Job Discussion Forums

[okyokotokyo]

I'll be graduating with a BA (English) this coming April. I'm interested in going on to get an MA in TESOL. For those of you who have MAs in this subject: Where did you get your degree? Are there any universities you would recommend above others? Do you think it's more valuable to get an ESL certificate, gain some teaching experience, and then go back to school for an MA? Do you think, in general, getting an MA is worthwhile, or should I just forget about it and check out the ESL job opportunities?

[saint57]

If I were you, I'd pop my cherry before going for the MA.

A friend of mine went for her B.Ed staight out of univeristy. She cried herself to sleep many nights. I went for my B.Ed after teaching abroad for two years. I had a lot of experience to reflect on in my course work and the teaching practice was like a dream compared to teaching in Korea.

You're going to have to get experience at some point. It's unlikely that anyone will hire you for a position worthy of an MA without any experience.

[spiral78]

I agree with Saint. A couple of years of experience will make MA study far more meaningful, not to mention the fact that you may find you don't like teaching!

Further, I can recommend a distance MA from some standpoints. In doing mine, I was able to relate theory to practice on a daily basis, making the study process far more immediately relevant.

So far as specific univerisities, England's Leicester, Surry, and Birmingham all offer very credible distance master's programs in TESL/TEFL, applied linguistics, and translation studies.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I got my MA in TESOL from a Midwestern (USA) university. It was completely on-site and took 2 years to complete as a full-time student -- including a relatively heavy course load each semester, a thesis, and two 9-week practicums (adults & children.) One of the prerequisites was a minimum of two years of full-time teaching experience.

[denise]

I agree with the others--get a couple of years of teaching experience first, not only to make the theories you learn more relevant but to make sure that you like teaching!

I got mine in California, at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.It's a great program with a great reputation, and even though it costs about $97,000,000,000,000,000 (OK, slight dramatic embellishment there...), I have never regretted choosing such an expensive program. There was at least one student who had entered the MA program immediately after finishing her BA, but most of us already had at least a few years of teaching experience.

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[okyokotokyo]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. You're right; it seems to make more sense to get some teaching experience first, just to see if I like it. I can't believe I didn't consider such an obvious thing! I think I'll be doing that.

[Ai]

I did my MA TEFL without any teaching experience. I definitely think it had the potential to be a mistake. But luckily I love teaching so I don't regret it at all. My degree was 1 year full time. Feel free to pm me if you want info on the university.

[Chris_Crossley]

I'm studying for my MA in Education while I work (but not literally!).

I came to China in October 2001, having gained a Trinity Certificate (London) in TESOL a few months earlier having already gained a BA (Honours) degree and a BEd degree; the BEd also led to my receiving official qualified teacher status for state schools in England and Wales for the secondary (high) school sector.

It was in February 2006, with more than four years of ESOL and EAP teaching (combined) in China under my belt, that I started studying for my MA in Education of the Open University (UK) with a module, worth 1/3 of the degree, entitled "The Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages Worldwide" (TESOLW, for short). I am happy to report that I have now received a Pass for this module!

There is, unlike an initial teaching qualification (like my BEd), no teaching practice of any kind; the MA is purely an academic qualification, although the fact that I have got all this teaching experience in China has helped me tremendously with the TESOLW module. Indeed, the final assignment was a project, which I carried out with the help of some of my more able students from the 2005-06 year, all of whom were aiming to go to England after the end of their 33-week pre-master's programme in order to undertake postgraduate taught degree study; all of them passed.

Hence, having teaching experience already will always prove invaluable to those undertaking MAs. I am on track to finish mine next December.

[mep3]

Ugh! I just had an ugly thought... if I go back to school for an MA TESOL, does that mean I'm going to have to take the GRE exams again? How can I take them in China? I'd want to apply to programs while I am still teaching here in China, and then go back in September if I get accepted. Thx .... Mep

[wildchild]

I would recommend getting experience before or during the MA, but don't expect the professors to act like they care or value your opinion or insights. Experience or no experience, you're still gonna sit there, mouth shut and listen. Know your role, student!

*please note that this will not be the case with every Prof.

and now that I think of it, the better distance programs may allow for more student-student interaction than a traditional onsite program. For example, in a distance program, you will meet your classmates in an online forum, such as this one, where you will be able to discuss at length and develop your ideas. In a traditional class, you are more likely to listen to monologue lectures from the PhD.; not much chance there to discuss and develop.

What do you all think?

[mep3]

I know what you mean about the attitude of the professors. I've had other similar experiences.

But what about the GRE? (see two posts up) Thx .... mep

[wildchild]

you can find programs that don't require the GRE. Try the following link.

http://linguistlist.org/teach/programs/search-programs-action.cfm?RequestTimeout=500

[mep3]

Thanks!

[mep3]

I'm not clear on what the search results in that link are. At the top of the list it just says, "search results." Are those All programs that don't require the GRE, or a list of all programs that offer English-related degrees, or something else.. ? Thanks again .... Mep

[dmb]