Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Student Handbook
Welcome to the MTESOL program! This handbook is designed to help you through the program as efficiently as possible. It includes a discussion of the requirements for the degree and a guide for the procedural aspects of obtaining the degree as well as the MTESOL checklist. It should be used in conjunction with Arizona State University's Graduate Catalog . Since it is the students' responsibility to comply with all university and departmental requirements and to become informed of their nature and application, it is in their best interest to be thoroughly familiar with this handbook and to consult with their supervisory committee members and the Director of Linguistics and MTESOL on a regular basis.
The MTESOL degree program started as an MA in English with a concentration in MTESOL in the fall of 1969. Since then hundreds of students from different countries in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Melanesia, and the USA have received degrees. The focus of the program is on theories and methods of language teaching and the aspects of linguistics that teachers need for effective classroom performance.
Department of English Linguistics/MTESOL
Students who seek admission to the MTESOL program must apply directly to the Admissions Office in the Graduate College. They must have earned a grade point average of a 3.0 ("B") or better in the last two years of work leading to the bachelor's degree. They must also submit official transcripts of all previous university-level academic work directly from the institution of origin to the Admissions Office in the Graduate College at Arizona State University. All applicants must have achieved a 3.0 index overall on a 4.0 scale in their undergraduate studies. Students from a number of different majors are encouraged to apply, including linguistics, English, anthropology, foreign languages, and education.
International students must submit a TOEFL score of at least 600 (computer-based TOEFL, 250, internet-based test, 100 or an IELTS of 6.5) and a TSE or SPEAK test score of 50,The TSE or SPEAK test requirement must be fulfilled either prior to arrival or on campus prior to the oral examination of the LIN 593 Applied Project.
No international student will be allowed to schedule an oral examination prior to satisfactory completion of the TSE or SPEAK test. Under the advisement of the MTESOL faculty, students who do not pass the exam after two attempts may be subject to enrollment in a pronunciation class.
To schedule the SPEAK test, contact American English and Culture Program at 965-2376 or e-mail aecp@asu.edu. To find out about TOEFL testing locations and times, contact University Testing Service at 965-7146 or e-mail uts@asu.edu or visit TOEFL website.
In addition to the Graduate Application, the following materials must be submitted in support of the application:
(1) three letters of recommendation
(2) a one to two page statement of purpose
These materials should be sent to the Graduate Coordinator, Department of English, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287-0302.
To earn the MTESOL degree, candidates must complete a minimum of 30 hours of approved graduate-level coursework. The following five courses (15 credit hours) are required; they are offered on a regular basis (F=Fall; S=Spring)
(1) LIN 500* (F, S) Research Methods: Linguistics
(2) LIN 510* (F) English Linguistics
(3) LIN 520* (F) Theories Underlying the Acquisition of English as a Second Language
(4) LIN 521 (S) Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language
(5) LIN 593 (F, S) Applied Project
(6) Electives Six (6) additional semester hours of graduate credit in the
English Department (either LIN or ENG courses)
(7) Electives Nine (9) semester hours of graduate credit approved by the Director of Linguistics and MTESOL. These may be taken in any department. Typically, students choose courses in Anthropology Education, English, Languages and Literature, and Speech and Hearing. The total of credits taken outside the English Department (including substitutions of core courses) shall not exceed 9 credits.
*NOTE: These three courses should be taken during the first semester of enrollment.
LIN 510 or its equivalent is a prerequisite to all upper-level linguistics courses. Equivalent courses are offered in Anthropology (ASB 590: Introduction to Linguistics) and in Languages and Literatures (FLA 598: Studies in Linguistics). Only one introductory linguistics course (LIN 510, ASB 590, FLA 598) is permitted on the program of study.
