More graduate study information

Graduate Degree

Area of Concentration

The Department of Linguistics offers a Master of Arts in linguistics with a specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This degree requires two years of study (not including summers). The MA in TESOL is designed for those who wish to teach English as a second or foreign language either in the U.S. or abroad. Students learn about contemporary language teaching theory and methodology, including computer-assisted language learning, curriculum development, and evaluation. They also study theories of language structure, acquisition and use. A practicum provides supervised teaching experience. The program also prepares students to pursue research in TESOL and related fields. A thesis or research essay is required.

Admission

Admission for graduate study in linguistics requires no specific undergraduate preparation, but a background in English, foreign language, speech, psychology, mathematics, or philosophy is particularly relevant. Transcripts of all previous study must be submitted and must indicate strong promise of your success in graduate study. The transcript also must include evidence of two years of college-level study of a foreign language. Admission is possible if you cannot meet this requirement, but it must then be satisfied by concurrent nondegree study. Nonnative speakers of English may use their study of English to satisfy this requirement. Teacher training and experience are desirable as preparation for native students intending to follow the TESOL curriculum. For nonnative applicants to the TEFL program, both teacher training and an undergraduate major in English are recommended.

To be admitted to the program applicants must have a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Non-native speakers of English must have a minimum TOEFL score of 600 on the paper-based test or 250 on the computerized test, and a TWE score, if available, of 4 or above.

While there is no specific deadline for submission of application materials, new applicants are normally admitted only in the fall unless they have prior coursework, which may enable them to start the program in a later quarter.

Financial Aid

Applicants for financial aid for the following academic year must apply by February 15.
Teaching associateships are available for those qualified to teach one or more of the following:

• ESL for adults
• ESL for children
• Undergraduate linguistics
• Indonesian
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Swahili

Tutorial assistantships are available in several African and Asian languages, including Twi, Somali, Sudanese Arabic, Siswati, Kikuyu, Thai, Vietnamese, and Khmer. Each teaching associate award includes a full tuition scholarship and a stipend which is competitive with those offered by other graduate applied linguistics programs. In addition, some tuition scholarships and part-time assistantships are available to qualified applicants. Finally, several Foreign Languages and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are available every year in African languages; qualified students do intensive language study in this federally funded program.

For further information on these programs, see Critical Languages Program, African Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies.

Facilities

Ohio University offers excellent facilities to enable students to study and conduct research efficiently. The library has an extensive collection of books and journals in linguistics and applied linguistics, TESOL, and various languages. Students have free access to mainframe, mini-, and microcomputers. They can also use a new modern, well-equipped language laboratory, a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) laboratory, and video and speech analysis equipment.

Curriculum

Linguistics (LING) Courses

510 Language Teaching Practicum (3)
Supervised graduate student teaching. Required of all M.A.-TESOL majors and all teaching associates.
Staff; F, W, Sp, Su; Y.

512 Internship in TESOL (1-5)
Prereq: Perm. Supervised internship in ESL teaching, instructional support, or program administration.
Staff; F, W, Sp, Su; Y

515 Distributed Learning Courseware Development I (5)
First course in a sequence designed to provide training in developing instructional courseware that can be distributed on disks or via the internet.
Kessler; Su; Y.

516 Distributed Learning Courseware Development II (5)
Prereq: 515. Second course in a sequence designed to provide training in developing instructional courseware that can be distributed on disks or via the internet.
Kessler; Su; Y.

540 Introduction to Bilingualism (5)
Prereq: 550. Introduction to basic aspects of bilingual education from legal, sociological, linguistic, and educational perspectives.
Githinji; Sp; Y.

550 Introduction to General Linguistics (5)
Technical introduction to linguistics, devices of language description, and methods of linguistic analysis.
Staff; F, Su; Y.

551 Computers for Language Teaching I (5)
Prereq: 550. Introduction to uses of computers for language teaching, software selection, and creation of supplementary computer-assisted language learning (CALL) materials.
Kessler, Bikowski; F, W; Y.

552 Computers for Language Teaching II (5)
Prereq: 551 and 580 or concurrent. Creation of CALL materials using authoring packages, authoring languages, or JAVA programming languages.
Kessler; Sp; Y.

553 Computers for Language Teaching III (4)
Prereq: 552. Introduction to development of CALL materials using speech synthesis, interactive audiotape, videotape, or videodisc player.
Kessler; F; Y.

560 Phonology (5)
Prereq: 550 or concurrent. Introductory course in analysis of sound systems of natural languages.
Coady; F; Y.

