Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

The MA program in TESOL prepares teachers to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in an English-speaking setting as well as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in countries around the world. The program features a focus on language, linguistics, and literature/culture in conjunction with different aspects of teaching English while balancing both the theoretical and practical aspects of TESOL in order to meet our students? professional needs. Graduates of our program follow different career paths, ranging from teaching in the public schools to teaching English overseas to pursuing doctoral degrees. Our diverse student population fosters a rich learning environment for students and faculty alike, which leads to lively and interesting cultural exchanges. Students in the TESOL MA program benefit greatly from the close ties and cooperation with the Intensive English Program (IEP) through tutoring projects, classroom observations, conversation partners, the English Conversation Table, and other IEP activities. Our graduate students are also encouraged to become professionally active in state, regional, and national professional conferences.

Faculty

Susan Braidi

... received her Ph.D. degree in Linguistics from the University of Delaware. Her areas of specialization are applied linguistics, second language acquisition theory, and second language acquisition of syntax and vocabulary. She teaches introductory courses in linguistics and courses in second language acquisition theory, second language reading, second language pronunciation, and second language acquisition of syntax and vocabulary as well as courses in teaching methodology and materials development and syllabus design. Her research interests focus on exploring the influences and applications of second language acquisition theory in the language classroom.

Ahmed Fakhri

... received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Michigan. He teaches applied linguistics, second language acquisition, second language writing, and discourse analysis. His research interests include (a) genre analysis and contrastive rhetoric and their implications for second language writing, and (b) language use in legal settings.

Xiangying Jiang

...received her Ph.D. degree in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University. Her areas of specialization are applied linguistics, second language reading and literacy, language assessment, research methods, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and second language acquisition. She teaches courses in language assessment, research methods, CALL, ESL theory, and second language reading and literacy. Her research interests focus on second language reading development, including topics on comprehension strategies, discourse structure, reading motivation, word reading efficiency, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and the influence of first language literacy on second language literacy development.