MA TESOL - Hong Kong Management Association

Master of Arts in
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
(MA TESOL)
Overview
Teaching English to non-native English speakers requires
skills beyond just knowing the language. Teachers must have
specialised skills. They must be conversant in the
methodologies for language teaching and possess the
understandings, attitudes and values needed to support
learners from non-English speaking backgrounds.
The MA TESOL, offered by the University of Sunderland, UK
in conjunction with the Hong Kong Management Association
in Hong Kong via distance learning, aims to provide qualified,
experienced teachers of English with the opportunity to update
and broaden their theoretical knowledge of English and how
language is learnt. It also allows people with little or no prior
teaching experience to participate. The course simultaneously
allows them to explore the many ways in which this language
is taught to speakers of other languages internationally. It
thus enhances the students’ academic knowledge and
understanding and increases their repertoire of teaching
methods enabling them to be more effective teachers, Heads
of Department, Advisers or Inspectors.
Is an MA in TESOL Right for You
The MA TESOL has been designed to enhance your practical skills through a knowledge of the theoretical
aspects of the English Language classroom. The programme is ideal for teachers at any level of education:
primary, secondary, university/college. It also includes a practical teaching module designed to cater for
applicants with no prior teaching experience. You will be able to use the advanced qualification and
specialised skills to enhance your professional and career development. Furthermore, the programme could
equip you to take up a role in managing change in education or leading a department/school.
Is the Distance Learning Mode Right for You
Nowadays teachers and educators in Hong Kong are faced with heavy teaching, administrative and
extracurricular duties and find it difficult to spare the time to travel to and attend scheduled classes. The
distance learning mode of this MA TESOL course has been specially designed to provide you with the
flexibility and yet the academic rigor to make your learning experience attainable and rewarding.
Learning Outcomes to be Expected
Upon successful completion of the MA TESOL programme students will have:
1. demonstrated an in-depth knowledge and understanding of key concepts and theoretical frameworks
in TESOL.
2. demonstrated a critical knowledge and understanding of issues relevant to TESOL internationally.
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3. demonstrated abilities in a range of writing skills in various genres including reports and essays.
4. acquired the knowledge and critical understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods
as relevant to TESOL research contexts.
5. acquired the knowledge and critical understanding of recent researched debates and issues relevant
to TESOL.
6. acquired a wide-ranging knowledge and critical awareness of the theories of second/foreign language
learning.
7. acquired the knowledge and awareness of a range of approaches to TESOL and related classroom
techniques as used internationally.
8. acquired the knowledge and systematic understanding of linguistics as relevant for TESOL
classrooms.
9. acquired an application of theoretical understandings to specific issues arising in English Language
Learning and Teaching contexts they know well.
10. demonstrated their ability to synthesise the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course to
produce a sustained piece of independent practical and/or theoretical work in the form of a critically
argued dissertation.
Programme Structure
The programme is divided into three successive stages and consists of six modules plus a dissertation:
Postgraduate
Certificate Stage: 3 Modules
ELTM 08
LFTM 04
The Principles and Practice of English Language Teaching
Linguistics for TESOL
20 credits
20 credits
ELTM-07 L2 Practical Teaching 20 credits
Postgraduate
Diploma Stage:
3 Modules (1 core and 2 options)
ELTM 03 Research Methods in Language Learning and Teaching
(core module)
20 credits
ELTM 06 Theories of Second/Foreign Language Learning (option module) 20 credits
LFTM 03 Language, Culture and Power (option module) 20 credits
LFTM-05 Corpus Linguistics and Leanguage Teaching (option module) 20 credits
Masters Stage:
Dissertation
ELTM 05 TESOL Dissertation 60 credits
(maximum 15,000 words)
Students can exit the Programme with a Postgraduate Certificate if they have passed 60 credits successfully
or with a Postgraduate Diploma if they have passed 120 credit. Students will receive their interim awards
upon the approval of the Programme Assessment Board. Students cannot go on to the dissertation
phase until they have passed both the certificate and diploma modules successfully.
The successful completion of the above units (180 credits) leads to the award of the MA TESOL degree.
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Admission Requirements
The MA TESOL requires
the completion of 6 modules and a dissertation
To be eligible for admissions, you should
have:
* A recognized bachelor degree in any
field,
* An IELTS Level 6.5/TOEFL 575 or
equivalent,
* Under exceptional circumstances,
applicants with other acceptable and
comparable qualifications will also be
considered
* No prior teaching experience is required
Postgraduate Certificate Stage
3 modules
Postgraduate Diploma Stage
3 modules
Masters Stage
Dissertation (15,000 words)
Master of Arts in
Teaching English to
Speakers of Other
Languages (MA TESOL)
Teaching and Learning in Distance
Learning Mode
The MA TESOL course is conducted via
distance learning and there will be no faceto-face
teaching. The MA TESOL team has
developed a wide range of methods and
strategies for teaching and assessing
students on the programme. A key
development has been the extensive use of
WebCT in delivering the course content,
supplementing the materials provided (e.g.
with animated diagrams), and as a
discussion forum for staff and students.