The remaining 15 credit hours may be selected from the following areas or from other areas, approved by the advisor. Check listings in Anthropology (ASB), Bilingual Education (BLE), Languages and Literatures (FLA, SPA, FRE), Philosophy (PHI), and Speech and Hearing Science (SHS). Linguistics courses on languages other than English are also offered regularly under the FLA prefix; the language of instruction for an FLA course is English; SPA, Spanish, and FRE, French. Of these 15 elective credit hours, 6 must be taken in the English Department.• Second Language Acquisition (FLA 515: Second Language Acquisition; BLE 541: Nature of Bilingualism/Second Language Acquisition)
• From Theory to Practice (LIN 620 Advanced Studies in Second Language Acquisition; FLA 598: Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages; LIN 548 when offered as Materials and Curriculum Development; FLA 525: Trends and Issues in Foreign Language Teaching; BLE 543: Bilingual Education Models; BLE 533 Reading-Teaching Bilingual Students)
• Sociolinguistic Theory (LIN 515: American English; LIN 615 Advanced Studies in Sociolinguistics; FLA 598: Bilingualism; BLE 511: Introduction to Language Minority Education; BLE 535: Sociolinguistic Issues in Bilingual Education)
• Syntactic Theory (LIN 514: Syntax; LIN 614 Advanced Studies in Syntax)
• Phonetics and Phonology (LIN 511: Phonetics and Phonology; or an advanced course in Second Language Phonology)
• Composition Theory (ENG 551: Rhetorical Traditions; ENG 552 Composition Studies)
• Semantic Theory (LIN 513: Semantics; PHI 315: Philosophy of Language; PHI 333 Introduction to Symbolic Logic)
• Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (LIN 516: Pragmatics and Discourse Theory)
• ESL Grammar (LIN 522: Grammar for MTESOL; BLE 598: ESL for the Young Child)
• History of the English Language (LIN 517: History of the English Language; ENG 530: Old English; ENG 532: Middle English Dialects; LIN 617 Advanced Studies in Historical Linguistics)
• Psycholinguistics and Language Acquisition (SHS 598: Language Acquisition; SHS 566: Psychology of Language)
• Special topics courses or advanced studies courses on Cross-linguistic Influences, Contrastive Linguistics, and Interlanguage Analysis
• Reading and Conference (LIN 590) may be used to supplement your courses. This is a independent reading course that you and a faculty member put together. You may not take more than 6 hours of LIN 590.
A three-credit-hour Applied Project (LIN 593) is required of all candidates. Students are exposed to a range of methodological and theoretical approaches to second language acquisition in their core courses, and the Applied Project usually grows out of one or more of these courses. The project might include an empirical study involving data collection and the appropriate qualitative or quantitative analysis (informally called an “empirical”project); it might relate linguistic theory to published or collected data in some original way (informally called a “theoretical” project); it might provide a detailed review and novel synthesis of the recent literature on a relevant topic (a “library research” project). This list, though representative of recent projects produced for the program, is not exhaustive; other acceptable projects (for example, those involving curriculum design or materials development and review) may cut across these informal categories or not fit into them at all.
The project is overseen by a three-person supervisory committee chosen by the candidate. The student can ask any English Department faculty member associated with the program to act as committee chair; only one committee member may be chosen from another department. The specific topic of the project should be chosen in consultation with the committee chair. The candidate writes a proposal for the project; once the chair approves this proposal, the candidate submits it to potential committee members.
The proposal should be comprised of five to eight pages outlining the project, giving the research question and any hypotheses to be tested, and justifying the need for the study. It should include a very brief review of literature relevant to the topic and the proposed plan/schedule of work; a preliminary bibliography following APA, LSA, or MLA guidelines. Additional information required for the proposal differs according to the type of project proposed.
•· An “empirical” project proposal should include (1) a statement of the problem, (2) research design and methodology to be used for data collection, (3) format for presentation and analysis of the data, (4) expected conclusions, and (5) problems anticipated in obtaining the research materials. Be sure to check with Human Subjects Institutional Review Board before conducting research. Contact Karol Householder at 965-6788 or karol.householder@asu.edu.
• A “theoretical” project proposal should include (1) evidence that the review of the literature is representative of published work on the topic, (2) a sample of the linguistic phenomenon/a to be analyzed, (3) a description of how any data are to be acquired, (4) a preliminary account of the data, and (5) advantages and disadvantages of the proposed account in comparison to published accounts.
• Students proposing a “library research” project must include a substantial bibliography and demonstrate critical reading skills and the ability to synthesize information obtained from the literature into a coherent new pattern while incorporating their own perspectives in a meaningful and unified way.
• Students proposing a project that cross-categorizes or circumvents these project types should consult closely with their chair for clarification of additional information needed in the proposal.
Once the committee members approve the proposal (i.e., agree to serve on the committee), the student follows the plan of work, consulting regularly with the committee chair and revising draft chapters based on the chair's comments. The other committee members are responsible for reading the final draft of the project, after it has been approved by the chair, in preparation for the oral examination.
All projects culminate in a written final document of approximately 40 to 60 pages. Normally, the first draft will have to be revised and the candidate is advised to allot time for such revisions in his or her schedule . The candidate should submit the first final draft to the chair five (5) weeks before the oral examination of the Applied Project. Only when the written project is in a form approved by the chair will the candidate be allowed to hold the oral examination on Applied Project.
