The Master of TESOL Education is a professional development program, particularly for teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is also designed to cater for non-native speaking teachers of English.

The program provides a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). You are encouraged to relate your own teaching experience and situation to your coursework, and the curriculum seeks to develop and extend the central skills for successful teaching and learning of English as a second or foreign language.

You are introduced to major aspects of second language acquisition theories, and examine different factors that influence the successful learning of another language. You deepen your understanding of the structure and the use of the English language, and learn how to incorporate communicative teaching methodologies, intercultural language learning principles and interlanguage phonology into your teaching practice.

Courses feature small group, face-to-face teaching that develops your abilities to exercise critical thinking, present information and arguments effectively, and use public presentation skills. The personal interaction skills you develop are essential in language teaching. You are assessed through a combination of assignments, peer-teaching activities and project work.

Admission requirements

A student entering the masters program will be required to hold a 4-year degree (or equivalent) in Education, Languages or Linguistics, from a recognised university and relevant teaching experience.

Applicants are also required to have either:

• a minimum of 300 hours of communicative language teaching experience witnessed by an authorised representative of a recognised English language teaching institute (eg a Director of Studies).
  or
• have demonstrated suitability through a Skype or teleconference interview which assesses: teaching experience (preferably TESOL, but related fields will be considered); knowledge of approaches to teaching in general and TESOL in particular; ability to reflect upon prior teaching experience

Entry by non-graduates who have extensive relevant industry experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Dean or Professor of Education, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering.