Program Overview

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ELT/TESOL Studies (MA)

About this course

Study the theory and practice of English Language Teaching (ELT) with our MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) master’s degree.

You can apply for this course if you have recently graduated and are starting your career in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

This UK-based MA ELT TESOL is ideal for graduates who want to teach English as a second or additional language, or work in the teaching education sector.

Our English language teaching master's degree will help you develop specialist knowledge and skills in TESOL and related linguistic areas.

On MA TESOL you’ll study the most recent approaches to the curriculum, assessment and pedagogy (interactions between teachers, students, and the learning environment and tasks) and have the opportunity to pursue your interests. Optional modules you can study include subjects like:

• learner autonomy
• English as an international language

On this TESOL studies course you’ll explore the theory and practice of English language teaching. You’ll be prepared to challenge current practices and take an innovative approach to your future career as a leader in the field.

Our graduates are employed across the world in all areas of the English language teaching profession.

If you’re already teaching English through TESOL and want to advance your career, take a look at our MA English Language Teaching TESOL course.

We regularly review our courses to ensure and improve quality. This course may be revised as a result of this. Any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Find out why, when, and how we might make changes.

Our courses are regulated in England by the Office for Students (OfS).

Course lead

Özgür Şahan is your course lead. His research interests include language assessment and second language writing.

Learn more about this subject area

Languages and linguistics

Language has been central to human history, helping us tell stories, share ideas, and build connections. On our language and linguistics courses you'll look at the science behind language acquisition ...

Course location

This course is based at Avenue.

Awarding body

This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.

Download the Course Description Document

The Course Description Document details your course overview, your course structure and how your course is taught and assessed.

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ODT

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Entry requirements

Entry requirements

You’ll need a 2:1 honours degree in a language or relevant subject.

• Find the equivalent international qualifications for your country.

English language requirements

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English. You'll need all of the following scores as a minimum:

• overall score: 6.5
• reading: 6.0
• writing: 6.0
• speaking: 6.0
• listening: 6.0

If you do not meet the English language requirements through a test or qualification, you may be able to meet them by completing one of our pre-sessional English programmes before your course starts.

If you don’t meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

Pre-masters

If you don’t meet the academic requirements, you can complete a pre-master's programme through our partnership with OnCampus. Learn more about the programmes available.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

• Email:
• Tel:+44(0)

Course structure

Course structure

You'll study this master’s course full-time over one year. Each semester is made up of key modules you must study and gives you the choice to select what modules you want to learn.

Guest speakers will deliver seminars and you’ll have other extension activities as part of your TESOL learning.

You’ll complete your research dissertation project over the final 18 weeks of the course.

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

Modules

Modules

The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our course to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Find out why, when and how we might make changes.

For entry in academic year 2025 to 2026

Year 1 modules

You must study the following modules:

• Analysing Language for ELT/TESOL
• Developing Approaches to Language Teaching
• Dissertation (ALLT/ELT)
• Principles of Communicative Language Teaching
• Research Skills

You must also choose from the following modules:

• Autonomy and Individualisation in Language Learning
• Corpus Linguistics for Language Teaching
• Digital Education and English Language Teaching
• Diversity, social justice and inclusion in language education
• English as a World Language
• English as medium of instruction in global education
• Introduction to Research in Applied Linguistics
• Language and Intercultural Communication
• Pragmatics in global contexts
• Second Language Learning
• Task-based Language Teaching
• Teaching and Researching Second Language Writing
• Understanding Statistics in Applied Linguistics Research

Learning and assessment

Learning

The learning activities for this course include the following:

• lectures
• seminars
• research projects
• independent study

Your contact hours will vary depending on your module choices.

Assessment

We’ll assess you through:

• exams
• presentations
• dissertation

You’ll also receive ongoing assessment and feedback through lecture and seminar activities.

Dissertation

You’ll complete your dissertation during the final 18 weeks of this full-time course. On this project, you’ll need to conduct research in an area related to the teaching of English.

Academic Support

We’ll assign you a personal tutor, and you’ll have access to a senior tutor.

Careers and employability

Employability skills

This degree will allow you to develop and evidence subject-specific and targeted employability skills. This includes the required skill set for a range of future careers, further study, or starting your own business.

The skills you can expect to focus on and gain from this course include:

• Research
• Critical thinking
• Self-management
• Communication
• Teamwork

The employability and enterprise skills you'll gain from this course are reflected in the Southampton skills model. When you join us you'll be able to use our skills model to track, plan, and benefit your career development and progress.

Download skills overview

Career pathways

Graduates commonly work in a range of organisations or sectors including:

• Local government,
• national government bodies,
• regional councils,
• museums,
• Libraries,
• universities,
• schools,
• colleges,
• Private Language Schools.

