Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

Hello,

Does anyone have any information/suggestions/opinions on an MA in TEYL? I'm specifically considering the one offered by York University ( http://www.york.ac.uk/celt/teyl/ma_teyl.htm ). My interest is researching young learners L2 acquisition in an ESL environment (I am in Canada and would like to continue working here, not abroad). Thanks for any information.

[nor123]

This is a really interesting course that I'm currently doing. It is relevant for English teachers in both ESL and EFL environments, and some assignment titles can be interpreted reasonably flexibly to account for your situation and interests.

Of the eight modules, only two involve research (one is action research, the other is a classroom investigation), so if you only want to do research bear that in mind. Of the other modules, two are on theory only and four combine theory with creating practical tools (an assessment and evaluation tool, a mini-syllabus, criteria for evaluating materials and a post-practicum/INSET session).

The best thing about the course is the quality of the tutors, who are incredibly helpful. You are allowed to send them drafts of your assignments which they give you feedback on, and you can email them with questions that they normally reply to fairly quickly. I'm doing the course with the face-to-face prep courses, and they have been good fun. But if you want to save cash on travel and are a very independent learner, you might want to do the purely online prep courses. Either way, for most of the two years you'll be somewhat isolated, but as I said the tutoring support is second to none.

The workload is tough, and if you are thinking of carrying on a full-time job while doing the MA, it will be even more so. However, it is possible if you are willing to sacrifice a lot of your free time. The assignment word limits are tight, which does result in a lot of tedious editing to meet them. Six of the eight modules have appendices, for which there are no word limits. These appendices allow you the most creativity and are interesting to do, if time-consuming.

In the MA in TEYL homepage you'll see the email address of one of the tutors in Singapore at the bottom. I suggest you contact her for further information. She also did the same course as a student many years ago, so she knows what it is like from that perspective, too.

If you decide to do it, good luck!

[santi84]

Thanks for your perspective. I received a brochure from the university last week and it was quite interesting. Unfortunately, I do not have three years teaching experience so I don't think I would stack up against other applicants. I'll wait a bit and try - it sounds great!