination of these. For FLE and ESL/FL students who have no previous teaching experience, an internship is also required. It is also possible to specialize in applied linguistics with a focus on translation on the M.A. level. Students interested in the translation program should contact the Graduate Adviser before applying.

Before a student can pursue a graduate program, admission to the Graduate School must be gained. For this purpose, an application for admission, transcripts, and a Graduate Record Examination score should be sent to the Graduate and International Admissions Center. TOEFL scores are also required of international students who are not native speakers of English. A curriculum vitae, essay, and three letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the Foreign Language Education Program.



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FACULTY

Since the program's multidisciplinary approach relies on outstanding personnel from the areas of linguistics, language, literature, psychology, and speech communication, the program is enriched by the resources of the entire university. Some of the personnel currently associated with the program are shown in the following list according to their departmental affiliation:

Anthropology

Joel Sherzer, Professor of Anthropology
Asian Studies

Herman Van Olphen, Professor of Asian Studies
Communication Studies

Jurgen Streeck, Associate Professor of Communication
Anita L. Vangelisti, Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Curriculum & Instruction

Colleen Fairbanks, Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
Elaine K. Horwitz, Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
Liu, Min, Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
Zena Moore, Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Instruction
David Schwarzer, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
Sofia Villenas, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
Educational Psychology

Hua Chang, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology
Diane Schallert, Professor of Educational Psychology
Frank Wicker, Professor of Educational Psychology
English

Ian Hancock, Professor of English and Linguistics
Jacqueline Henkel, Associate Professor of English
Sara Kimball, Associate Professor of English
Carol MacKay, Professor of English
Gary Underwood, Associate Professor of English
Helena Woodard, Associate Professor of English
French & Italian

Carl Blyth, Associate Professor of French & Italian
Germanic Studies

Hans Boas, Assistant Professor of Germanic Studies
Frank Donahue, Professor of Germanic Studies
Janet Swaffar, Professor of Germanic Languages
John Weinstock, Professor of Germanic Languages
Szuzanna Abrams, Assistant Professor of Germanic Studies
Linguistics

Aaron Bar-Adon, Professor of Linguistics
Lisa Green, Assistant Professor of Linguistics
Robert King, Aubray and Bernard Rapoport Regents Chair of Jewish Studies and R.D. King Centennial Professor of Liberal Arts and Distinguished Teaching Professor
Harvey Sussman, Professor of Linguistics
Keith Walters, Associate Professor of Linguistics
Middle Eastern Language and Culture

Peter Abboud, Professor of Middle Eastern Language and Culture
Michael Hillman, Professor of Middle Eastern Language and Culture
Ghanoonparvar Mohammed, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern language and Culture
Slavic Languages

Thomas Garza, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages
Spanish & Portuguese

Frederick Hensey, Professor of Spanish & Portuguese
Orlando Kelm, Associate Professor of Spanish & Portuguese
Dale Koike, Associate Professor of Spanish & Portuguese
Carlos Sole, Professor of Spanish & Portuguese
Teaching Effectiveness

Marilla Svinicki, Associate Professor of Teaching Effectiveness

[MELEE]

About 5 years ago I worked with a guy who was a recent grad of that program. I had a really good background in educational theories and was doing some interesting action research, before coming here he'd only ever taught Spanish to English speakers. The only problem was this, I felt his knowledge of English grammar and syntax was deficient. (For example, when given a list of present continuous sentences, he had a really hard time distinguishing which were future sense and which were "now". ) In his MA, most of his electives were in Spanish. I'm not the sort to totally write of a program based on one graduate, but if I were to hire someone from that program to teach English, I'd want to see their transcripts and see what courses they took. In you're case you've been teaching English previously, so that would work to your advantage. I think if you want to work at a CC in the US, it's probably a just as good of an option as many other programs.

[Drizzt]

Thanks Melee, I appreciate the feedback.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[Nomad Dan]

Sounds like an interesting program to me.
Does anyone know if it could lead to a PhD. or an docorate in Education..?
It may say that in the post and I will look back.
I would think that there would be easier and perhaps cheaper routes to take in order to become qualified as a teacher of ESL in a higher education setting, but this program would be a very good route.

Good luck and thanks for sharing the info on this particular program.

ND