Careers directly related to this course:

• Education consultant
• Education mental health practitioner
• English as a foreign language teacher
• English teacher
• Further education teacher
• Lecturer
• Secondary school teacher
• Community education officer
• Education consultant

See more

Wider career opportunities:

• Archivist
• Education consultant
• Information officer
• Journalist
• Local government officer
• Marketing executive
• Media researcher
• Primary school teacher
• Public relations officer
• Social media manager

See more

Example job titles of Southampton MA English Language Teaching / TESOL Studies graduates*:

• English teacher
• Editor
• Educational consultant
• Electronic commerce operator
• Interpreter
• Lecturer
• Teaching counsellor
• Tutor
• Content creator

See more

Work experience opportunities

Choosing to do work experience is a great way to enhance your employability, build valuable networks, and evidence your potential. Learn about the different work and industry experience options at Southampton.

Read more

Careers services and support

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:

• work experience schemes
• CV and interview skills and workshops
• networking events
• careers fairs attended by top employers
• a wealth of volunteering opportunities
• study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.

Your career ideas and graduate job opportunities may change while you're at university. So it is important to take time to regularly reflect on your goals, speak to people in industry and seek advice and up-to-date information from Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise professionals at the University.

More about careers support

Fees, costs and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for a year's study:

• UK students pay £9,250.
• EU and international students pay £26,496.

Check fees for other versions of this course.

Deposit

If you're an international student on a full-time course, we'll ask you to pay £2,000 of your tuition fees in advance, as a deposit.

Your offer letter will tell you when this should be paid and provide full terms and conditions.

Find out about exemptions, refunds and how to pay your deposit on our tuition fees for overseas students page.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition and any exams. The fee you pay will remain the same each year from when you start studying this course. This includes if you suspend and return.

Find out how to pay your tuition fees.

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.

Explore:

• accommodation costs
• living costs
• budgeting advice
• fees, charges and expenses regulations

10% alumni discount

If you’re a graduate of the University of Southampton, you could be eligible for a 10% discount on your postgraduate tuition fees.

Postgraduate Master’s Loans (UK nationals only)

This can help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate master's course. Find out if you're eligible.

Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship

40 scholarships of £10,000 each are available to international students studying for an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate master’s degree in Arts and Humanities.

Find out more about the Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship, including eligibility, deadlines and how to apply.

Other postgraduate funding options

A variety of additional funding options may be available to help you pay for your master’s study. Both from the University and other organisations.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

How to apply

1. Use the blue 'apply for this course' button on this page to take you to our postgraduate admissions system.
2. Create an account which gives you access to your own application portal. .
3. Search for the course you want to apply for.
4. Complete the application form and upload any supporting documents.
5. Pay the £50 application assessment fee, (there are some exemptions, check terms and conditions).
6. Submit your application.

For further details of our admission process, read our step by step guide to postgraduate taught applications.

Application deadlines

UK students

The deadline to apply for this course is Tuesday 9 September 2025, midday UK time.

We advise applying early as applications may close before the expected deadline if places are filled.

International students

The deadline to apply for this course is Tuesday 26 August 2025, midday UK time.

We advise applying early as applications may close before the expected deadline if places are filled.

Application assessment fee

We’ll ask you to pay a £50 application assessment fee if you’re applying for a postgraduate taught course.

This is an extra one-off charge which is separate to your tuition fees and is payable per application. It covers the work and time it takes us to assess your application. You’ll be prompted to pay when you submit your application which won’t progress until you've paid.

If you're a current or former University of Southampton student, or if you’re applying for certain scholarships, you will not need to pay the fee. PGCE applications through GOV.UK and Master of Research (MRes) degree applications are also exempt. Find out if you’re exempt on our terms and conditions page.

Supporting information

When you apply you’ll need to submit a personal statement explaining why you want to take the course.

You’ll need to include information about:

• your knowledge of the subject area
• why you want to study a postgraduate qualification in this course
• how you intend to use your qualification

You'll also need to submit two academic references.

Please include the required paperwork showing your first degree and your IELTS English language test score (if you are a non-native English speaker) with your application. Without these, your application may be delayed.

You may also be asked to provide:

• a degree transcript
• a reference
• an English language qualification
• a personal statement

What happens after you apply

You'll be able to track your application through our online Applicant Record System.

We will aim to send you a decision 6 weeks after you have submitted your application.

If we offer you a place, you will need to accept the offer within 30 working days. If you do not meet this deadline, we will offer your place to another applicant.

Unfortunately, due to number of applications we receive, we may not be able to give you specific feedback on your application if you are unsuccessful.

We may invite you to an interview, which will take place by phone if you live abroad. You'll get an email from the admissions tutor if we'd like to talk to you before offering you a place.

Equality and diversity

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Got a question?

Please contact us if you're not sure you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

• Email:
• Tel:+44(0)

Related courses

ELT/TESOL Studies (MA) is a course in the Languages and linguistics subject area. Here are some other courses within this subject area:

• MA Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching
• MA English Language Teaching TESOL
• MA Languages and Cultures
• PGCE Modern Languages
• MA Translation and Professional Communication Skills

How to apply