MA in AL/TESL: Language teaching for practicing teachers track

NAU’s MA in AL/TESL program offers a Language Teaching for Practicing Teachers track, which offers a blend of theoretical and practical courses, ranging from linguistics to ESL methods and materials. If you’re a practicing K-12 teacher who has already earned teacher certification by the time you have completed the MA in AL/TESL degree, this MA in AL/TESL track might be perfect for you.

Courses

Central courses include:

• Fundamentals of Second Language Teaching and Learning
• ESL Methods (reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar)
• ESL Methods (speaking, listening, and pronunciation)
• Assessment for Second Language Skills
• Grammatical Foundations

Like other MA in AL/TESL students, practicing teachers take Introduction to Linguistics and Sociolinguistics.

The MA in AL/TESL Practicing Teacher track differs from the other two MA in AL/TESL tracks by offering a capstone experience during which practicing teachers engage in a supervised classroom-based research project in their own classrooms. This capstone takes the place of a comprehensive exam.

Practicing teachers in the MA in AL/TESL program also earn practicum credit in the confines of their own classrooms.

Arizona ESL endorsement

This program includes all the courses required for the Arizona ESL endorsement. In addition, the Arizona Department of Education requires properly documented second language learning experience.

This requirement may be met in several ways including:

• six semester hours of study of a foreign language
• passing the Spanish proficiency exam
• tribal documentation of proficiency in a native language