During the first and second stages of the
programme, this includes regular studentcentred
discussions via a WebCT
asynchronous discussion facility, overseen
by a Sunderland tutor who provides
feedback. Assessment strategies include
essays, project work and the presentation
of a poster.
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Student Support
The MA TESOL teaching team provides a strong support system to meet the needs of independent distance
learning students. First of all, these students are required to have access to a PC and to the Internet as
the content of the modules are made available via WebCT. Distance learning students have access to
electronic journals and articles online. Students are also entitled to be registered for the library distance
learning services.
A student support network is organised to encourage students to communicate with each other by email
and through WebCT. In addition, online discussion groups are used not only as a teaching and learning
method, but also as an additional student support mechanism. WebCT therefore functions to some extent
as a substitute for face-to-face tutorials. Students are given the opportunity to ask their tutors questions
about their modules or about the programme in general, and their fellow students can benefit from the
responses given online. Tutors are accessible via email and WebCT on a daily basis but students are
advised that they can normally expect a response to their queries within 5 working days, or 2 days in the
case of a more urgent query. During the period of time when the students are writing their dissertations,
they have regular consultations with their tutors by letter, email, fax and phone.
Assessment
Students will be assessed via their written assignments, project work and the Dissertation. There will
not be any written examination. All assessments are set and marked by University of Sunderland academic
staff.
Duration
The normal duration of the programme is 18 months but special permission may be granted
to extend the completion date.
Degree Award
The degree award will be Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages (MA TESOL). The degree awarded for the Hong Kong programme
is the same as that for the home programme.
Please also refer to Programme Structure for exit awards of Postgraduate
Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma.
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Organising Institutions in Hong Kong
The programme is offered in Hong Kong by the Faculty of Education and Society of the University
of Sunderland, UK in association with the Hong Kong Management Association.
About the University of
Sunderland and Faculty of
Education and Society
The University is an active learning community of over
12,000 students engaged on a range of high quality
degrees, masters and doctoral award programmes. The
University is committed to a continuous process of
development, making it one of the most progressive seats
of learning in the United Kingdom. According to the
Guardian newspaper, the University of Sunderland is the
“Best New University in England” (Guardian University
Guide, May 2001 and the “Best New University in the
North East” (Guardian University Guide, 2012). It was
also the “Student Experience Winner” in 2010 (Times
Higher Education Awards).
The University of Sunderland’s success in preparing its
graduates for employment has been confirmed by official
performance indicators.
The Faculty of Education and Society is one of five faculties
in the University. The faculty’s programmes include a
very wide range of subjects at levels up to Masters and
PhD, including Foreign Languages, Early Childhood
Studies, Foundation degrees in several subjects, and Initial
Teacher Education programmes leading to Qualified
Teacher Status (QTS) and Further and Higher Education
Qualifications.
About The Hong Kong
Management Association
The Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) is
a non-profit-making incorporated body established in
1960. Over the past 50 years, the Association, with a
mission to train and develop human resources, has
been actively taking part in training tens of thousands
of management personnel and professionals, thereby
raising the standard of management and improving its
quality in Hong Kong.
As part of HKMA’s deep commitment to providing
opportunities to local executives and professionals for
continuing development, the Association, in
partnership with a number of prestigious overseas
tertiary institutions, offers a series of programmes
leading to Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees
in various areas of studies.
The Programme Local Secretariat at the HKMA will
take care of overall organisation of the programme,
and will work with students to answer their questions
as well as help solve their problems, throughout the
learning process.
The Faculty’s courses and programmes have been judged
by the QAA and OFSTED as being of very high quality.
The academic staff also undertake a wide range of national
and international research and consultancy.
Nearly all students who wish to, gain posts on successful
completion of their full time programmes, and the
University is proud of this contribution to the education
of the North-East.
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Subject Synopsis
ELTM08
LFTM04
ELTM07
ELTM03
ELTM06
LFTM03
LFTM05
ELTM05
The Principles and Practice of English Language Teaching (20 credits)
In this module, students will examine how and why English is learnt/ taught internationally,
reviewing a wide range of Language teaching methodologies and the theories of learning in which
they are embedded. They will use this knowledge and understanding to critically review English
Language Teaching methods internationally and in a context with which they are familiar.
