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Compulsory modules

Foundations of Language Study

This module aims to familiarise MA students with the phonetic and phonological systems of the English language (General British accent) and to increase the sophistication of participants' understanding of the ways in which the English language can be described grammatically at phrase and sentence level. Participants will be introduced to the major formal and functional units involved in the articulation/production of sounds, syllables, stress, intonation, words and the construction of sentences. Special areas of study in Grammar will include tense, aspect, modality and valency of the English verb, the noun phrase and teaching of grammar.

Second Language Learning Principles

This module aims to review and evaluate general theories of learning; to consider the implications of learning theories for second language (L2) learning and teaching; to outline the development and relationship of different theoretical accounts of the first and second language learning process; to review and evaluate research into important factors in second language learning connected with the learner and the circumstances of learning; and to consider the practical implications of this research into factors in second language learning.

Research Design Methods

This module aims to introduce and discuss in broad terms the more frequently used research designs and research techniques in English language teaching and Applied Linguistics. It describes and exemplifies the nature of academic research in general, and the features that are seen as desirable in such research. It outlines different types of, and approaches to, research in the field and describes the main elements of a research study in terms of questions, hypotheses (where relevant), and variables (where relevant).

Issues in Language Skills Teaching

This module introduces the processes involved in the development of the oral/aural (i.e., listening and speaking) and literacy (i.e., reading and writing) skills in a second language. The module also provides an overview of current and effective methods of teaching in ESL/EFL contexts, focusing on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Through using a highly interactive skills-based approach, students will experience in practice the academic and pedagogic ideas during the modules. 

If you choose MA TESOL Dissertation track, you will take this additional compulsory module:

Dissertation

Drawing on the content of other relevant modules on the programme and the work done for the Research Design module, this module enables students to design, conduct and write up an original research study.

If you choose MA TESOL Portfolio track, you will take this additional compulsory module:

Language Teaching Portfolio

The course aims to provide an opportunity for students to relate theory of second language learning and teaching to practice. Through the observation of classroom events, the detailed analysis of a language learner, the development of lesson plans and delivery of teaching (in micro-teaching sessions), students will acquire basic knowledge of how to evaluate, adapt, plan and deliver a lesson or part of a lesson, and of how to analyse the language of a learner.

Optional Modules

Child Language Development

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of language development in normal children, together with the experience of encoding child language data and using a computer program to analyse it. It thus affords a benchmark and a system of analysis for interpreting abnormal language development.

Intercultural Communication

In this module, students will explore how people of different discourse systems or groups communicate with one another in various face-to-face and digitally-mediated contexts. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of how assumptions and values that have been constructed or adopted within a specific culture group influence the ways in which people successfully communicate with each other as well as experience miscommunication. Students will become familiar with a variety of topics in intercultural communication as they engage in hands-on analyses of intercultural encounters.

Introduction to Corpus Linguistics

Corpus-based approaches have had an enormous impact on the description of language in use. The analysis of language patterning and frequencies across large quantities of text can reveal features of language use that may not be easily accessible otherwise. The module aims to introduce students to the tools and methods of Corpus Linguistics (CL) and the application of CL as a tool for the analysis of language use in a variety of registers and discourse contexts. Students will be offered a comprehensive training in the use of specialist software for the analysis of language in corpora (large electronic text compilations), and will gain a hands-on experience in creating, annotating, analysing and summarising corpus-data for their own research purposes.

Principles of Applied Linguistics

This module provides an overview of the range of research contexts, theories and methods relevant to the field of applied linguistics. It exposes students to the different ways linguistics can be applied to solving ‘real-world’ problems in domains such as language learning, language policy, healthcare, professional communication, and the media, and introduces them to different theoretical frameworks, research designs and analytical tools used in applied linguistics research. It also equips students with the tools to review and evaluate research in applied linguistics and connect that research to practice in classrooms, workplaces and other relevant settings. This module provides the foundation for students’ further study of applied linguistics in their subsequent core and optional modules.

Sociolinguistics

This module introduces students to the relationship between language and society. They learn about the interaction between social factors such as age, gender, region, and the way people use language, how people use linguistic resources to construct social identities and manage social relationships, and why people and societies value particular ways of speaking over others. The module focuses on the role of language in a range of social issues, including citizenship, racism, educational policy and practice, migration, and conflict across borders.  

Language Testing Principles

This module familiarises students with the basic concepts, issues and methods of language testing and help them realise the significant power of language tests in educational, professional, employment and immigration fields. The module evaluates key characteristics of good language tests, considers the usefulness of different tests for educational and non-educational purposes, and provides opportunities for test evaluation and test design.   This module provides the students with the skills needed in their professional careers, as language teachers and/or testers, to identify and employ suitable tests and assessment practices 

Multilingualism and Impairment Across the Lifespan

This module introduces key concepts on the development and use of language in bi- and multilingual individuals across the lifespan, with specific reference to clinical practice. The focus of the course is both on healthy children and adults, and on children with developmental speech and language communication difficulties and adults with acquired language disorders. A significant component of the course is devoted to understanding the theoretical, methodological, and clinical implications of the latest research evidence on the crosslinguistic assessment of bi and multilingual children with developmental language disorder and of bilingual adults with aphasia. 

Neuroscience of Language

This module aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge of current research in the cognitive neuroscience of language. Topics covered will include brain structure and function as related to the neuroanatomy of language in typical and atypical populations. Different neuroimaging techniques, such as event-related brain potentials (ERP) and functional/structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be discussed in relation to linguistic representation and language processing in different populations of speakers. Students will examine contemporary research covering a range of research areas in neurolinguistics and the cognitive neuroscience of language, and gain familiarity with the research methods used in these fields through tutorial.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2025/26 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

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