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UTS:Education offer 2 postgraduate courses in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) – the Graduate Diploma in TESOL and the Masters of Arts in TESOL. The Graduate Diploma is an initial teaching qualification for untrained students and features practicum teaching subjects. The Masters course is for trained/qualified or experienced teachers who want to obtain a teaching specialisation in TESOL. The Masters is offered in either face-to-face or distance mode, and has the option of a Graduate Certificate in TESOL exit point. Both courses have Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) available.

What the say students about TESOL* at UTS:

Rosaline Tiong
MA TESOL
I work at the Universal English College, an intensive English language school for overseas students, located in Pitt Street Sydney. I coordinate TOEIC preparation classes, IELTS preparation classes, English Conversation class, and teach an IELTS and a General English class. After having taught for 10 years, it is sometimes possible to feel stale and get into a repetitive cycle of just teaching. This course has been really mentally stimulating, challenging at times but always enjoyable. The course has made me reflect on my teaching methodology and made me more aware of how or why I choose to teach a lesson. For example, students often find the writing component of the IELTS course the most difficult. The final assignment for Language in Social Context helped me to be more focussed in teaching writing and giving feedback to help students improve their writing. It has also helped me in curriculum development.

Tomoko Takasaki, Japan
MA TESOL
The course provides not only theoretical studies but also rich practical studies in educational context. It is essential for teachers to know not only the knowledge of teaching methods but also what is going on in the real classroom. This course successfully provides both important elements.

I would like to be an English as a Foreign Language teacher. I hope to one-day partner with my Mother who is teaching Japanese in Taiwan and together set up a private language school.  

Go-eun Kim, Korea
MA TESOL
The most important aspect of this course is that it is directly connected to my future teaching career in terms of class design and teaching methodology. I am most interested in better understanding my students and leading them to being fluent in English. My favourite lecturer is Associate Professor Pauline Gibbons, who is an expert in ESL. I have learned a lot of field knowledge of ESL from her class and her lecture is well organised, clear and interesting. After finishing the Masters in TESOL, I want to study more language education and intend to do the Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics course. Then I plan to return to Korea and teach TESOL subjects to students at a Korean University

Shu-Yi
Graduate Diploma TESOL
I am the Director of the Progressive Language Centre offering English language courses to learners of all ages. The course enables me to further investigate issues concerning language teaching and learning, and reflect on my own practice in teaching and management.  The course is very well structured, and informative on recent researches and pedagogy.  Studying by distance allows me to further my professional development while at the same time, managing a busy life at home and at work. Distance learning at UTS does not mean the learners are left all alone with their studies.  The "learning partner" system and the supportive academic and administrative staff have made the learning process enjoyable and the learning goals achievable.  I have truly enjoyed this course and recommended others who are interested in becoming an English language teacher to undertake the TESOL courses at UTS.  For those who are thinking of joining this profession, UTS will be the best choice!

Norman Jalbuena
MA TESOL
I highly value my experience at UTS. When a question arose in my Master’s program there was always someone willing to hear me out and offer advice. I have some great memories and life learning experiences which when I received my degree it had much more meaning than just the MA credentials.

Faculty student
Graduate Diploma TESOL
I am enrolled in Linguistic Foundations, Programming, Assessing and Evaluation, Professional Experience one, and Teaching Methodology. There is nothing that has been addressed in either subject that is not relevant! I have been teaching for six years in an ELICOS environment which has given me a lot to reflect on. This course has echoed my thoughts and pushed boundaries that I never knew existed. I find the related theories highly challenging yet motivating regardless in my efforts to apply them. The teachers, to a certain degree, teach the way we should be teaching, providing a great example, and they are very positive and encouraging.

Graduate profile - Greg Jones
Master of Arts/Graduate Diploma TESOL
Greg Jones enjoyed a 20-year career in teaching English to speakers of other languages while working at the Sydney office of the Australia Migrant English Service (AMES). During this period Greg completed the Graduate Diploma in TESOL at UTS and later went on to further his expertise with a Master of Arts in Language and Literacy, also at UTS.

In tragic circumstances in 2001, Greg lost 20 years and $1000’s worth of teaching materials, tapes and tools when his office at AMES was destroyed by fire. Devastated by the loss and needing time to refresh his professional career, Greg took a redundancy from AMES.

Looking to restart his career in something quite different, he decided to take up an overseas teaching position in the Srinkharinwirot University in Thailand. The new career change proved to be both exciting and challenging, which he described as “invigorating and a professional re-start of my career”.

With his experience at AMES and postgraduate degree qualifications, Greg was able to teach the following subjects in the Thailand university:

• English for Further Studies (to students going overseas for PHDs)
• The Art of Speaking (MA level)
• Communicative Speaking and Listening (MA level)
• Oral English (BA level)
• Academic Reading (BA level)
• Academic Writing (BA level)
• Tourism (BA level)

As well as teaching, Greg had a role at the University in proof reading, translation and editing of English documentation.

* These students have all studied in similar TESOL programs in the Faculty.