Linguistics for TESOL (20 credits)
Beginning with an examination of the processes of language acquisition, and the relevance of
psycholinguistics, this module explores linguistics theory and findings in the fields of grammar,
phonetics and phonology, semantics and pragmatics. The module asks students to evaluate,
compare and contrast the theories and findings, and analyse their applicability to a variety of
social contexts. The module places special emphasis on the applications of the theory to the
practice of the classroom. Students are expected to extract features of the theory that are relevant
to their teaching context and discuss the aspects that might enhance their teaching of English
to speakers of other languages.
L2 Practical Teaching (20 credits)
The module begins with analysing the techniques and procedures of various L2 teaching methods
such as the Direct Method, the Audio-Lingual Method, Total Physical Response, Communicative
Language Teaching, Task-based Approach, and Cooperative Learning. In the sessions which
follow, different techniques for observing and analysing L2 classes will be discussed. The issues
discussed on observation include different types of observation (structured and unstructured),
the focus of observation, and ways of recording and analysing observation. Then techniques
and procedures for teaching grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation will be explored and
practised. These include applying inductive and deductive approaches, realia, word games, and
the phonemic chart. There will also be a discussion on how to prepare lesson plans and what
to include in them. Students are required to find an institution in their own context to teach
there, to video-tape their teaching and to observe some English language classes in that institution.
Research Methods in Language Learning and Teaching (20 credits)
This module covers the methodology and design of a research project comparing qualitative and
quantitative approaches to research. It analyses data collection methods (observation, interviews,
surveys, questionnaires and action research) and data analysis methods (using databases and
spreadsheets). It reviews classroom research traditions and practice, class and programme
evaluation, and linguistics approaches to describing discourse (theory based and data-based, formal
and functionalist). It can be considered as training for any TESOL/linguistics project and/or
preparation for the MA dissertation.
Theories of Second / Foreign Language Learning (20 credits)
The module begins with an overview of the evaluative parameters for assessing theories in the field
of second/foreign language learning. In the sessions which follow, each theory is elaborated on
and critically evaluated against the concepts covered in the first session. In addition, the impact
of these theories on the development of certain language teaching methods is also examined. Finally,
the applications of the theories to TESOL classes and to the students’ contexts are discussed. This
module can be considered as the theoretical underpinning of the teachers’ experience and practice.
Language, Culture and Power (20 credits)
An examination of the relationships between language, culture and power, identifying hegemonic
forces as they are manifested in language in use - with a concentration upon the examination of the
theoretical basis for the more focused work which follows, and a consideration of sociolinguistic
approaches to issues of language and culture. Topics selected for closer examination include: language
and gender; the discourses of politics; English as a world language; language, ‘race’ and identity.
Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching (20 credits)
The module offers an introduction to the exciting and rapidly developing field of corpus linguistics,
designed for teachers of English as a second or foreign language. The first part of the module
provides an overview of the field together with an introduction to a range of corpus-analytical
techniques and approaches: students will become familiar with different types of corpora, and learn
the fundamentals of corpus-based and corpus-driven research (core concepts include collocation,
colligation, semantic prosody and lexical keyness). The second part considers the pedagogical
applications of corpus linguistics from the perspective of the teacher (e.g. in syllabus design and
providing support for teachers’ explanations) and the learner (in relation to data/discovery driven
learning). This is very much a practical module, with great emphasis placed on the acquisition of the
skills needed for corpus construction and analysis.
TESOL Dissertation (60 credits)
Based on project titles negotiated during the second stage of the programme, students will work
independently but with support and directive guidance from an agreed tutor and will apply
knowledge, skills and experience developed earlier in the MA programme by undertaking a
substantial piece of research based on primary sources. Topics may include those related to
classroom practice and language in use but must have a theoretical as well as a practical basis.
The length of the Dissertation should be no more than 15,000 words.

How to Apply
To apply for a place on the MA TESOL programme, an application must be completed and lodged with
The Hong Kong Management Association. Applications are assessed by, and admission decisions are
made at the discretion of, the University of Sunderland.
Enquiries
For application details, please call the Programme Local Secretariat on 2774 8500. For further information
about the programme, please call Ms Karen Chan on 2774 8565 or Mr Michael Kwok on 2774 8559.
For information on The University of Sunderland: www.sunderland.ac.uk
For information on HKMA: www.hkma.org.hk
Admission is on a competitive and individual basis entirely at the discretion of the respective universities. Admission criteria and procedures are set by
them and are subject to change without prior notice. The Association does not give any warranty and will not accept any liability regarding the
above.
MATE-B2503-20131