5 minute read
English Language & Communication
We are an established centre of high-quality teaching and world-leading research offering Master's degrees that fit around your busy life and have a strong focus on employability.
Careers
All our courses incorporate career-oriented features such as work-based learning, and a research-informed specialist pathway in language testing. Our aim is to provide the support, subject knowledge and skills to allow you to achieve your ambitions for your career and personal goals.
Q&A
Dr Claudia Saraceni
Senior Lecturer, English Language & Communication
How do the facilities contribute to enhancing students’ learning?
As a learning environment, the School of Education & English Language has a strong sense of community, with experienced staff, good resources and modern facilities. For example, we are one of the few institutions that has classrooms fitted with CAE LearningSpace CCTV equipment so you can record yourself in action and play back later for in-the-moment analysis and reflection.
Did you know?
Our Centre for Research in English Language Learning & Assessment (CRELLA) is recognised nationally and internationally by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 as a world-leading centre for research into language learning and assessment.
Courses
Applied Linguistics (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) MA 104
English Literature MA 105
Research Degrees in the Centre for Research in English Language Learning & Assessment (CRELLA) MA/MPhil/PhD 105
HAVE YOU ALSO CONSIDERED...?
Education MA Secondary English PGCE 74
84
For more information on any of the courses, visit: beds.ac.uk/pg-study For up-to-date information on part-time study options, see: beds.ac.uk/part-time
Key facts
Apply direct to the University
October, February Bedford campus 1 year full-time (options available: part-time day) UK/EU/International students Applicants should have a 2:2 Honours degree and an overall IELTS score of 6.0, with no score lower than 6.0. A recognised TEFL/TESOL certificate and/ or relevant teaching experience are advantageous but not a requirement.
Students with an IELTS score of less than 6.5 overall will need to complete an English language bridging course as part of their MA.
This course offers an advanced-level professional qualification for practising and aspiring teachers of English as a foreign language and has been designed for both native and non-native English speakers. Students have the opportunity to carry out a major piece of individual research on a topic of special interest.
Key features
• Study a distinctive course with assessed teaching practice enabling you, with the relevant teaching experience, to gain British Council ‘TEFL Q’ (qualified) status • Develop your understanding of how language systems can be taught, as well as theories of language teaching • Benefit from close links with our Centre for Research in English
Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) • Explore practical issues relevant to your own professional working environment
Career opportunities
Opportunities exist to teach in the UK and in countries all over the world at universities, colleges or private language schools. You could also progress to further study at PhD level.
Areas of study may include:
• Exploring research: concepts and methods • Issues in second language acquisition • Materials development for language teaching and learning • Observed and assessed teaching practice • The language system and language teaching • The methodology of language teaching
To find out more contact: Dr Claudia Saraceni t: +44 (0)1234 793497 e: claudia.saraceni@beds.ac.uk
(CRELLA) MA by Research/MPhil/PhD
Key facts
Apply direct to the University
October Bedford campus 1 year full-time (options available: part-time day) UK/EU/International students Applicants should have a 2:2 Honours degree in a related subject from a recognised higher education institution.
Pursue your own intellectual interests and develop advanced critical thinking and literary analysis skills. Research-active experts in their fields deliver the taught elements within small seminar groups, enabling significant individual support and guidance. You will develop your knowledge of 19th- and 20th-century texts and contexts, in addition to specific units on readers and reading as well as children’s and young adults' literature allowing you to reflect on significant historical, intellectual and philosophical debates. A unit on research methods gives you the skills necessary at postgraduate level. Building on your interests, a final dissertation project allows you to conduct independent research in a topic of your choosing.
Key features
• A vibrant research culture with regular visiting speakers and literary events • You will have access to the Hockliffe and Cinderella Collections – some of the rarest collections of books in Britain
Career opportunities
You will be equipped with skills which are invaluable for careers within the media and culture-knowledge industries. On completing this course, you could progress into the following areas: advertising and marketing; arts and heritage management; broadcasting; business; communication and public relations; education, either as a primary or a secondary school teacher; journalism; librarianship; or publishing.
Areas of study may include:
• 20th-century literature and modernity • Children’s and young adults’ fiction • Critical theory and research methodologies • Nineteenth-century literature and culture
To find out more contact: Dr Gareth Farmer t:+44 (0)1234 793190 e: gareth.farmer@beds.ac.uk Key facts
Apply direct to the University
October, March Putteridge Bury campus, Luton Variable depending on the mode of study UK/EU/International students Applicants should have a 2:1 Honours degree or a Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant subject area. You will also need to demonstrate high levels of potential and motivation for research.
The CRELLA MPhil/PhD is based on your research proposal and is a selfdirected programme fully supported by your supervisory team and the Research Graduate School.
Key features
• A world-leading centre for English language learning and assessment • CRELLA has won national and international recognition as a centre for research into language testing and as the source of a socio-cognitive validation framework that governments can base their English examinations on
Career opportunities
You may have the opportunity to undertake various positions in academia, with examination boards, as well as in the public and the private sectors, including positions in government ministries, universities, consultancies and testing organisations.
The University welcomes research degree applications in the following areas:
• Academic literacy and language proficiency • Aligning tests to frameworks such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) • Assessing language skills across the proficiency spectrum • Cognitive processing in language tests • Computer technologies in language learning and assessment • Developing assessment literacy among test stakeholders • The construct(s) of language proficiency
