Before You Begin |
Please be advised that M.A. TESOL classes are offered in the daytime, on weekdays, and in-person, on-campus only. (No online option.) |
|---|
Step One: Meet with your Adviser |
No later than the end of the first quarter after admission to the MATESOL program, the student must consult with a faculty adviser to select the appropriate courses and areas of concentration.Bring an MATESOL Program Planning Form to your first adviser meeting. |
|---|
Course Load |
For federal student loan purposes, PSU considers "full time" graduate study to be nine credit hours per quarter.
- The typical full-time graduate course load = two, 4-credit courses + one additional credit.
If a student is very motivated, has strong English comprehension and literacy skills, and is not working more than ten hours per week, it can be possible to take three, 4-credit classes.
However, care must be taken not to enroll in three of the most time-intensive courses during the same quarter. |
|---|
Meet Course Prerequisites |
In planning to successfully complete the minimum 46 required credits, students must take into account their level of preparation for the required courses.
Please closely review the table of strict course prerequisites and strongly recommended preparatory courses to assess the current level of preparation.
- MATESOL program rules require that students should meet all of the strict course prerequisites before undertaking the required courses.
- If you have questions about your level of preparedness for a particular course, please consult the instructor.
|
|---|
Prerequisites and Conceptual Sequencing |
Each class develops conceptual content and materials which depend on and interlink with many other classes.
|
|---|
Planning for Success in Time and Task Intensive Courses |
As a general recommendation, the most time-intensive courses tend to be Second Language Acquisition, Syntax, Phonology, and the Methods Sequence.
Although not all students will find these courses exceptionally demanding, in general it is wise to enroll in these time-intensive courses *only one per quarter*.
See also:
|
|---|
Why are these courses time-intensive? |
Courses can be perceived as time-intensive for a variety of reasons.
- Some courses demand in-depth reading of substantial amounts of Applied Linguistics research literature. If the student's research reading skills need to be strengthened, these reading-intensive classes can be very demanding upon the student's time. (Second Language Acqusition)
- Some courses have a high computational or analytical content. (Syntax, Phonology)
- Some courses require many hours of field work, in the form of teaching, tutoring, and making observations in working ESOL classrooms. (Methods Sequence.)
|
|---|
|
LING 578 Methods II | 4 credits | Not conceptually difficult for most. However, this course involves many hours of field work, in the form of practice teaching, continuing tutoring, and doing observations in ESOL classrooms.
| LING 577 Methods I | 4 credits | Similar to Methods II in task load, although some students have found Methods I even more time-consuming. Tasks include making appointments with tutees and teachers, and numerous hours of portfolio-building tutoring at various locations.
| LING 538 Second Language Acquisition | 4 credits | LING 538 involves conceptually challenging research reading and time-consuming writing projects, as well as in-depth reading of substantial amounts of Applied Linguistics research literature. If the student's research reading skills need to be strengthened, these reading-intensive classes can be very demanding upon the student's time.
| LING 511 Syntax | 4 credits | LING 511 is conceptually challenging. Syntax involves managing a high level of computational or analytical content, and deliverables for the course include several time-consuming analysis projects.
|
|
|---|
