MA Program in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

Department of Foreign Languages and Literature

Tunghai University

東海大學外國語文學系

碩士班英語教學組

中文版

Purpose    Characteristics       Fields of research    Courses    Faculty    Entrance exam    Future development   

Future jobs for MA students    Forms     Contact information

Purpose:

The MA Program in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, Tunghai University, is a graduate program that combines theory and practice. It is designed to (1) provide an opportunity for further study for people who are interested in the improvement of the English education in Taiwan, and (2) develop English teacher education at the elementary and high school level in Taiwan.

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Characteristics:

The MA TEFL program follows and strengthens Tunghai University’s Foreign Languages and Literature Department’s fifty years of tradition. It has the following characteristics:

(1)   The faculty members of the MA TEFL program come from diverse multicultural and multilingual backgrounds.

(2)   The professional specializations of the faculty members cover various academic fields of study.

(3)   All MA courses are taught in English, following the tradition of the undergraduate program offered by the same department, so that students are immersed in an English environment while they study in this graduate program.

(4)   The program emphasizes the practice of English teaching as well as theory.

(5)   The program interacts with other related programs and institutes within Tunghai University: The Graduate Program in Education, the Affiliated High School and Elementary School, Freshman English for Non-Majors Program, etc.

(6)   The program takes a leading role in coordinating academic activities with other institutes in and outside Taiwan. We invite famous national and international speakers to give workshops on teaching theories and strategies, and we also host symposiums on issues related to English teaching in Taiwan.

(7)   The program cooperates with several elementary schools and high schools in Taiwan to provide our MA students with teaching practicum and research opportunities.

(8)   The faculty members dedicate themselves both to teaching and in research. Every year, they conduct research projects sponsored by the National Science Council and the Ministry of Education and publish their research findings in national and international academic journals, conferences and books. The active research environment provides a good model for our MA students in their own research. 

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Fields of research:

Faculty members’ fields of research include the following:

1.     Individual learner differences and second language acquisition

2.     Peer responses and teaching English composition

3.     Pronunciation instruction and English proficiency

4.     Teaching English through e-mail and the Internet

5.     Teaching English reading and composition

6.     Portfolio teaching and language assessment

7.     English oral proficiency assessment

8.     Self-regulated English learning

9.     Language learning motivation

10.  Language learning strategies

11.  Whole language instruction

12.  Bilingual education

13.  Pleasure Reading in English

14.  Self-efficiency

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Courses:

 Required courses:

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Faculty:

        Currently, there are 17 full-time faculty members, 1 part-time faculty member. The backgrounds, specializations of and courses taught by our faculty are listed as the following:

Full-time Associate Professors:

Full-time Assistant Professors:

Part-time Associate Professor:

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Entrance Exam:

To enter this program, applicants have to pass two phases of the entrance exam:

(1) The first phase (Written Test):

1. Chinese (10%)

2. English (listening, reading, writing) (30%)

3. TESOL I (Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics) (10%)

4. TESOL II (Methodology in TESOL) (10%)

(2) The second phase (Oral Interview):

1. Oral Interview (40%)

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Future Development:

Plans for future development of this program include:

1.     Developing new language teaching and learning theories:

2.     Applying language teaching and learning theories in English classrooms

3.     Training English teachers for elementary and high schools

4.     Developing cooperation with more schools and institutes

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Future Jobs for MA Students:

Students who complete the MA TESOL program have a wide variety of choices for their future careers:

(1)  With the MA degree in TESOL, students who graduate from our program can choose to enroll in a related Ph.D. program in Taiwan or in other countries to prepare themselves for further research and for a university-level faculty position.

(2)  Students who graduate from our program can choose to become English teachers in elementary schools or high schools, if they also complete the Teacher Education requirements and have a teaching certificate.

(3)  Students who graduate from our program can create and develop English teaching materials for publishers and other cultural institutes.

(4)  Students who graduate from our program can choose to work as administrators in educational institutes.

(5)  Students who graduate from our program can choose to become translators or interpreters between Chinese and English if they also receive proper training in that area.

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Forms:

(under construction)

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Contact Information:

Department of Foreign Languages and Literature

Tunghai University

Tunghai University P.O. Box 373

181, Sec. 3, Taichungkang Rd.,

Taichung City 407, Taiwan

TEL: (04) 23590121 ext. 3120-3124

(04) 23590253

FAX: (04)23594002

Website: http://www2.thu.edu.tw/~flld

Email: flld@thu.edu.tw

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