MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Our distinctive, well-established, and popular MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is designed for those with less than one year’s language teaching experience. We explore different approaches to the teaching and learning of English and study the close relationship between language teaching theory and practice.

The programme encourages you to use the concepts and theories that you encounter during your course of study in your own classroom. It is a set of interactive course materials to complete in part-time, self-study mode over a period of at least 30 months. We also offer a full-time, on-campus programme over one year.

Why Study this Course?

• Flexibility – We have multiple start dates throughout the year so you have the option of choosing when to commence your studies with us. You can study at home, in your own time and at your own pace, so you can combine achieving a qualification with other commitments. You also have the benefit of developing your career without having to leave employment.
• Study from anywhere in the world
  • You can access the online course material from anywhere in the world, so if you change jobs or even move countries, it is possible to continue your studies.
• Real-life application – you can begin to apply new knowledge and insights to your working life whilst you are still studying. Many students choose to tackle work-related topics in their dissertations.
• Opportunity to attend our summer school – you will be able to attend one of our summer schools in Birmingham, Japan or Korea to learn more about the discipline and meet with academics and other students on the programme. We also run training events such as inductions and workshops for our students in some Asian countries.
• Access to excellent resources – you will also have free access to a range of online resources and corpora held at the Centre for Corpus Research. You will also have access to the resources such as the Academic Writing Advisory Service and the Bank of Assessed Work to help with transitioning to postgraduate studies. We also have an extensive and growing range of books and journals available through the University’s online library.
• Personal tutor – As a distance student you will have your own personal tutor whose job it is to guide and support you through the programme. He or she will be on hand to answer questions regarding the content of your programme and give advice on what to read and on writing your assignments.
• Excellent reputation – The Department of English Language and Linguistics is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. The distance programmes have been running for more than twenty-five years and have gained an excellent reputation. The online materials have been developed by experts in the field with a range of research interests and specialisms. The University has also been ranked as one of the world's top 50 institutions to study English Language and Literature in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.

Our College of Arts and Law Graduate School is a vibrant international community of over 1500 postgraduate students. We benefit from excellent research resources and a supportive environment that allows your research to flourish. Located in the Arts building at the main Edgbaston campus, our team of academic and operational staff is on hand to offer support and advice whenever you need it.

As a College, we have top class facilities that encourage interaction between disciplines and research areas so you’ll be amongst like-minded people, giving you the stimulation, support, and challenges you need to succeed.

The University of Birmingham

Birmingham is constantly developing and evolving in its desire to become a leading global university. This is being achieved through our enhanced research power and reach; the distinctiveness of our exceptional student experience; the breadth and depth of our academic portfolio; our size and the extent of our global networks.

The city of Birmingham

Birmingham is no longer transforming; it is transformed. With independent restaurants, shops and bars throughout the centre and popular districts around the city, this new and vibrant Birmingham is nestled among local markets, iconic buildings of our industrial heritage and contemporary architecture such as the new Library of Birmingham.

New bars and shops open frequently as the city continues to build its youthful and unique identity. There is so much diversity and history within Birmingham that the shops, food and venues reflect this. Old icons such as the Custard Factory host alternative shops and bars, just a short walk from the famous Birmingham wholesale fish and rag markets, all of which nestle close to the new Grand Central train station and shopping precinct.

Birmingham Law School

For almost a century Birmingham Law School has led the way in legal education and research. Today, we continue to provide our students with innovative, challenging, and research-driven education.

The Birmingham LLM takes one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) to complete and involves the study of six specialist modules and a dissertation. Applicants must have a good undergraduate degree in Law or equivalent.

The Birmingham LLM allows students to follow a general route, with complete flexibility in module selection, or follow one of our specialist pathways. When applying to the Birmingham LLM, students do not need to decide whether they wish to specialise at that stage, as pathway specialisms can be decided once students start on the course.

The Shakespeare Institute

The Shakespeare Institute, located in Stratford-upon-Avon, has been a beacon for international Shakespeare scholarship since its foundation in 1951.

The University of Birmingham is engaged in an exciting collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). This pioneering project is the result of the longstanding relationship between the RSC and the Shakespeare Institute at Birmingham.

The collaboration is rooted in a vision of theatre as an engine room for creative thinking and research, a place for the exchange of artistic and academic knowledge and practice, and a shared commitment to enriching student experience and contemporary Shakespeare studies.

Our students are at the heart of the collaboration and encouraged to study and create theatre in Shakespeare's own daring spirit. They benefit from the expertise of RSC artists and practitioners through innovative modules, masterclasses, workshops and projects.