565 Theories of Phonology (5)
Prereq: 560. Latest developments in phonological theory, concentrating on theory of generative phonology in contrast with classical phonemic theory.
Bond; D.

570 Syntax (5)
Prereq 550. Introduction to theories and applications of grammatical analysis.
McGinn, Oshita; W; Y.

575 Theories of Language Learning (5)
Prereq: 550 or concurrent. Theories of first and second-language acquisition and their applications to development and evaluation of language teaching methodology.
Jarvis, Marchenkova; F, W, Su; Y.

580 TEFL Theory and Methodology (5)
Prereq: 575 or concurrent. Second language teaching theory and methodology, with emphasis on teaching English as foreign language.
Bell, Jarvis; W, Su; Y.

582 Materials in TEFL (5)
Prereq: 580 or concurrent.. Theory and practice of analysis, evaluation, and creation of instructional materials for teaching English as foreign language.
Bell, Jarvis; Sp, Su; Y.

583 Proseminar in TEFL: Testing (5)
Prereq: 580 or 581 or concurrent. Advanced research in special problems in testing English as a second or foreign language.
Jarvis; Sp; Y.

585 Historical Linguistics (5)
Prereq: 560, 570. Study of genealogical and typological classification of languages, methods of historical analysis, and change in language systems.
Bond, McGinn; W; Y.

590 Sociolinguistics I (5)
Prereq: 550. Language varieties and their social functions with implications for educational policy and national language planning.
Githinji; Sp; Y.

595 Seminar in Area Linguistics (5)
Research on particular aspects of languages of given area.
McGinn; D.

596 Field Methods (5)
Prereq. 560,570. Methods of eliciting, transcribing, organizing, and analyzing linguistic data.
Bond, McGinn; Sp; D.

600 Studies in Linguistics (1-4)
Directed individual investigation of particular area of interest in linguistics.
Staff; F, W, Sp, Su; Y.

609 Colloquium in Linguistics (1-2)
Weekly lectures on topics related to theoretical and applied linguistics.
Staff; F, W, Sp: Y.

620 Research in Linguistics (5)
Prereq: 575. Introduction to aspects of research design in applied linguistics.
Jarvis; F; Y.

640 Topics in Applied Linguistics (5)
Prereq: 575. Critically examines basic assumptions, approaches, and methods of particular subfields of applied linguistics.
Staff; D.

652 Computational Linguistics (3)
Prereq: 550. Application of computers to language research and analysis.
Kessler; D.

661 Pedagogical Phonology (5)
Prereq: 550, 560. Introduction to pedagogical issues related to the teaching of listening and speaking in ESL/EFL settings.
Staff; W; Y.

671 Pedagogical Grammar (5)
Prereq: 570. Introduction to pedagogical issues related to the teaching of English grammar in ESL/EFL settings.
Jarvis, Bell; F; Y.

675 Linguistic Semantics (5)
Prereq: 570. Introduction to the study of meaning in three disciplines: linguistics, psychology, and philosophy.
Bell; Sp; Y.

682 Proseminar in Applied Linguistics: Research (5-10)
Prereq: 620. Research and writing on a special problem in teaching English as a second or foreign language or another topic in applied linguistics.
Staff; W; Sp; Y.

685 Teaching Reading and Writing in TESOL(5)
Theories and applications of reading and writing research.
Bell, Jarvis; Sp; Y.

695 Thesis (5-10)
Prereq: 620. Advanced research culminating in a thesis.
Staff; W, Sp; Y..

Ohio University

Ohio University, established in 1804 as Ohio's first university, has an enrollment of 19,500 students on the Athens campus and 8-9,000 on the five regional campuses. This enrollment also includes 1,200 international students from more than 100 countries.

The university is a state-assisted, coeducational center for higher education and advanced research with 2,900 graduate students and 1,000 full and part-time faculty.

On the graduate level Ohio University grants master's degrees in nearly all of its major academic divisions, and doctoral degrees can be earned from selected departments.

The academic calendar consists of four quarters of 10 to 12 weeks in duration, the summer session having two five week terms. Many students find it advantageous to register for all four quarter, thus having an opportunity for uninterrupted study and research.

The University's Alden Library houses 1.6 million bound volumes, 11,200 periodical subscriptions, and 2.4 million research items including microfilm units, maps, slides and photographs, cassettes, videotapes, disks, and other unbound materials.

Further Information

Specific information about the programs and requirements may be obtained by writing to:
The Graduate Chair, Department of Linguistics,
Ohio University, Gordy Hall, Athens OH 45701-2979.
Phone: 740-593-4564
FAX: 740-593-2967
E-mail: lingdept@ohio.edu