This Postgraduate Diploma will give you comprehensive grounding in theory and practice teaching the English language.  This qualification will give you an up-to-date subject knowledge. Educational employers highly value a Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL, and it will raise your profile should vastly improve or advance your career as a language teaching professional.  Learners will only have to undertake a work-based project with the University to gain their degree.

You will be armed with the practical skills needed to confidently enter a language classroom and you will have an enhanced subject knowledge of the English language. You will develop your language teaching ability over many levels and in different cultural and institutional contexts. You should also gain an understanding of the professional issues relating to the teaching and learning of the English language.

Aims

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages or TESOL encompasses both TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). The Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL is designed specifically designed for teachers of English who seek to adapt their teaching methods, their expectations of students, their teaching materials and their classroom activities to their local environment and the needs of their learners.

Program Learning Outcomes

The program aims to provide an opportunity for students to understand the teaching of English through investigation of the links between theory, practice and current research. Specifically, upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

  1. Explain the underlying concepts, principles and theories related to the teaching of
    English to speakers of other languages.
  2. Analyze how people learn languages, how to describe and explain language to
    learners.
  3. Apply appropriate teaching methods and technique in teaching reading, writing,
    speaking and listening skills.
  4. Develop learning materials and apply a variety of methods in assessing language
    performance.
  5. Synthesize research findings in English language learning and their application in the
    classroom.
  6. Recognize how cross-cultural differences affect and impact the learning of the
    English language.
  7. Adapt instruction to learners’ age, communicative and academic needs, linguistic
    backgrounds, literacy development, native languages, and proficiency levels.
  8. Develop critical and analytical skills in discussing relevant and substantive research
    in the field extend disciplinary learning and applied research skills in a dissertation.

Assessments

The aim of the assessment strategy is to identify formal practices and procedures for assessing and appraising the performance of the Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL learners to enable judgments and decisions to be reached concerning:

(a) The progression of students through the program;

(b) How well students have met the program learning outcomes through the combination of the individual unit learning outcomes;

(c) The provision of feedback information to students concerning their performance and how they adhered to the generic assessment criteria and the unit-specific assessment criteria;

(d) The granting of the Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL award; and the granting of interim awards should the student fail to complete the program but successfully completes specific elements.

The underpinning principles which drive the assessment strategies adopted for this program are the profile of the target students and the program itself (its philosophy and associated learning outcomes). The section below summarizes the varied assessment tasks or instruments which will be employed in assessing the different program learning outcomes.

(a) Assessment Instruments Work – Based Reports

Selected units will contain one work-based report with word limitations of usually between 3,500 – 4,000 words. Each unit document will outline the specific word limit. Normally the expected presentation of reports should be structured as outlined in below.

General Structure of the Report:

  • Sections and Page Number
  • Title Page (including unit title, assignment title, name, word count and date)
  • Executive summary (one page)
  • Contents (page numbers)
  • Introduction
  • Analysis Subsections
  • Statement or evaluation of alternatives Conclusions
  • Recommendations (justifications and implementations)
  • References (American Psychological Association style)
  • Appendix A Title ….
  • Appendix B Title ….

The purpose of the word limitation is for students to:

  • Focus on issues
  • Be critically concise
  • Assist them in their time management throughout the program

(b) Articles / Assignments

Written assignments are designed to allow students to demonstrate understanding of the unit, which students must then apply to an issue concerned with that particular subject area in their own organization, or one with which they are familiar. Students are either required to identify a process, task or problem which they must describe, analyze and discuss. The assignments provide a regular assessment process, which tests the following:

(a) Knowledge
(b) Critical analysis
(c) Planning skills
(d) Organizing ability
(e) Report writing skills

Students are requested to adhere to precise written instructions laid out in the Unit document to produce an academic article/essay on a selected area conforming to standards expected of good academic writing.

(c) Case Studies
Selected case studies may be incorporated into the assessment of units.

(d) Simulation
Often students will be assessed via scenario and simulation types of tasks related to the intended learning outcomes.

Entry Requirements

An applicant may be admitted on the basis of evidence to suggest that he/she will be able to
fulfil and benefit from the objectives of the program and achieve the standard required
for the award.

(a) A Bachelor’s Degree qualification in any subject from a recognized institution; or

(b) A professional qualification equivalent to a degree; and

(d) For those without a degree, sufficient and relevant working experience in the following areas:

  • academic and administrative leaders of higher education
  • institutions working at the central, faculty or department levels; or
  • policy makers and planners from Ministries of Education and other
  • educational regulatory and planning bodies; or
  • senior-level educational administrators; or
  • educational consultants.

(d) Demonstrate English Language proficiency in order to participate in the program taught in English; and

Program Structure

The program is made up of 6 taught courses has a credit value of 20 credits in each module and total 120 credits.

1          Second Language Learning and Acquisition

2          Teaching Reading and Writing

3          Teaching Speaking and Listening

4          Language Assessment and Testing

5          Digital Technology and Materials Development

6          Research Methods in TESOL

 

Notional Hours

Notional hours are defined in terms of the amount of time it should take a learner to achieve the learning outcomes. Each credit requires on average 20 notional hours of a learner’s time.

 

Guide to Learning Hours / Student Learning Time

This Program requires 60 credits credits. The program can be completed within 9 to 12 months.