Graduate Programs
Teaching English as a Second Language
Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
Integrating research and practice, the graduate programs in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) offer professional development to teachers of ESL and prepare researchers and leaders in applied linguistics. TESL graduate students gain experience and understanding in such areas as: current issues in TESL theory and practice; second language acquisition, second language reading and writing, language socialization, language and identity, second language assessment, discourse analysis, and research methods.
The TESL/TEFL program accepts well-qualified students from around the globe into a richly international and multicultural academic community. Additional TESL graduate program entrance requirements are at least two years of previous ESL/EFL teaching experience, a CV, and a statement of intent that outlines academic research interests and professional goals. For applicants whose native language is not English, a minimum TOEFL score of 580 and a minimum TWE score of 5 are required.
Masters
The Masters programs develop an awareness of current thought and practice in TESL education. The MA program has a research emphasis and includes a thesis, whereas the MEd program has a professional emphasis and includes the option of a major paper. Each program requires a minimum of 30 credits of approved graduate work, at least 24 of which must be numbered 500 or above.
The basic admission requirement to the Masters programs is an approved bachelor's degree, ideally in an area related to language and literacy education. In addition, successful applicants to the Masters programs typically have high grades; a minimum of two years of successful teaching experience; a coherent, well-written statement of intent; and strong references.
Doctoral
Successful applicants to the PhD program have very high grades (typically an A average at the Masters level); several years of successful teaching experience; a coherent, well-written statement of intent; and very strong references; as well as possessing a Masters degree and demonstrating scholarly ability through the publication of articles in refereed journals, presentations at scholarly conferences, and the winning of scholarly awards and grants. Also note that admission to the program is contingent on the availability of a suitable supervisor from among our faculty for your research interests.
The following faculty members are in the TESL group:
Patsy Duff
Margaret Early
Bonny Norton
Ken Reeder
Ling Shi
Steven Talmy
Courses and length of the program
TESL students (MA or MEd) typically take 15-24 credits from the following list of courses (with each course worth 3 credits), but others are also possible. On average students take 12 to 24 months to complete their master's program. Normally, it takes 24 months of full-time study to complete an MA degree and 12-24 months of full-time study to complete an M.Ed. degree.
PhD students typically take the required PhD seminars and elective courses from the following list as well as others relevant to their doctoral research. The number of courses each doctoral student takes is based on individual needs, prior coursework and preparation, and a consultation with individual supervisors. Our current PhD students take on average 7 courses or 21 credits (18-24 credits in total are recommended by UBC's Faculty of Graduate Studies (FOGS)).
The timely completion of all program requirements is very important for PhD students. PhD program coursework is typically completed within the first or second year of a student's program. By the end of their third year, students are required by FOGS to have completed their (3) comprehensive examinations (i.e., usually 3 scholarly papers from 25-30 pages in length, each) and their thesis proposal. After the exams and proposal have been approved by the doctoral supervisory committee, the student will have advanced to PhD candidacy. After that, many students take another two years or more to complete the program since data collection, data analysis, writing up, revisions, and preparation for the defense are very demanding and time-consuming. Although the maximum allowable time period, according to FOGS, is six years from the point students entered the PhD program, scholarships such as SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities of Canada) and UGF (University Graduate Fellowships) only fund up to 4 years in the doctoral program.
EDUC 500 (3) Introduction to research methods
LLED 510 (3) Language, Discourse, and Identity (Bonny Norton)
LLED 526 (3) Second Language Assessment: Conceptual & Empirical Approaches (Monique Bournot-Trites)
LLED 553 (3) Theoretical Foundations of ESL/EFL Reading Pedagogy (Bonny Norton)
LLED 565 (3) Analyzing Discourse in Education: Descriptive and Critical Approaches (Steven Talmy)
LLED 572 (3) Theory and Research in Teaching English as a Second Language (Margaret Early)
LLED 573 (3) Theories of Second Language Acquisition (Patsy Duff)
LLED 574 (3) Theory and research in teaching second language writing (Ling Shi)