1999 Education Handbook - Master of Education (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) (MEd[TEFL])

Master of Education (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) (MEd[TEFL])

General information
Target group
Objectives
Special admission requirements
- English proficiency
Credit provision
Course structure
- Project

General information

Clayton campus and offshore: direct instruction
Course code: 2391
Contact: Ms Marie-Therese Jensen (please telephone 9905 2819 or 9905 2784 for initial inquiries)

The faculty offers a specialist Masters course for candidates who wish to teach English as a foreign language overseas (see special admission requirements below). The course is designed to accommodate both teachers and novices and aims to develop these candidates' understanding of the theory and practice of teaching English as a foreign and international language in a range of contexts (elementary, secondary, tertiary and workplace) in a country where English is not the official language.
The delivery of the course in dual settings in Australia and the home country provides optimum opportunities for candidates to immerse themselves in the target language and culture, to experience a variety of teaching/learning approaches and to explore the implications of their acquired understandings in the settings most representative of their future professional context.

Objectives

The major objectives of the teaching English as a foreign language pathway are that, upon successful completion of the course, students should have developed:

proficiency in English, sociocultural knowledge and competence for English speaking settings;
skills in planning for English language teaching programs in a range of contexts;
skills in the delivery of language teaching programs (design of tasks, materials, classroom management, etc);
strategies for reflection on their own professional practice, and on the relation of current theory and practice to their own work;
strategies for assessment of students' progress and evaluation of TEFL programs; and
research-related skills.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should have knowledge and understanding of:

the history and structure of the English language;
the various social and cultural contexts of learning and using English;
issues in curriculum design and assesment;
current research in second/foreign language acquisition;
current theory about teaching and learning English as a foreign language, and
second/foreign language teaching methodology and research.

Special admission requirements

The pathway is available to cohorts of candidates from countries in which there is a cooperating university to conduct the course with Monash Faculty of Education. This pathway consists of four semesters of full-time study. Part-time enrolments are not permitted.
Students should have a minimum requirement of a four-year (post-secondary Year 12) bachelor degree or a three year bachelor degree plus a post graduate course of study (postgraduate diploma) of at least one year (full-time). The disciplines within which the degree should be taken are arts/humanities and/or education. The degree may have been undertaken in either English medium or in a medium other than English. However, whether or not the degree has been taken in English medium, the applicant must present evidence of English proficiency as indicated in the next subsection. Applicants with successfully completed studies of English are preferred.
Prior studies in Education are not required, though these may be necessary for employment purposes in some countries (eg Australia). It is the responsibility of the student to investigate the registration requirements of their target employment situations.

English proficiency

Those whose prior qualifications were not taken exclusively in English medium must also achieve an English proficiency rating in one of the following internationally recognised tests (note that the TOEFL must be accompanied by the TWE):

Test	Minimum rating
IELTS	6.0 (Global), no rating below 5 - Speaking must be a minimum of 5
TOEFL and TWE	577 4.0 (preference to 4.5)

Staff experienced in the assessment of English proficiency will be present at the selection interviews, and will be permitted to use their discretion in the event that any of the above scores are not achieved. Skills in using computers for word processing will be assumed, though there will be opportunities to extend these skills on course. Appropriate library searching skills will be taught on course.

Credit provision

Students receive twelve credit points for each of the subjects taught in the Masters of Education (TEFL). Students from the MEd and MEd(TESOL) programs may claim credit for 'Theory and practice of TESOL', and 'Research design in TEFL'.

Course structure

The course can be taken on a full-time basis only over a period of two years. It is conducted for five weeks each year at Monash and the rest of the academic year at the cooperating university offshore. It offers a fixed sequence of subjects, all of which are compulsory, unless credit transfer has been permitted by the appropriate committee.
The course consists of seven semester-long subjects worth twelve points each (a full-time loading is forty-eight points annually), and a research project focusing on an aspect of teaching and learning English as a foreign language (10,000 words) worth twelve points. The major input for five of these subjects is provided by Monash staff during the residential periods at Monash each year in July and August, or any other time negotiated between Monash and the cooperating university.
Some of the assignments for these units are completed by students in the cooperating university overseas under the supervision of staff there, and submitted to Monash for assessment. The other two coursework units are taught at the cooperating university overseas by suitably qualified staff there. The research project is undertaken under the same conditions overseas, and each project is assessed by one staff member from Monash and one from the cooperating university.
The structure of the course is set out below:

Year 1			Year 2
MarJun	JulAug	SepNov	MarJun	JulAug	SepNov
Other institution	Monash	Other institution	Other institution	Monash	Other institution
Subject 1 GED3852 The international context of TEFL	Subject 2 GED3853 Advanced English for professional practice in TEFL Subject 3 GED3823 Theory and practice of TESOL	Subject 4 GED3860F Advanced practicum in language teaching: TESOL	Subject 5 GED3854 Curriculum design in TEFL	Subject 6 GED3855 Advanced English for research in TEFL Subject 7 GED3856 Research design in TEFL	Subject 8 Research project
12 points	12 points each (= 24 points) Assignments completed by November	12 points	12 points	12 points each (= 24 points) Assignments completed by November	12 points

Note that months in which the residential period at Monash takes place may be negotiated with the cooperating university offshore.

Project

The project, of approximately 10,000 words, must focus on a topic relevant to teaching English as a foreign language. Students intending to enrol in the project must complete the appropriate research methodology subject 7 as indicated in the above table.