Curriculum

You can complete the graduate TESOL program entirely at either of the TUJ centers, in Tokyo or Osaka, or you can do part of the program in Japan and the rest in Philadelphia without any problems involving transfer of credits or loss of time. Wherever you take your classes, your diploma will be issued by the College of Education of Temple University in Philadelphia, a fully accredited and nationally recognized school of education in the United States.

• General Requirements
• Required Courses
• Elective Courses
• Distinguished Lecturer Series
• Recommended Sequence of Courses
• Completing the Degree

General Requirements

Requirements for completion of the Master's degree in TESOL are outlined below:

• Fifteen credit hours of required courses (five courses)
• Fifteen credit hours of elective courses (five courses)
• Successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination
• An overall B average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) for all courses

Required Courses

• TESOL 8611: Applied Language Study I
• TESOL 8612: Applied Language Study II
• TESOL 8614: TESOL Approaches to Teaching English
• TESOL 8616: Teaching Second and Foreign Language Skills
• TESOL 8618: Second Language Acquisition

Elective Courses

Elective courses vary from semester to semester. Below are the titles of elective courses that were recently offered:

• Introduction to the Study of TESOL
• The Psychology of Learning
• Classroom Management
• Teaching Vocabulary to Second Language Learners
• Current Issues in Bilingualism and Dual Language Education
• Introduction to Research Methodology
• History of the English Language
• Language Testing
• Curriculum Development for Language Teachers
• Teaching Listening and Speaking
• Teaching Reading and Writing

For courses offered for a particular semester, please see the course schedule.

Distinguished Lecturer Series

Nine times a year, the Distinguished Lecturer Series brings internationally recognized TESOL scholars to TUJ for intensive weekend seminars. This makes it possible for Temple students to study with an international faculty of TESOL specialists. A series of three 1-credit weekend seminars counts as the equivalent of one 3-credit graduate course. An individual seminar can be taken for one graduate credit.

• Seminars scheduled for TUJ-Osaka

Recommended Sequence of Courses

There is no specifically recommended sequence of courses in the M.S.Ed. Program. However, it is generally best to begin with Introduction to the Study of TESOL, TESOL 8611: Applied Language Study I, TESOL 8612: Applied Language Study II, or TESOL 8614: TESOL Approaches to Teaching English, as these four courses address most of the basic issues in the TESOL program.

If you are a new student and you are unable to take one of those four courses to start with, please consult the Program Director or Assistant Director for advice on selecting an elective course. Second Language Acquisition and the Distinguished Lecturer Series seminars are probably more appropriate for students who are further along in the graduate program.

Completing the Degree

Students vary a great deal in their rate of progress. It is possible to finish the M.S.Ed. degree in one calendar year at the Osaka Center. However, the average time for completion is between two and three years. The Graduate School guidelines suggest that a candidate should finish in three years, but an extension to four years is automatic. In the past, the Graduate School has also granted fifth-year extensions in exceptional instances, but such extensions are granted only after special appeal.