MA E-LINGO – Teaching English to Young Learners (Pre-school and Primary School)

E-LINGO is a part-time two-year post-graduate blended-learning master's program leading to a qualification in the teaching of English to young learners. The E-LINGO master's award also gives access to degree courses in teacher education and research at university level.

What makes E-LINGO special?

E-LINGO is a well-established master's program, which has successfully qualified teachers of English for young learners for more than a decade. It has received excellent reviews and has been used as a model for other blended-learning teacher qualification courses.

Acknowledges your work experience

Previous work experience is one of the entry requirements and makes up 60 of the 240 credit points necessary to start the MA program.

Blended learning

A flexible post-graduate program combining 5 x 2 days of face-to-face teaching sessions on-campus in Freiburg, Germany and distance-learning online.

Flexibility

Part-time study allows you to combine academic study with work or other commitments. The majority of the program is delivered online using the E-LINGO learning platform.

Integration of language and content

Language skills and teaching methodology are developed simultaneously by completing coursework in English, supported by native speakers.

Theory and practice

You will have the opportunity to develop research skills and gain practical experience through the combination of theory and practice.

You will:

• discuss recent theories of teaching language to young learners and consider how they can be applied in authentic contexts
• analyze authentic classroom videos and teaching/learning resources for primary and pre-school education
• cooperate to develop classroom research projects in authentic teaching contexts
• participate in a two-week placement in a language classroom.

An international master's program The E-LINGO master's award is fully Bologna-compatible, which means that it is recognized across Europe and respected worldwide. E-LINGO attracts students from all over the world. The program enables you to gain insights into a range of teaching contexts and to share your experience with teaching professionals as well as students from diverse backgrounds.

What is the course about?

E-LINGO is a blended-learning program combining online coursework with 5 x 2 days of face-to-face teaching sessions at the University of Education (Freiburg, Southern Germany). A two-week placement in a language classroom also forms part of the program.

Who is this program for?

E-LINGO is an attractive post-graduate study program for people with heterogeneous backgrounds interested in English at pre-school and primary level. Whatever your BA degree specializes in you may now embark on new careers related to the teaching of English to young learners.

What are the career prospects?

All over the world children start learning foreign languages at an increasingly early age. E-LINGO qualifies you to teach English to young learners. It is an excellent form of professional development if you are already working in early years education or in a field related to the English language (eg translator, publishing).

What makes E-LINGO stand out is that it not only qualifies you to teach English to young learners but also opens up an academic path in the field as the program allows you to develop research skills as well as gaining practical experience. This combination gives access to a wide range of job opportunities, for example

• in nursery schools and playgroups
• in kindergartens and pre-schools
• in language courses for children offered by private institutions (language schools, community centers etc.)
• in primary and bilingual schools
• at universities (post-graduate research, teacher education, doctoral degree [Ph.D.])
• with publishers (materials design)
• in school administration (curriculum development, in-service teacher education).
• What are the requirements?

You will need an undergraduate degree from a university, University of education or private university, a one year's work experience and very good English language competences (level B2). The application procedure will include an online-interview.

To apply you need to have:

• a BA degree (based on 3 years of study) in any discipline (need NOT be language- or teaching-related), with 180, 210 or 240 credit points;
• one year's full-time work experience (longer if you have worked part-time) in the field of education or in a language-related area (the equivalent of 60 credit points);
• good target language competence (English – Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages or equivalent).

How and when to apply

The E-LINGO program starts once every two years in October. The deadline for application is September 15th of the year the course starts. The next course will start in October 2016. The first face-to-face meeting will be on October 28th/29th 2016. Please submit your application in writing to the admissions office: the University of Education Freiburg Studierendensekretariat Kunzenweg 21 D- 79117 Freiburg Germany Please submit the following documents:

1. Curriculum vitae in English
2. School-leaving certificates which qualify the holder for undergraduate study at university (e.g. Germany – Abitur; UK – A-levels). These may vary from country to country.
3. Certificate of a university degree (240 ECTS) or – in case of fewer credit points – proof of any other relevant experience and/or vocational qualifications
4. Evidence of qualified employees in the field of education or in a language-related area of at least one year’s duration (proportionally longer if employment was part-time)
5. Evidence of the required English language ability. If you are a native speaker of the English language or have completed your undergraduate study in English, the evidence is not needed.
6. Personal statement in English setting out reasons for wanting to take part in the course (max. 3,000 words = approx. 2 pages A4)
7. Signed statement that the above is the student’s own work
8. Diploma Supplement and Transcript of Records of the applicant’s first degree (see point 3 above)
9. A statement to the effect that the applicant has neither failed nor been excluded from either the Master’s examination in the same degree course or one with similar content, at the Freiburg University of Education or any other university The documents listed in point 2 and from point 5 to point 8 must be submitted as copies of the originals and should be in German or English. Any translations must be officially certified. The University reserves the right to ask to see the originals or certified copies at matriculation.