TESOL Adult Program - MA

Program Coordinator: Prof. Laura Baecher; 1011 West Building; (212) 772-4747; lbaecher@hunter.cuny.edu

The TESOL Adult Program prepares students to teach adults in college, continuing education, literacy, business, private, and other community, academic and professional programs in the United States or abroad. It does not prepare teachers for New York State certification to teach in the public schools.

The MA program in TESOL is interdisciplinary. It encompasses courses that provide students with a theoretical and practical background in general linguistics, phonetics, the structure of American English, second language acquisition, related psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects, as well as the methods and materials of English language instruction to various populations. Student must also complete a student teaching/practicum at the level(s) at which they intend to teach. Courses in the TESOL curriculum reflect three levels of hierarchy: introductory, intermediate and advanced. Because introductory courses are prerequisites for more advanced courses, students are to take courses in this sequence.

Students may be exempted from up to six credits of course work in any of the TESOL programs, subject to program approval, if they have taken similar content elsewhere.

Meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Admission to the program is highly competitive. Each applicant’s grade point average, college coursework, written personal statement and interview, English language proficiency, foreign language credits, letter of recommendation and quality of experience are all carefully considered for admission to the program.

Links to the ESL classroom are emphasized and students are exposed to extensive field experiences and practice. Students should be prepared to spend considerable amounts of time observing and participating in educational settings in addition to attending classes at Hunter.

Admission Requirements

A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 from an accredited bachelor’s degree program or a GPA of 3.5 from a master’s degree program. Applicants who have an undergraduate GPA between 2.5 and 3.0 may be interviewed by the TESOL faculty and accepted on a non-matriculated basis if space is available.
Twelve (12) credits of foreign-language study documented on the transcript or equivalent credits on a standardized proficiency test like the College Level Proficiency Program (CLEP) or the NYU Proficiency Test in a Foreign Language.
Submission of two letters of recommendation to be included in the graduate application.
Submission of statement of purpose to be included in the graduate applicant.
Applicants who have taken all or part of their undergraduate education in a country where English is not the native language are required to submit an official TOEFL score report. These applicants must score at least 600 on the paper-administered test or 250 on the computer-administered test or 75 (less speaking component) on the TOEFL IBT. They must score at least 5.0 on the Test of Written English (TWE) or 24 on the IBT Writing Section; and 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) or 26 on the IBT Speaking Section.

Progress Standards

A. 12-Credit Progress Standards for Matriculated Students

Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0, which includes courses in the arts and sciences subject as well as in teacher education, in order to continue in the program.
Students with more than one course grade below B in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.
Student who receive a grade of F in any course including arts and sciences courses in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.
Students with one grade of IN (Incomplete) within the first 12 credits are restricted from registering for more than one additional course. Those with two or more INs will not be allowed to register for any courses.

Note: It is recommended that students with two or more INs take an official leave of absence.

B. Fieldwork Benchmarks

Fieldwork and clinical experience courses (
EDESL 77900
and
EDESL 77800
) must be passed with at least a B.

TESOL Adult Program Course of Study

Total Credits: 36 credits

Core Requirements (24 credits)

At Least Two of the Following (8 credits):

At least two of the following three courses must be taken before taking EDESL 79900 or EDESL 79800.

4 Credits of Electives From Among (but not limited to) the Following Courses

Exit Standards

An overall GPA of 3.0.
E-Portfolio or a master’s essay (
EDESL 76000
); the master’s essay course may be used to fulfill the program elective requirement.
Students must pass the School of Education technology assessment.