The Department of Linguistics offers programs leading to the Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics and the Master of Arts degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

 

Overview of Graduate Programs

The MA program in Applied Linguistics is designed to give students a broad training in most aspects of contemporary linguistics, including historical linguistics, phonology, pidgins and creoles, psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and syntax. In addition, students will pursue the study of one area in depth through further coursework and thesis research. Graduates of the applied linguistics program frequently go on to more advanced study and research in linguistics leading to the Ph.D. degree.

The MA program in TESOL is designed primarily for students who wish to pursue careers in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages either in the United States or abroad. The program combines both theory and practice. In addition to core courses in linguistics, students in the TESOL program are required to take courses in the theory and methods of language teaching and to teach in a supervised practicum. Graduates of the TESOL program can go on to advanced study of language learning and teaching or related fields.

For students who are interested in language study but are not committed to either graduate major, the department offers a number of interesting, non-specialist courses which may serve as electives in degree programs such as those of-fered by the Departments of Anthropology, Communication Disorders and Sciences, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Psychology, Speech Communication, and the College of Education. A sequence of courses is also available for students wishing to pursue a double major combining TESOL with other programs at the master's level.

Admission to the Degree Programs

Undergraduate GPA. Applicants for admission to either degree program, in addition to meeting the requirements for admission to the Graduate School, are expected to have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 (A = 4.0). Applicants with GPAs below 3.0 may be granted conditional admission. However, students admitted on a conditional basis must earn a graduate GPA of 3.0 after the first 12 hours of letter-graded course work; failure to do so will result in the student being dropped from the program.

Foreign Language Requirement. All students who are native speakers of English must have completed at least one semester of study of a foreign language within the preceding five years (excluding high school) and have achieved a grade of B or better. Those students who have achieved proficiency in a foreign language by means other than graded academic study must demonstrate that they have achieved a minimum level of novice-mid as defined in the proficiency guidelines published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Students may also fulfill this requirement by taking one semester of a foreign language with a grade of B or better while they are enrolled in their MA program. In recognition of their experience in learning English, international students who have learned English as a second or foreign language are exempt from this requirement.

TOEFL and GRE. International student applicants who are not native speakers of English must achieve a score of at least 570 (paper) or 230 (computer) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Although submission of scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for admission to the Graduate School or to the department, applicants are advised that high GRE scores put them at a competitive advantage when applying for university fellowships or departmental assistantships.

Master of Arts Degree in Applied Linguistics

The Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics encompasses a broad range of required core courses plus the opportunity to pursue the study of one area in depth through elective courses and a thesis. A minimum of 39 semester hours is required for the MA in Applied Linguistics, of which a minimum of three and a maximum of six may be allowed for the thesis (LING 599). A minimum of 15 semester hours must be at the 500 level.

Required Core Courses for the MA in Applied Linguistics (21 semester hours) 

LING 401-3 General Linguistics

LING 402-3 Phonetics

LING 405-3 Phonological Theories

LING 406-3 Introduction to Historical Linguistics

LING 408-3 Syntactic Theory

LING 415-3 Sociolinguistics

LING 445-3 Psycholinguistics

 

Elective courses may be selected from courses offered within the department or from courses taught by faculty in the Departments of Anthropology, Commu-nication Disorders and Sciences, Computer Science, English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Psychology, Speech Communication, and the College of Education. Where appropriate, students are encouraged to take courses in quantitative and ethnographic research methods taught in the Department of Educational Psychology and Anthropology.

A thesis is required of all students in the MA in Applied Linguistics program. The thesis is a written summary of a student's independent research conducted while enrolled in one of the department's MA programs. A thesis is expected to include a clear statement of the topic, identification of the particular issues to be investigated, a literature review, an explanation of the procedures followed, and an analysis and discussion of research findings. Each student writing a thesis must have a thesis committee composed of at least three faculty members, one of whom serves as chair of the committee and must be from the Department of Linguistics. The thesis must be submitted to a public oral examination by the student's committee. Detailed information regarding the thesis may be found in Thesis Policies and Guidelines, copies of which are available in the department.

 

 

Master of Arts Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

 

The Master of Arts degree in TESOL blends linguistic science with the art of classroom practice. It prepares students both intellectually and experientially so that as teachers they are capable of making wise and informed choices among different language teaching approaches, methods, and techniques. In addition, students will understand how differences among individual students, teaching and learning situations, and social structures influence decisions they will be called upon to make as teachers. The TESOL master's program provides a firm and broad foundation in current theories of language and language learning and graduates will be prepared to take on professional careers as teacher educators and curriculum specialists as well as classroom teachers.

 

There are two options for completing the MA TESOL degree, a thesis option and a non-thesis option. In both cases, 33 credits are required. Both options include three components: a group of core courses totaling 18 semester credit hours, elective courses totaling 9 semester hours, and a concentration ­ either a thesis (thesis option) or additional course work from a selected group of focus courses (non-thesis option) which provides the final 6 semester hours.

 

Required Core Courses for the MA in TESOL (18 semester hours)

LING 401-3 General Linguistics

LING 402-3 Phonetics

LING 531-3 Pedagogical Grammar for TESOL

LING 541-3 Second Language Acquisition

LING 570-3 Theory and Methods of TESOL

LING 583-3 TESOL Practicum

 

Elective courses (9 semester hours)

Students can select from a number of elective courses offered each semester. In some cases, courses offered by other departments may be used to complete elective requirements. Faculty advisors work with students to determine which electives will be most appropriate for the student's program.

 

Thesis (6 semester hours)

Students following the thesis option are required to submit a thesis, which is a written summary of their independent research. The thesis is expected to include a clear statement of the topic, identification of the particular issues to be investigated, a literature review, an explanation of the procedures followed, and an analysis and discussion of the research findings. Each student writing a thesis must have a thesis committee composed of at least three faculty members, one of whom serves as Chair of the committee and must be from the Department of Linguistics. The thesis must be submitted to a public oral examination by the student's committee. The six credit hours used for the thesis work may be taken in one semester or divided across more than one semester but should coincide with the terms in which the student is actually working on the thesis project. Detailed information regarding the thesis may be found in Thesis Policies and Guidelines, copies of which are available in the department.

 

Focus courses (6 semester hours)

Students following the non-thesis option are required to take two additional courses beyond those included in the core and elective categories. These courses serve as ones in which students can apply what they have been learning to designated topics, issues, and problems related to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. These courses are writing intensive, which is to say that they require students to demonstrate their understanding through written assignments; they generally require a final written project. The two courses selected by the student as focus courses must be from the following group of courses:

LING 470-3 Foundations of Bilingual Education

LING 472-3 Assessment of Language Minority Students

LING 543-3 Bilingualism

LING 572-3 Materials Preparation in TESOL

LING 573-3 Computer-Assisted Language Learning

LING 575-3 Language Testing

LING 582-3 Course Design for TESOL

LING 584-3 Teaching Composition in a Second Language

LING 586-3 English for Specific Purposes

LING 587-3 Teaching Reading in a Second Language