Oral Examination. The committee chair and committee members serve as the examiners in a required oral examination on the Applied Project. The oral exam will consist of a 10-12 minute presentation by the student, followed by questions from the examiners. The student passes the exam if two or three examiners agree that the performance was adequate. If two examiners rate the student's performance as not satisfactory then the student fails but will have one chance to retake the exam. The examiners may require the candidate to make additional revisions to the written report after the oral examination. Once the Applied Project has been approved by the committee, the candidate must submit two (2) spiral-bound copies of the final written report: one to the chair and one to the Director of Linguistics and MTESOL.
After regular status has been granted, it is in the student's best interest to file an official Program of Study with the Graduate College at the earliest possible date, but at the very latest the semester before the student plans to graduate. The Program of Study lists the courses to be completed and the names of the faculty members who will serve on the student's Applied Project committee. The chair of the Applied Project must be a member of the English Department faculty; only one other member of the committee may be chosen from departments other than the English Department. The Program of Study also indicates the language selected for the foreign language proficiency exam.
The student submits the Program of Study electronically.
The student should first obtain the committee chair's signature and initials on specific boxes. Then, the student should discuss the Program of Study with potential committee members before obtaining their signatures. The student should give a photocopy of the signed POS to each committee member. The completed POS should then be taken to the Graduate Coordinator who will secure the signature of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate College. The student will receive a copy of the POS in the mail once it is approved. This can take 4 - 8 weeks.
Changes in the planned program may be made by filing a Petition For Course Changes to the Graduate Program of Study. This form must be signed and approved by the student's committee chair and then taken to the Graduate Coordinator who will secure the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. The form is then taken to the Graduation Section of the Registrar's Office.
The Graduate College requires that the candidate be registered for at least one hour of appropriate graduate level credit in the department in which he or she is pursuing a degree in the semester in which work on the degree is completed, or at any time that the candidate utilizes university facilities or a professor's time.
Candidates for the MTESOL degree must give evidence of language proficiency on an exam administered by the Department of Languages and Literatures. This knowledge is normally demonstrated by successful performance on a written language exam, which is administered three times a year. The student, in consultation with the advisor, selects an appropriate book in the second language of a minimum of 200 pages in length, delivers the book to the Supervisor of Testing in the Department of Languages and Literatures and the Application form to take the foreign language exam.
The examination requires students to translate a passage of the selected book from the second language into English. Students may elect to use a dictionary, but the requirements are more stringent if a dictionary is used; students are allowed to retake the examination twice. Language competency is certified by the Department of Languages and Literatures.
International students fulfill this requirement through submission of transcripts from their native-tongue universities where English is not the medium of instruction and fulfillment of the TSE or SPEAK test requirement.
Students may transfer up to six (6) units (six semester hours or 20 percent of the 30-hour program), either from another university or nine (9) units from nondegree graduate status at Arizona State University, provided the courses to be transferred are the equivalent of courses appropriate to the program and are not more than six (6) years old. Students must obtain the approval of the MTESOL advisor on any transfer of units. MTESOL courses required in the MTESOL program taken as an undergraduate may be transferred only if they were taken within the last 12 units of the undergraduate degree and were not used towards that degree. Credit for transfer units is given when the student files the Program of Study.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND INTERNSHIPS
Obtaining Teaching Experience
It is very important for MTESOL students to gain teaching experience. Such experience not only enables students to become better teachers but also it increases their employment opportunities when they complete their degrees.
Internships , offered under ENG 584, are available at various language programs in the Phoenix area every semester, depending on placement supply and demand. Separate guidelines for the internships are available from the MTESOL advisors. There are two sites regularly used, see Internships on the Linguistics web page. A list of ESL sites where students may secure an internship opportunity is also available on the English graduate studies web page.
Teaching assistantships are available on a competitive basis. The Department of English provides assistantships for MTESOL students to teach freshman composition courses: ENG 101/102 (composition for native speakers); ENG 107/108 (composition for non-native speakers). Typically, a teaching assistant teaches a sequence of 101-102 in addition to 107-108. More details can be provided by the MTESOL advisors.
There are also language teaching opportunities in other departments. If a student has an excellent proficiency in a foreign language, he or she may consider applying for a teaching assistantship in the Department of Languages and Literatures.
Students who wish to teach at community colleges in Arizona are required to take the course HED 533 - The Community-Junior College. This course covers history, functions, organization, and current issues. It meets Arizona community college course requirement for certification.
Employment Opportunities other than Teaching
In addition to teaching assistantships, several research assistantships are awarded each semester; furthermore, a number of on-campus employment opportunities are often available, including positions in the Asian Studies Center, the Arizona Center for Medieval Renaissance Studies, Latin American Studies and the Summer Programs Institute. More information on these openings is available from the Director of Linguistics and MTESOL.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The MTESOL program provides information on professional development activities through electronic mail lists, mailboxes and a bulletin board on the third floor of the Durham Languages and Literatures building; more relevant information is posted on the Linguistics bulletin board on the second floor.
