Quick Facts
Next Start Date:
August 24, 2026
The Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Linguistics combines the best of both fields, allowing you to consider language development at its most basic and complex levels.
What You Will Learn
Learning outcomes include:
- a deep understanding of languages as an organized, interrelated system with multiple subsystems
- the ability to apply linguistic methodologies to analyze language (English and other languages)
- the skills to recognize and interpret differences across speech communities in language use
- awareness of cross-cultural difference and respect for diversity
- the ability to conduct a scientific research project and produce a quality research paper
- language teaching methods
- how to plan a lesson and create teaching materials
- how to assess student learning
Who is The Master’s in English for?
Ball State’s online Master’s in English is for students wanting to build and advance their writing, research, and rhetorical skills making it a perfect master’s degree choice for those working in several industries: education, business, technology, publishing, and more.
Our program offers an innovative balance of theory and practice in TESOL and Linguistics, crucial for careers in education. The analytical and technical skills developed in the program are directly relevant to careers involving text analytics in business, localization testing in the gaming industry, translation and publishing, and teaching.
Why Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. In this field, your main focus will be to understand how languages work, and how they are acquired by both native speakers and second language learners. Like in other scientific fields, you will collect and examine data, identify patterns, and create and test different hypotheses. In doing so, you will develop crucial analytical and technical skills, which are directly or indirectly relevant to a wide range of career paths. Here are some examples.
For more information, visit the Linguistics Society of America website.
Career Options Involving TESOL and Linguistics
Text mining (text analytics): Analyzing text can be extremely valuable to companies, but how do you make sense of thousands of lines of text...? One useful tool is called sentiment analysis, which seeks to identify patterns in text data. Companies often employ this type of analysis to investigate whether customers have positive or negative opinions about their products (this can be done by examining the words that customers use when writing about such products in reviews or blog posts online). This type of analysis provides unique insights into how people feel about services and products, which in turn inform companies' marketing strategies, for example.
Linguistics allows you to have a comprehensive understanding of sentence structure, meaning, words, and their sounds. This knowledge is crucial if you plan to teach any language to children or adults, in the US or abroad. Needless to say, language teaching plays a crucial role in a world where people migrate to different countries and cultures (as immigrants or refugees). Linguistics can also help you better appreciate the building blocks that underlie all languages, which in turn allows you to better understand the challenges that people face when learning a new language—and to predict such challenges on the basis of people’s mother tongues.
More and more tech companies rely on linguistic data. When you start typing certain words on your smartphone, specific words are suggested based on your typical typing patterns: your phone "knows" what you normally type, and it can help you complete your own sentences by predicting the next word(s)—saving you a lot of time in the long run. At the same time, you can talk to your phone and get an answer back almost instantly. Combined with computer science and data analysis, linguistics can equip you to explore domains such as natural language processing, speech recognition, computer-assisted language learning, and many other areas.
Positions involving editing, publishing and writing all benefit from a background in linguistics.
Within the field of linguistics, phonetics deals with how speech sounds are produced and perceived by humans. Among other things, you will understand what makes different accents sound so different sometimes---which is certainly an important skill in acting.
What TESOL and Linguistics Courses Will I Take for the MA in English?
The curriculum focuses on language teaching and learning theory and practice, as well as fundamental aspects of theoretical and descriptive linguistics, including cognitive and discourse-based approaches. You will take 9 credits of required core coursework, then complete 21 credits of elective coursework of your choosing from the list below.
Core Course Requirements (9 credits):
- ENG 601 Research in English Studies (3 credits)
- ENG 616 Introduction to Theories of Language Learning (3 credits)
- ENG 620 Linguistics for Educators
Electives (21 credits)
- ENG 604 Teaching with Technology (3 credits)
- ENG 605 Teaching in English Studies (3 credits)
- ENG 617 Methods in TESOL (3 credits)
- ENG 618 Materials in Development for Teaching English Language Learners (3 credits)
- ENG 619 Assessment in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (3 credits)
- ENG 621 Meaning and Structure in English (3 credits)
- ENG 622 History of the English Language (3 credits)
- ENG 623 Phonetics and Phonology (3 credits)
- ENG 626 Morphology and Syntax (3 credits)
- ENG 628 Language and Culture (3 credits)
- ENG 629 Topics in Applied Linguistics (3 credits)
- ENG 633 Professionalism and Social Justice in TESOL (3 credits)
- ENG 658 Second Language Writing (3 credits)
- ENG 686 Topics in Linguistics (3 credits)
- ENG 687 Second Language Reading (3 credits)
- ENG 692 Writing Technologies (3 credits)
- ENG 693 Writing in the Profession (3 credits)
- RES 697 Research Paper (1-3 credits)
View Course Catalog
Benefits of the Online Master's in English
You will learn directly from and collaborate with your faculty members, who offer diverse areas of expertise in applied linguistics and are actively conducting research in their fields, often with support from their students.
Our faculty's research interests include:
- second language (L2) vocabulary learning
- prompt effects on language performance
- discourse markers in L2 writing
- collaboration in writing classrooms
- the development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in L2 English
- language textbook content analysis
- identity and investment in language learning
- pedagogies in TESOL
- psycholinguistic approaches to L2 reading
Read our faculty bios:
You’ll connect with other cultures and languages through tutoring, research, and immersive learning experiences. Throughout the program you’ll:
- use statistical software and speech analysis programs for modern research
- present at national and international conferences
- publish journal articles
Our graduates have gone on to teach English both overseas and in the US. Several have been sponsored by the prestigious Fulbright scholarship.
A graduate assistantship is an excellent opportunity to gain meaningful professional experience while helping cover the costs of your degree. Learn more.
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Apply to Ball State’s Master’s in English
If you’re ready to apply, review our admission requirements and complete our online application.
Applications for the fall semester will be accepted until July 10; applications for the spring semester will be accepted until November 1. To ensure full consideration for academic-year graduate assistantships, applications must be completed by January 31.
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