Applied Linguistics for English Language Teaching

There is an increasing demand for teachers of English worldwide, and the sector is no longer dominated by native English speaking teachers. The Applied Linguistics for English Language Teaching programme is aimed at students with little or no teaching experience, who want to improve their understanding of linguistics as applied to English Language teaching.

If you want to teach in higher education or private schools we can help you to gain a professional qualification (at your expense), such as a Certificate in English Language to Adults (CELTA) in addition to your masters award.

On this course, you will learn the basic methods and theories of language teaching and language learning, which will provide a base from which you can then specialise in a number of areas according to your interests: optional modules allow you to specialise in curriculum design and materials evaluation, to focus on educational technologies and software, to explore the teaching of English in professional and academic contexts, or, for those with a non-language undergraduate degree, to work on some of the fundamentals of English language, grammar and vocabulary.

• You will be encouraged to reflect on language learning strategies, in a real context, by becoming a learner yourself: as part of the programme, you are required to learn a foreign language for one semester.
• You will be provided with opportunities to observe experienced English language teachers teaching in real classroom situations, and to reflect on best practice.
• You will receive a thorough grounding in the theoretical aspects of language teaching and learning.
• You will have opportunities to apply these theories by micro-teaching in a peer based environment.

Why study your MA in Applied Linguistics for English Language Teaching with us?

Queen Mary consistently ranks highly in the National Student Survey. In 2011, our undergraduate language courses were ranked in the top ten across the country for overall student satisfaction. In addition:

• You will have many opportunities to participate in extra-curricular events both in the College and in London; this includes a series of guest lectures from English Language Teaching professionals, the Language Centre Reading Group, and participation in BALEAP (the Global forum for professionals involved in English for Academic Purposes).
• You will obtain a University of London degree from a prestigious Russell Group institution, recognised internationally as a guarantee of quality.
• All your lecturers in this programme are also practitioner teachers and therefore you will benefit from the most up-to-date expertise in English language teaching.

You will profit from London's international English-speaking environment to perfect your own language skills and to interact with students and staff in an exciting multicultural environment.

Facilities

You will have access to postgraduate only facilities which include the Lock-keeper's Cottage Graduate Centre dedicated solely to the use of graduate students, with the use of a common room and interdisciplinary training workshops. The Learning Resource centre has 200 networked PCs with dedicated workstations for postgraduate students.

You can also make use of Queen Mary’s comprehensive libraries, including the Postgraduate Reading Room, and The British Library can also be accessed as a research resource.

You also have free access to the superb collections of the University of London Library at Senate House, such as the Eliot Phelips Collection of early printed Spanish books. The many other specialist libraries of the institution, such as the libraries of the British Film Institute, the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes or the social sciences library at the LSE, provide additional breadth. The incomparable resources of the British Library are close at hand, while London’s cultural resources facilitate research in our specialist fields.

Multimedia Language Resource Centre

You will have access to the Language Learning Centre, which has three computerised multimedia language learning laboratories. Each is equipped with Televic AVIDA net Tenjin systems, satellite TV at every workstation and Smart board interactive whiteboards. The Centre also has two mini labs equipped with similar systems, which are ideal for small group tutorial work and intensive practice. This hi-tech teaching facility is here to support you in your language teaching and learning and also provides a multimedia self access centre where you can pursue your own learning goals.

Graduate students can also attend interdisciplinary training workshops offered throughout the year by the Faculty, on such topics as writing journal articles, research ethics, preparing for an academic career, enterprise skills, and knowledge transfer.

Core Modules

• Approaches and methods in English Language Teaching
• Second language acquisition
• MA dissertation

Depending on personal preferences of future career plans, students can choose to write a standard, research-oriented dissertation, or a practice-based dissertation:

• MA Dissertation in English Language Teaching / Standard (Research) Pathway
• MA Dissertation in English Language Teaching / Professional Qualification Pathway

Optional modules

You also choose two optional modules per semester, and may also be offered a number of carefully chosen MA Linguistics options.

• Description of Language (Semester 1)
• Curriculum Design and Materials Evaluation (Semester 1)
• Bilingualism (Semester 1)
• Research Methods in Applied Linguistics (Semester 2)
• Multimedia Materials Development (Semester 2)
• Teaching English in Professional and Academic Settings (TEPAS) (Semester 2)

Requirements

• You will need a first class or good upper second class honours degree, preferably in an area such as comparative literature, languages, english, philosophy, classics, and history, though other areas might be considered as suitable. Knowledge of one or more languages other than english is desirable, though presently not a pre-requisite. Applications from graduates from other countries are welcome. Where English is not your first language, you will need to be highly proficient in English for academic purposes.
• IELTS 7.0
• Degree transcripts. Please provide a transcript of your degree(s). If you have not yet completed your degree please provide a transcript of your results achieved to date. 
• If your degree was from an overseas institution, you should supply a transcript of your marks for each year of your studies and a copy of your degree certificate together with a certified translation if the document is not in English. Please note that original documentation will be required before you enrol. International applicants are also advised to include high school transcripts
• Please provide the contact details of two referees, at least one reference must be from an academic referee who is in a position to comment on the standard of your academic work and suitability for postgraduate level study. Where appropriate, a second referee can provide comment on your professional experience.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)/ Resume
• Statement of purpose. Your statement of purpose should explain why you want to study your chosen programme and how it will help your life and career. This should typically be one side of A4 paper.

Scholarships

• Global Education