We have 250 students on the MSc TESOL this year. I'm currently analysing some data on the motivations for enrolling on the programme, as I am also curious as to their conceptualisations of the programme. We used to require 3 years teaching experience ( the reason I didn't do my own MSc at Edinburgh, as I only had 2 years experience at the time), but it is no longer a requirement and we only have a handful of students ( probably around 15 in the current cohort) with 1-2 years experience. We do offer a week-long teaching placement to a Scottish primary school as part of the Methodology core course, but students often ask for more placements and micro-teaching.

Nicola Galloway that's so interesting! I'm wondering about some of the reconceptualising of these degrees to be more like hybrid CELTA-Master's... The teaching experience requirement is also interesting. It's what's used to separate the pre-service (no experience) from the in-service (minimum 2 years teaching). Applicants with between 0-2 years experience don't actually meet requirements for either program!

In my country, one of the requirements to apply to be a teacher is to get a diploma in teaching. This one year certificate guarantees that the applicant has good knowledge of psychology, methods of teaching, assessment, class management, and pre-service practicum. In service experience is considered as a merit.

This is very interesting. (Here is my 2 cents on the matter ...)

The question then arises:

Do these programmes need to be renamed?

Or do the specifications of these programmes need to be made clearer?

[Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages]

on the surface, it appears the applicant will be gaining a degree in [teaching].

One university website offering an MA in TESOL states:

"The MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is a specialist master's course suitable for anyone working - or aspiring to work - in the field of teaching English as an international language"

- hinting that once the degree has been earned the applicant will be 'qualified' to teach.

Research Element:

As these are Masters degree level programmes, there is an element of research that comes in. Students often don't have the background knowledge in research methods and might have never previously conducted any sort of research - time is therefore spent on teaching/learning research methods and students need to complete a dissertation.

Question: should we remove this research element so that this time can be spent on more practical elements of teaching/learning?

Theoretical Element:

There is also a focus on the theory of language learning - going a level beyond what is taught at the B.Ed undergraduate level of pedagogical skills/classroom management etc, hence it being at Masters level. Masters programmes might be viewed as more attractive compared to gaining a 'Certificate' / 'Diploma'.

Question: what justification is there for calling it a 'Masters of Arts in Teaching' when there is little focus on learning the skills of teaching?

Conclusion:

I think we all fully aware that students studying these programmes will/might move in to English language teaching jobs.

The question is:

- after having taken such programmes, are they sufficiently qualified to teach?

- if no, what are we going to do about it?

Do we rename the programme to reflect a focus on research and theory?

Do we restructure the content to include a teaching practicum element?

Do we change entry requirements to exclude unqualified language educators?

Let the discussion continue :) ........................................................................

Thank you, Samantha! In a session today with my MA TESOL students, I asked what their plans were once they have the degree. Most of them said 'teaching English'. When I asked what they wanted out of the programme, many said 'learn how to teach'. Certainly, our program doesn't prepare them to teach - it's not designed to. But with 'teaching' in the title, as you point out, it's understandable this is their expectation. I would suggest we could change the name of the program, but 'TESOL' is what brings the students in... Your questions cover the big issues here. Maybe if it's 'pre-service', we need to call it something else?

That's an interesting finding to a little pilot study - confirming our intuition.

(In my humble opinion - and others may disagree) ...

~ a starting point might be to make it clear in the title of the programme that the degree is research focused [for your 'in service' programme]:

MA in TESOL (Research stream)

I would like to say the easy solution would be to rename the 'pre-service' programme as: MA in TESOL (Teaching stream) - however it is much more complex than that.

If the aim of the programme then shifts to a teaching qualification, the content of that programme would need to reflect that. Students would need to learn teaching methodology, curriculum design, assessment, classroom management, strategies to handle special needs etc.

Also, students would need to take part in some form of teaching practicum, and be assessed on their teaching performance (similar to a PGCE qualification).

This would require a restructuring of the entire programme, and not simply a name change.

If one wanted to keep a research element as part of the teaching qualification programme, that would be possible, but on a smaller scale - e.g. writing up a portfolio rather than a dissertation. Teachers could carry out an 'Action Research' while based in the classroom. The in-depth teaching of research methods and language learning theory would then fall by the wayside in such a degree, with students spending most of their time mastering teaching methods etc.

Food for thought :) ................... [let the discussion continue] .................

I agree, I had a few years experience and a CELTA before I did my MA and i think it really stood me in good stead. This profession is learnt by doing. Although you can learn the 'rules' of tennis from a book, it doesn't mean that you will automatically be a good tennis player. You must go through the process of doing it. It is the same with teaching. The ideal scenario would be MA TESOL with teaching practice throughout the whole course (unless of course you do it by distance).

Returning to the discussion, I recently received this in an email from someone interested in the MA TESOL programme I lead at UCL:

I am thinking of doing TESOL next year. I would like to know if having completed the course I would be qualified to teach English in another country, like Belgium for example, or If I would need another qualification. I would also like to know what is the difference between this course, which lasts one year, and CELTA course, which can be done in a month. 

I replied explaining that the programme does not qualify anyone to teach, but feel almost deceitful with my reply, as it seems that people DO use the MA TESOL as a teaching qualification! I welcome people's thoughts!

