Master of Arts: English

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Option

Admission Requirements

All applicants should submit the following documents to the College of Graduate Studies and Research. A Graduate Study Application form is available from the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

• Graduate Application (May be completed online.) PDF (166 KiB)
• $40 application fee (May be paid online with a credit card.)
• Two official transcripts from the undergraduate degree-granting institution

Information on tuition is available from the Campus Hub.

The GRE is not required for admission.

Additionally, international students should submit the following documents with their application materials.

• English translations of transcripts from foreign universities (ECE evaluations are not required.)
• Official TOEFL score report (MSU’s institutional TOEFL code is 6677.)
• Financial Affidavit For Graduate International Student Application [PDF] (60 KiB)
• One-page personal statement describing the applicant’s background and goals

All MA English: TESL degree candidates must fulfill a language requirement. Candidates who are native speakers of English must have a minimum of two years of a foreign language at the college level (or the equivalent). This foreign language requirement may be met in residence, but courses taken to fulfill it will not count toward the degree. International applicants whose native language is not English must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper) or the equivalent on the Internet (79-80) or Computer (213) versions to enter the program.

In-state tuition for international students

International Students are eligible for in-state tuition.
Follow the link and scroll down to the Graduate In-State Scholarship Eligibility Requirements section.

 

TESL Director

Professor Stephen Stoynoff
Department of English
Minnesota State University, Mankato
230 Armstrong Hall
Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: (507)389-5502
E-mail: stephen.stoynoff@mnsu.edu

Department of English Graduate Programs Director

Professor Stephen Stoynoff is the Department of English Graduate Programs Director.

If you do not find answers to your questions on this web page, or if you need more information about Department of English graduate programs at Minnesota State University, Mankato, please contact

Professor Stephen Stoynoff
Director of English Graduate Studies
English Department
Minnesota State University, Mankato
230 Armstrong Hall
Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: (507) 389-5502
E-mail: stephen.stoynoff@mnsu.edu

Program Requirements

• Alternate Paper Plan: 34 credits
• Thesis Plan: 30 credits

Advising Checklist

Required TESL Courses (24 credits)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
MODL 570	Theories and Methods of TESL I	4
MODL 571	Theories and Methods of TESL II	4
ENG 582	English Structure/Pedagogical Grammar I	4
ENG 627	Research Seminar in TESL	3
ENG 629	Second language Literacy Development	3
ENG 686	Second Language Testing	3
ENG 689	Studies in English Linguistics	3

 

Elective Courses in TESL (10 credits)

Choose three courses from the list and at least six credits must be at the 600 level:

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ENG 583	English Structure/Pedagogical Grammar II	4
ENG 585	Language and Culture in TESL	3
ENG 623	Language and the Teaching of English	3
ENG 630	History of English	3
ENG 631	Language Planning Policy	3
ENG 633	Second Language Acquisition	3
ENG 634	Topics in TESL	3
ENG 685	Materials for TESL	3
ENG 682	English Grammar and Discourse	3
ENG 684	Sociolinguistics	3

Note: At least one-half of the courses in a student's program must be at the 600-level, excluding Thesis and Alternate Plan Paper credits.

Alternate Paper Plan (34 credits):

This capstone paper is completed as part of ENG 627.

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Thesis Plan (30 credits)

Required TESL Courses (24 credits)

Course #	Course Title	Credits
MODL 570	Theories and Methods of TESL I	4
MODL 571	Theories and Methods of TESL II	4
ENG 582	English Structure/Pedagogical Grammar I	4
ENG 627	Research Seminar in TESL	3
ENG 629	Second language Literacy Development	3
ENG 686	Second Language Testing	3
ENG 689	Studies in English Linguistics	3

Choose one course from the following:

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ENG 623	Language and the Teaching of English	3
ENG 630	History of English	3
ENG 631	Language Planning and Language Policy	3
ENG 633	Second Language Acquisition	3
ENG 634	Topics in TESL	3
ENG 682	English Grammar and Discourse	3
ENG 684	Sociolinguistics	3
ENG 685	Materials for TESL	3

Thesis

Course #	Course Title	Credits
ENG 699	Thesis	3

See the list of English graduate courses on the Graduate School site.

MA TESL Faculty

Name	Office, telephone, e-mail, web site	Teaching and research specialties
Drescher, Nancy	nancy.drescher@mnsu.edu	TESL methods, pragmatics, corpus linguistics, K-12 ESL corpus linguistics
Lybeck, Karen	karen.lybeck@mnsu.edu	Second language teacher, interlanguage phonology, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition
Smidt, Esther	esther.smidt@mnsu.edu	Immigrant identity, CALL, TESL methods
Stoynoff, Steve	stephen.stoynoff@mnsu.edu	Assessment, TESL methods, second language acquisition

Financial Assistance

The Department of English employs about 30 teaching and research assistants (freshman composition) at stipends of approximately $8000 over two semesters. Assistants receive full tuition remission for up to 18 credits over the academic year (two semesters). All graduate assistants are required to enroll for a minimum of six credits per semester. Assistants are provided office space and have faculty library privileges. For more information, visit the English Graduate Assistantships web page.

Assistantships are also available to teach English as a Second Language, Spanish, French or German. For more information on these assistantships, visit the Department of Modern Languages web site. Other assistantships are available from Student Affairs, Memorial Library, and Residential Life offices of the University. For a list of available graduate assistantships, visit the Human Resources Job Posting web page on the College of Graduate Studies web site.

For information about other types of financial assistance, students should write to:

Office of Financial Aid
Minnesota State University, Mankato
109 Wigley Administration Center
Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: (507) 389-1185
Web site: http://www.mnsu.edu/campushub/

Professional Links

• TESOL Organization
• TEFL Organization
• MinneTESOL
• Dave's ESL Cafe
• Mailing Lists (type "ESL" in the search box)

Job Information

Teaching positions in the United States and abroad are daily posted on the TESL Listserv. Free subscriptions to the TESL Listserv can be obtained through LISTSERV@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (SUB TESL-L). A separate subscription to the job list is then necessary (SUB TESLJOB-L). Job openings are posted regularly on the user's e-mail.

Some of the sites listed above offer job links. Other useful web sites for job hunters include:

• TEFL Professional Network
• Linguistic Funland
• Dave's ESL Cafe
• The Guardian (search their job site)

For more information about English Graduate Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato, please contact

Professor Stephen Stoynoff
Director of English Graduate Studies
Department of English
Minnesota State University, Mankato
230 Armstrong Hall
Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: (507) 389-5502
E-mail: stephen.stoynoff@mnsu.edu

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