MA in TESOL for Experienced Teachers
Southampton, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 27,500 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* EU and international students | £10,000 - UK students
Study the theory and practice of English Language Teaching (ELT) with our MA TESOL for Experienced Teachers 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 TESOL for Experienced Teachers 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 the MA English Language Teaching TESOL course, 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 for Experienced Teachers 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.
Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship
There are 40 scholarships available to international students applying to study an undergraduate or postgraduate master's degree in an arts or humanities subject. Successful applicants will get £10,000 towards their tuition fees.
Find out more about the Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship, including eligibility, deadlines and how to apply, on our website.
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.
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 courses 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.
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 a 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
Dissertation
At the end of the programme, you will submit a 12,000-word dissertation demonstrating your ability to carry out an extended piece of independent research in English language teaching.
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 from your career development and progress.
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, and 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
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
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
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.