In China, the fact is that CELTA, DELTA, and MA TESOL are not accepted by Chinese public primary, secondary, and high schools. If a teacher wants to get a formal full-time position to teach English in these schools, they, except English native speakers, must hold a local certificate called "Qualified Teacher Certificate -- English in Primary and Secondary Schools" or "Qualified Teacher Certificate -- English in High Schools". In order to get one of the two certificates, they have to attend three national tests and an interview, and the tests are held twice a year. Most of Chinese MA TESOL graduates teach IELTS test skills in priviate training institutions after going back to China. CELTA and DELTA, to be honest, for Chinese English teachers are only used to make their CVs look better than others'.

Thank you, Yonghua - this is very helpful! I'm still getting inquiries about the MA TESOL programme about whether it provides a teaching qualification, even though it explicitly states on the programme description that it does not. These inquiries are from applicants outside China - so I don't think there's confusion about a qualification there (but in case there ever is, I'll share the information you've provided here!). But there is still an expectation that students on the MA TESOL programme will gain practical teaching experience and/or learn 'how to teach', which of course they typically don't - it is a master's degree after all. In your response you've also raised a topic for another important conversation - the 'English native speaker' issue. I'll raise that one on a separate thread another time...

2 parts to this thread? 1. what counts as a teaching qualification? 2. are MA TESOLs designed for/used as pre-service courses? 1. will depend on whether it's within a regulated public/state school system; outside that 'qualification' may just mean what employers accept. 2. when I went through this (MSc Edinburgh long time ago), I seem to remember the perception that US MA TESOLs were more often pre-service, whereas UK were not. Is that still the case? Looks like the UK is moving gradually to pre-service approach?

Great response and questions, Ben Knight - thank you! It may be that the biggest issue is the pre-service approach (with pre-service teachers interpreting the degree as a teaching degree), although we do seem to have some with experience teaching English who then see the MA as a teaching qualification. I like the point you made about the difference between these degrees in the US versus the UK. I still don't know of any one-year MA in the US, and with the UK maintaining its one-year MA, it continues to be a big draw for international students. If the UK is moving toward a pre-service approach, maybe it needs to be a two-year programme that includes a CELTA. Interested in others' thoughts!

I just found this discussion and I think it is quite interesting. I find trying to decide which way to move forward and which course of action to take to be an issue even if you are quite aware of the CELTA/DELTA option.

I got my CELTA in 2014, have been teaching EFL before that in various settings and the last couple of years I teach EAP pre-sessional courses.

I was strongly considering taking a BALEAP suggested PgCert TEAP, as I thought that this would be very specific and it would enhance my CV, possibly helping me to get an in-sessional support job as well.

Upon asking a couple of academics, I was pretty much told that golden standard would be a DELTA and that this would be what universities are looking for.

Not having a DELTA, I cannot really comment on the ways in which it can make you a better teacher. However, for someone interested solely in EAP, who has 6years post CELTA teaching practice under their belt, shouldn't a PgCert / PgDip / MA in TESOL/ TEAP matter more? I understand that there is a specialisation module in DELTA where one could possible choose EAP, but I somehow feel a university course would be more in depth in any case.

I was also informed about an MA TESOL course with integrated DELTA. Even if this sounds like a great idea, I feel it would be too challenging.

Regarding being able to teach with an MA TESOL in China, it doesn't surprise me. I know people that managed to land a primary job in China with a random online 100hour TESOL certificate (not a CELTA). My Chinese students have told me that western people and especially BANNAS nationals get way more chances there. However I feel China cannot be an example, as for instance I would not be inclined to move there. I would be more concerned about what teaching opportunities a certain course gives me in my area, Europe.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

This is surely an interesting topic and one which has not received its due attention.

I believe there is a terminological chaos in the field. In other words, a confusing array of terms has been created to refer to TESOL-related programs at universities, schools, and elsewhere around the globe. There are many to mention, including, TESOL, TEFL, TESL, DELTA, and CELTA, usually with little perceivable difference among them in terms of overall status, structure, sometimes content, and even chances of employment as an L2 teacher. This is, however, in contrast with the view that refers to TESOL and its university-based education as an academic discipline with an applied perspective (a sub-discipline within applied linguistics). Such a view may carry the impression that the field of TESOL has well-structured, specialized programs at universities with internationally recognized degrees and well-defined entry requirements for those interested in the related future professions (e.g. English/language teaching). However, what is happening in the real world is rather disappointing. Like any other academic discipline, TESOL has now its own specific research and specialized content, which certainly goes beyond general pedagogy or any other historically argued relevant disciplinary areas like linguistics or SLA per se. However, unlike other academic disciplines, issues such as the existence of different context-dependent terminologies (e.g. TESL or TEFL) to refer to its university-based programs and/or the proliferation of alternative certification pathways (sometimes believed to be better than degrees) as well as too many practitioners in the field with no internationally recognized or shared disciplinary background have confused many.

From would-be teachers’ point of view and others outside the field, such issues most probably reinforce the assumption that entry into English language teaching requires no substantial prior socialization, which, I believe, could complicate the emergence of a coherent identity for English language teachers as real professionals and seriously question the TESOL as a discipline view referred to above. That is, I think, why prospective teachers in your case might be interested in knowing the differences between the MA-TESOL degree, which lasts one year or two years in some other countries like Iran, and the CELTA course, which can be completed within a month.

If becoming an English language teacher requires no substantial prior socialization, and core disciplinary knowledge does not exist for the practitioners (current beliefs, even sometimes within the community, and practices, in my opinion, confirm this), then I think many would view MA TESOLs as a teaching certificate just like CELTA, or at most as an extra, but sometimes mandated, burden to find a way into the profession.

If the above situation remains unchanged, I think very few would see MA-TESOL programs as distinct academic programs that could be different from CELTA or DELTA and could go beyond the how-to teach issue you referred to in your posts.