Admission Criteria

The minimum general requirement for admission to the post-graduate degree programme is a Bachelor Degree from a recognised university.

More specifically, the following entry requirements apply for the MA in TESOL programme:

Academic requirements

• All applicants for entrance in the MA TESOL programme offered by the Department should have at least a lower second class (2:2) Bachelor degree in English Language/ English Linguistics and/or English Literature from a recognised university.
• Teaching experience is not essential but preferred. Tutoring experience is helpful.
• Applicants with a lower grade or whose degree is on a related discipline will be considered on their own merits.

Other requirements

• Two academic reference letters.
• Personal Statement: A letter highlighting the applicant’s individual competencies and strengths and providing his/her reflections regarding the expectations and value of the programme as well as to his/her personal advancement and career development.

English Language Entry requirements

If the candidate’s first degree was not taught in English language, then the candidate needs to provide evidence of his/her English Language proficiency as follows:

• A British Council International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7 (or above) with a minimum score in each component of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking of 6.5, or
• TOEFL 580 (paper-based test) or 237 (computer-based test) with a score of not less than 4 in TWE or 92 (internet-based test) with not less than 21 Writing, Listening 21, Reading 22 and Speaking 23,
• or IGCSE minimum score ‘B’
• or Cambridge Proficiency English (CPE) minimum grade C
• or Cambridge Advanced English (CAE) minimum grade B.
• or Cambridge Michigan ECPE Proficiency – Pass
• or score placement at the ENGL-101 level of the University of Nicosia

English language test results should not be older than 2 years.

Profile of the Programme

General Objectives

To provide students with a strong professional foundation for developing practical teaching skills in relation to TESOL; to further students’ understanding of English language teaching.

Specific Objectives

• To develop in the student an understanding of a range of disciplines and areas of professional activity which underpin the field of TESOL and constitute its focus and its concerns;
• To provide students with a solid theoretical foundation and the necessary professional skills in TESOL;
• To equip the students with the linguistic knowledge, cultural understanding, and pedagogical training essential to the various aspects of TESOL;
• To provide theoretical and/or practical support for actual situations within the language classroom,
• To develop students’ skills in critical reading and ability to design a research project,
• To provide the theoretical and/or practical basis required for the study of a doctoral degree.”

Career Prospects

The MA TESOL programme prepares students and educators for global careers as ESL/EFL teachers and course developers. It is designed for those who may have little or no substantial teaching experience but who wish to gain a substantial postgraduate qualification early in their professional lives in the field of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Graduates will be able to be employed as teaching professionals at private and state institutions, both in Cyprus and abroad, teaching English to non-native speakers of the language.

Access to Further Studies

The graduate programme will provide the basis for acceptance to a doctoral degree in TESOL or Applied Linguistics.

The student must complete 90 ECTS and all programme requirements.

A minimum cumulative grade point average (CPA) of 2.0 is required. Thus, although a ‘D-‘ is a PASS grade, in order to achieve a CPA of 2.0 an average grade of ‘C’ is required.

Upon successful completion of this program, the students should be able to:

1. Critically analyse relevant professional issues affecting current educational practices in the area of English language learning and teaching;
2. Reflect on and evaluate the quality of language teaching and learning;
3. Locate and critically assess the relevance and value of recent research in the area of English language learning and teaching;
4. Design, evaluate, develop and implement lessons and materials in English language teaching;
5. Design and evaluate course curricula in relation to English language teaching and learning;
6. Design, develop and implement research in their chosen area of specialization;
7. Fully and confidently defend their ideas on language teaching and learning both orally and in writing;
8. Synthesise, at a high level, data and ideas from secondary sources for seminar presentations and assignments;
9. Critically assess and reflect upon one’s own practice and development as an English language teacher.