Job Discussion Forums

[Shroob]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently weighing up my options of furthering my education and professional development. I've come to the decision that I'd like to take an MA TESOL or related course eg. MA Applied Linguistics with TESOL or MA English Language Teaching, but I have a few questions about how I go about this.

My first thought was to do it the normal way, full time on campus, however I've been thinking about distance learning and would like your opinions. The full time course would be one year, where I'd study full time and nothing else. The distance course would be two years and I'd be working abroad for the duration of the course.

One of my concerns is about how potential employers would view the distance MA over a regular MA. Does this matter?

Any advice or just your thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.

Thanks.

EDIT: I also want to ask about the various course, MA TESOL, MA Applied Linguistics with TESOL and MA English Language Teaching. Would these all be valued equally by employers? Or is one regarded better than the others?

[52skidoo]

Several years ago I looked into doing a Masters in Linguistics online. A lot of variables went into the decision but finally decided to do an online MA with UNE, University of New England, in Australia. Their program requires fewer hours than most schools I looked at and the cost was reasonable. I only took one semester though because I didn't get very much support. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw on who I got for a counselor

If I had the option I would definetly get an MA in English (full time, on campus) and earn a teacher's license at the same time. I think that would be the most flexible degree.

Good luck on your search.

[naturegirl321]

[tttompatz]

[reddevil79]

With regard to which course would be best, that's a really difficult question to answer; all depends on what type of institution you want to work in afterwards and where. I see that some posters in the ME are saying that certain institutions are not accepting applicants with distance learning Masters anymore, so maybe do your homework on potential destinations you might be interested in.

Also ask yourself what you're really interested in; I've seen some posters in other threads say that Linguistics and TESOL are basically the same thing, and I couldn't disagree more. Check out course modules and try to decide what would be of interest to you.

I was in your position a couple of years ago and decided to go down the full-time route in the UK (MA Applied Linguistics & TESOL), and the fact that a Masters could be completed in one year swayed it for me. That's not to say it was easier than a part-time course, it was full-time in every sense of the word, plus many weekends spent in the library. I gave it everything though and it was worth it, though some of my coursemates are still finishing theirs two years on, they tried to combine their studies with work and it was just too much. I knew that studying full-time would be better for me and my way of working, and I have no regrets.

[Perilla]

[Shroob]

Thanks for your replies everyone, every useful.

@ Perilla - I would be able to afford the masters full time as my parents live in a city which has a good Russel group university which offers the MA Applied Linguistics with TESOL. Plus, in the cost of tuition in England for a masters is much lower than in America thankfully. With what I have in my savings account and what I have saved in China, I could just about pay off my remaining student debt and cost of the masters.

If I did the masters distance, I'd probably be working where I am now, at a Chinese uni (10 hours a week, lots of holiday) so I do have plenty of free time. That said, the appeal of getting it over and done with in one year is very tempting.

@ Reddevil79 - One of the reasons why I'm looking to do a masters is to work in the Middle East at sometime. The wages there a big draw for me. I've looked at the different course content and can clearly see there is a difference.

For example the Applied Linguistic course appears to be theoretical, but the English Language Teaching course has classroom teaching. I'm hoping that if I do Applied Linguistics that my CELTA and 2 year's experience would cover that area. Then again, there's always the DELTA if I wanted a practical course. So many options!

Could I ask your background before you did the MA? Was your BA in a related field? Did you have teaching experience? If so where? I'm more than a little concerned that my knowledge of English is lacking - Chinese universities focus on Oral English, nothing else generally. So in my free time I'm reading grammar books and going on forums to see if I can answer learner's questions for practise.

@tttompatz - I'm not looking at American universities. For one thing the cost of them is high from what I understand. Secondly, I'm from the U.K. and feel more familiar with them. It may sound daft but there's a certain 'comfort' level, which is what I'd want investing so much time and money.

@naturegirl321 - I hadn't thought about that, I don't think that happens much in the U.K., though I could be wrong. It's always worth checking. I vaguely remember the DOS of my CELTA course mentioning something about a CELTA being valued at MA level on some courses...you've jogged something in my memory there.

@52skidoo - I'm not sure what the process is for getting a teaching licence in Australia (I'm assuming that's where you're from), but in the U.K. you study for a year at university then must work in a school for a year to get Q.T.S. (Qualified Teacher Status), which is incompatible with full time study of a masters.

[coledavis]

"CELTA being valued at MA level on some courses..."
He/She was pulling your leg. DELTA maybe.