WHY MA TESOL? – THE 5 REASONS

If you come across this post and read it throughout, you can be either 1) an English teacher; 2) someone interested in careers in ELT; or 3) none of the previously mentioned. Either one, welcome to another post of mine! This post will be heavily related to the course I am currently doing at Warwick. But, before diving further to the main content, let me tell you the abbreviations which you will find I am using quite a lot in this post. TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages while ELT means English Language Teaching. So, now that you have been familiarised with the terms, let’s get into the main discussion!

MA TESOL program belongs to Applied Linguistics department, which is a part of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The building is located very closed to the bus interchange and it is one of the buildings in red bricks at the university. The program name indicates the nature of the program, which is ELT or English education. However, the department housing the program may sometimes confuse people. But, I personally consider it the unique trait of the program. While there are similar courses offered in other university, my firm choice was this MA TESOL course by Warwick. One of them was the unique trait I have previously mentioned. I will share five main reasons why Warwick may be the best option for English practitioners to continue their education.

1. The two different pathways

MA TESOL at Warwick offers similar opportunity to join the program for both experienced teachers and those with less to no experiences in English teaching. Both group of students will share some modules. The different lays in the set of professional module that each group needs to undertake. Students who have at least three-year teaching experience will take advanced modules related to ELT. I belong to this group. While the complete information is provided in the program’s site, I will be sharing the different sets of modules taken by the two different groups.

Students in my cohort who took “experienced” pathway undertook modules called Innovation in TESOL Methodology and Professional Practice in TESOL. Those of “less-experienced” pathway had the core modules named Foundations of TESOL Methodology and Foundations of TESOL Professional Practice. The description of each module is available on the program’s site. What I want to highlight is that students with different professional backgrounds are facilitated in the program!

2. Applied Linguistics in ELT

Similar modules in other universities are those named Applied Linguistics and TESOL or Applied Linguistics with TESOL. Yes, those other courses combine two terms together. The one in Warwick is, in nature, the same as the others. I previously mentioned that MA TESOL at Warwick belongs to Applied Linguistics department. This means that students also learn applied linguistics in the program. The linguistics learned is heavily related to the field of English teaching. So, as practitioners, students will be benefited from this for their teaching or researching careers in the future.

3. Wide choices of option modules

This program has a bunch of option modules to choose from. And the good news is that all those modules are targeted to tailor different professional needs and career development. In my year, students could choose up to 3 different option modules to take in Term 2. From ICT in TESOL, to Corpora, Intercultural, and even Management in Leadership in TESOL, the choice is yours! It is such a privilege to have been opened up to endless opportunities to increase our career development as an English Language practitioner.

4. Staffs with broad range of expertise

Needless to say that this trait is present in those similar courses in other universities. Being taught by professors who have been delving into certain areas of ELT and making contribution through their publications makes students feel that we are in the right hands. Those people behind the program are all inspiring and their works can be easily found on the staff information on the program’s site.

5. The vibrant community

It was actually something I did not expect before coming to Warwick. I had no idea that more than 95% of the students in my cohort are not from the UK. We are mainly from countries outside the UK. I recall only fewer than 5 students are British residents. This means students are surrounded by people with varied backgrounds, nationality and professional experiences. Discussions with other students always led me to new insights, idea, and information, that makes me become more open-minded, as a person, and as a teacher.

So, those are the five reasons why MA TESOL at Warwick is my best choice for my masters and who maybe they could be yours, too! Make sure to check the program’s site for further information on the program and the department. Thank you and see you on my next post!