Hi Uththara,

A MA in linguistics is an accomplishment and suggests that the holder is interested in human language and how it works. That should never be "devalued". However, there are some aspects of a more formal linguistics degree that are not as relevant in an applied sense. For example, grammatical theory coursework, while intriguing and providing a more theoretical perspective, is not as relevant when addressing language teaching needs. In this sense, courses in more applied areas like L2 pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and language testing are more relevant for teaching and classroom work. Given a newly minted graduate, a TESL degree would be more relevant and beneficial for teaching ESL than a linguistics degree that has little pedagogical coursework. That said, teaching experience in ESL itself with a MA linguistics degree is far better (in an applied sense) than one without such teaching experience. As an applied linguist, I have found that experience tied to any linguistics degree is sufficient. Of course, as we know, teaching involves far more than just linguistic knowledge. the best ESL teacher I have ever observed had a degree in reading pedagogy and learned ESL "on the job". Good luck!

Hi Uththara,

A MA in linguistics is an accomplishment and suggests that the holder is interested in human language and how it works. That should never be "devalued". However, there are some aspects of a more formal linguistics degree that are not as relevant in an applied sense. For example, grammatical theory coursework, while intriguing and providing a more theoretical perspective, is not as relevant when addressing language teaching needs. In this sense, courses in more applied areas like L2 pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and language testing are more relevant for teaching and classroom work. Given a newly minted graduate, a TESL degree would be more relevant and beneficial for teaching ESL than a linguistics degree that has little pedagogical coursework. That said, teaching experience in ESL itself with a MA linguistics degree is far better (in an applied sense) than one without such teaching experience. As an applied linguist, I have found that experience tied to any linguistics degree is sufficient. Of course, as we know, teaching involves far more than just linguistic knowledge. the best ESL teacher I have ever observed had a degree in reading pedagogy and learned ESL "on the job". Good luck!

Thanking you in heaps Jack! Your answer has a great perspective to consider. Much appreciated! Thanks again

It is not a matter of "lesser value" but an MA in TESL would be more appropriate for a teacher/instructor since it provides specific lets say "techniques" that you can use in your teaching. Of course a MA in Linguistics is always useful for a teacher because it gives him/her a sense of how a language system works

Thank you Georgios! Your comments are much appreciated. I'm new to ResearchGate, so all your comments/suggestions motivate me as a newbie. Thanking you immensely!

I think having a degree in Linguistics not only makes an ESL educator stronger in background knowledge of how language works, it also makes them more marketable if the target learning context requires more form-focused instruction (FFI). However, coupling a Linguistics degree with a TESOL certificate will make you very competitive.

Thank you for the valuable point made Shahriar! It's highly appreciated.

This trend is visible in the current time. MA TESOL or TEFL is given more importance than M.A linguistics.

Thank you Ajab for your valuable comment! Appreciate it a lot

A degree in TESOL offers more scope for an EFL teacher. It enhances the teacher's competence to use methodology of teaching into the classroom.

Thank you Jurana forspating time to reply! Appreciate it a lot

Hi Uththara,

As a university EFL teacher and administrator interested in making data-driven decisions for our programs, I value any teacher who takes an interest in helping to establish best practices through various forms of primary and secondary research. There are many dominating practices that really have very little empirical support from research and many teachers who only care about the craft of material development. We need teachers who can both research and develop excellent materials who say, "While I am The Brain, I very much appreciate my colleague, The Hand," rather than those who say, "I am The Hand, and I certainly do not need The Brain," which, while sounding absurd, is an everyday reality in the EFL teaching industry.

Thank you, Paul for the insightful response. Appreciate it a lot.

Notably, the main concern for the teachers in TEFL /TESL is to possess a sufficient amount of knowledge about language as a complex system and the interwoven elements comprising it. The division of labor separating different language related fields , like all other disciplines, while being justified is not a necessary condition in the case of EFL teaching. Therefore talking about values, we can use the existing evidence available on EFL teachers who also have an MA in linguistics as an indicator, to judge their professional development. A very good part of language teaching depends on the way the teacher manipulates the linguistic means to attain the expected outcomes. The requirement is even greater for non native English teachers because having a satisfactory knowledge about the way language works is a prerequisite to their success as English teachers.

Thank you, Reza for the response! Your reply adds a lot of strength to my on-going project. Much appreciated!

Well, to me linguistics is an umbrella under which other techniques, namely, translation and teaching, take shelter; but each individual holding the umbrella may chose to go down a specific route. Mastery over linguistics is essential for teachers and practitioners. Those graduated from TEFL, however, gain the perspectives and knowledge needed to transfer language properties more efficiently. While linguists are mostly concerned with how language works, teachers focus on how learning occurs. Graduates of TEFL benefit from both linguistic knowledge and the ability to recognize and deal with practical concerns of learning which may have their roots in concerns of other fields such as psychology, culture and identity, or in some cases, e.g., dealing with learners with aphasia, neurology of brain. To sum up, knowledge of language is the first essential requirement but to be a better teacher, the added practical knowledge seems quite crucial as well.

Thank you, Akbar for your response. A balanced perspective, I must say. Truly appreciate it.

Appreciate your diligence in reading and appreciating each answer, all of them excellent.

I like the answer of Paul, because ultimately it is the name of the administration to decide on the answer to your question

Narayanan

Typo: Not name, but bane

Thanking you again, Narayan for the appreciation. All your responses are much valued. It helps me for a tentative project. Yes, I agree with you about Paul's reply. Much appreciated!

M. A in Linguistics is highly valued in both professional and academic domains. A holder of such a degree is expected to be competent in language teaching, translation and any other relevant field.This is in addition to the tremendous potentials she/he has in researching language and linguistics.

Thank you, Abdelrahim, for your response! Means a lot to me at the moment. Appreciate it a lot!