Master of Arts in TESOL and Master of Arts in Teaching Foreign Language

While we no longer enroll students in these programs, we continue to offer an English teaching graduate degree through our online MA in TESOL. This option provides students more flexibility to continue working while they earn their master’s and a more affordable tuition rate.

For those interested in teaching a foreign language, the world-renowned Middlebury Language Schools offer master’s programs including the MA in Teaching with Licensure in ten different languages to over 400 students annually. These programs can be completed over four summers in Vermont, or in one summer and an academic year abroad or online, depending on the language.

For Current Students

Practical Experience

You will build valuable professional experience while you earn your degree through working in our language programs and taking semesterlong practicum and capstone courses.

Careers

You’ll graduate with the capacity to take on many leadership roles in language education. Join the ranks of our successful, in-demand alumni, many of whom were recruited by employers before they even completed the program. See how they are thriving in their careers.

Curriculum

Our rigorous curriculum is taught by renowned language education experts. It balances coursework in the domains of language, pedagogy, and research, with the goal of expanding your career opportunities. You will learn to effectively teach languages to in-person and online students.

You will develop teaching practices that enhance your students’ language learning, create instructional units and lessons that maximize your effectiveness in the classroom, and design research studies and assessment tools to highlight the most relevant opportunities for improvement. Your capstone courses will strengthen your expertise, integrating all of the learning from your program.

Earn the 40-credit TESOL or the 42-credit TFL in three semesters or in just one year with our one-year hybrid option.

See curriculum for more details.

Customize Your Degree

You have numerous opportunities to customize your degree and put theory into practice.

• Complete your degree in fewer credits through our advanced entry option if you have previous TESOL, TFL, and/or linguistics coursework.
• Pursue a career-related specialization
• Copublish with faculty
• Work in our language programs
• Help plan our annual language conference
• Integrate Peace Corps service into your degree
• Work toward earning your teaching licensure.

Professors and Practitioners

You will be taught by exceptional faculty with years of professional experience in organizations such as the TESOL International Association, the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), and the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF).

Your professors are genuinely committed to your success and dedicated to modeling effective pedagogy in their own teaching. They will be active mentors and colleagues to you while you are a student and throughout your career. 

Meet your faculty.

Licensure

While attending the TESOL or TFL program, you can work toward licensure through the State of Vermont’s peer review process. Students who are interested in teaching in K–12 public schools, some private schools, some international schools, and some adult schools will likely want to be licensed. It is up to you to determine whether Vermont’s teaching license is reciprocal with the state in which you wish to teach.

The peer review process can extend for several months beyond completing the TESOL/TFL program so you may not have your teaching license at graduation.

Recommended Licensure Progress Timeline

The following is a recommended timeline for working toward licensure while in the TESOL/TFL program:

• Semester 1
  • Take the Praxis I Core test
• Semester 2
  • Apply for immersive professional learning (IPL) funding from the Institute to help defray expenses associated with the licensure process
  • Take Praxis II test for teaching English Language Learners (ELL)
  • Apply for remote licensure with Vermont Board of Education
  • Participate in the Vermont Board of Education’s Peer Review Clinic
• Semester 3
  • Complete a 13-week student teaching placement at the K–12 level (this is integrated into your Practicum Capstone course)
  • Create a portfolio documenting teaching proficiency (that is started during your Practicum Capstone course)
• After completing our TESOL or TFL program
  • Submit your online portfolio within one year of applying for remote licensure