You are encouraged to join GSEA (Graduate Scholars of English). GSEA organizes professional development workshops such as ones on how to write an Applied Project/thesis, on conferences, and on Linguistics/MTESOL pedagogy.
Each year in the spring, there is a graduate student symposium. An average of 20 Linguistics and MTESOL students present their work. It is a great opportunity to hear what your fellow students are working on. It is also a good occasion to present your own findings in an informal setting.
Arizona TESOL and other conferences meet regularly and attending these is very beneficial to your career in MTESOL.
All candidates are required to apply for graduation at the Graduation Office in the Student Services Building. The deadline for application for graduation is roughly two (2) months before the end of the semester, e.g., October 19 for the fall and March 15 for the spring. Please note that these are approximate deadlines. You must obtain the exact deadline for a given semester from the Graduate College.
Candidates should download the form Report of Final Master's Written or Oral Examination or obtain one from the Graduate Coordinator. This form is then taken to the oral defense and returned to the Coordinator after the defense complete with signatures. No international student will be allowed to schedule an oral examination prior to completion of the TSE or SPEAK test.
Applied Project defenses are typically conducted the week after classes. A final draft of your project should be given to your committee two to three weeks before your scheduled oral defense. Because of the difficulty of convening committees during the summer, oral examinations will be scheduled during the academic year.
COMMONLY USED WEB SITES and E-Mail Addresses
English Graduate Student Information Site
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
American English and Culture Program
COMMONLY USED TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Adult Re-Entry Program 965-2252
American English and Culture Program 965-2376
Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies 965-5900
Bookstore (Text and Trade book Information) 727-1146
Campus Police 965-3456
Disabled Student Resources . 965-1234
English Department 965-3168
English Department Graduate Coordinator (LL 543B) 965-3194
Fee Payment (Students) 965-4347
Financial Assistance 965-3355
Foreign Languages Department 965-6281
Foreign Language Testing Supervisor .. 965-8247
Graduate College (Wilson 101)
Admissions 965-6113
Information 965-3521
Format Approval 965-3521
Petitions, Programs, Written/Oral Defenses 965-3521
Graduate Student Association 965-1263
Graduation Office (SSV 140) 965-6980
Humanities Computing Facility (LL 347) 965-0423
Human Subjects 965-6788
International Student Office 965-7451
Registrar's Office (Transcripts outgoing) 965-7276
Safety Escort Service 965-1515
Student Health Service 965-3346
Summer Sessions Office 965-6611
Testing Services (GRE, MAT) 965-7146
University Library – Hayden Information . 965-6164
Telephone Renewal 965-2595
Video Resources Library 965-5073
Writing Center 965-4272
1. Coursework ( Completion of 30 credits, including the Applied Project.
Required Courses (15 credits)
• LIN 500 Research Methods: Linguistics
• LIN 510 English Linguistics
• LIN 520 Theories Underlying the Acquisition of English as a Second Language
• LIN 521 Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language
• LIN 593 Applied Project
Electives (15 credits)
• Course title:
• Course title:
• Course title:
• Course title:
• Course title:
2. Applied Project
• Select topic
• Submit proposal
• Obtain approval of committee chair
• Obtain approval of committee members
• Submit first final draft to chair five (5) weeks before oral examination
• Submit two (2) spiral-bound copies: one to the chair and the other to the Director of Linguistics and MTESOL.
3. Program of Study
• Obtain POS form from web or Graduate Coordinator in the English Department (LL 543B)
• List all courses for your degree. Only list courses relevant to your degree to equal 30 hours.
• Obtain committee chair's signature first
• Discuss program of study with potential committee members and obtain signatures
• Bring your POS to the Graduate Coordinator for Director's signature
• Give photocopy of POS to committee members
5. Language Exams
• For non-native speakers of English:
• Pass Test of Spoken English (or SPEAK test) with score of 50 (by 12 credit hours of coursework)
• For native speakers of English:
• Select a book in the foreign language (over 200 pages)
• Obtain committee chair approval on Application for Foreign Language Examination form
• Obtain approval of foreign language testing supervisor
• Complete exam
6. Graduation Deadlines
• Apply for graduation at Graduation Office in Student Services Building
• Obtain oral examination form from www.asu.edu/graduate/forms
• Bring the Oral Exam form to your defense of Applied Project and secure signatures after the defense.