Master of Arts, major in English Language Studies

Master of Arts, major in English Language Studies

Other Program Information

Identity​

Becoming Part of the Program

Identity​

Mission

We are a Catholic institution of learning dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge in the theoretical and applied fields through quality graduate education that is comprehensive and responsive to the needs of society.

 

We are committed to the formation of scholars and high-quality professionals who are ethical, competent, compassionate, and committed to the service of their respective professions, the Church, the nation, and the global community.

Vision

We envision a Graduate School that stands for excellence and innovation and that is globally recognized for its distinct degree programs and quality research outputs.

Goals and Objectives

The Graduate School commits itself to develop: 

  1. Competent professionals who, inspired by the ideals of St. Antoninus of Florence, promote excellence in the production, advancement, and transmission of specialized knowledge and skills in the sciences, the arts, and community service; 
  2. Scholarly researchers and creative thinkers who, kindled by St. Thomas Aquinas’s ardour for truth, aspire to become fonts of intellectual creativity and, in their quest for quality research, are proficient and critical in assessing and communicating information in various fields that impact the professions, the Church, the nation, and the global community; 
  3. Professional Christian leaders who, touched by St. Dominic de Guzman’s apostolic fire and warmed by Mary’s motherly care, articulate ethics and truth, high level of moral maturity in resolving issues and promoting social justice and compassion for the poor, and care for the environment; 
  4. Globally engaged citizens who, with ardent advocacy for life, promote a deeper understanding of tolerance and justice as well as linguistic, religious, and cultural diversities as a result of precise evaluation of modern problems and inquiries; 
  5. Committed scholars who, nurtured by the dogmas of Christian faith and values, are dedicated to the pursuit of truth through the promotion of an intellectual culture that values academic rigor and freedom of scientific investigations; and 
  6. Lifelong learners who, empowered by St. Antoninus of Florence’s zeal for learning, are committed to the advancement of a higher culture through a continuous search for intellectual inquiries and new knowledge as well as faithfulness to Catholic intellectual traditions. 
Program Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the MA in English Language Studies Program, the graduate will be able to: 

  1. Demonstrate higher order level of skills in analyzing, assessing and communication information in the areas of English language studies. 
  2. Demonstrate skills of critical inquiry and creative approaches in the conduct of research in English language studies. 
  3. Demonstrate the ability to lead and work independently and collaboratively with others and in exercising ethical actions in resolving issues in English language studies. 
  4. Demonstrate and lead in promoting and raising global awareness and cultural diversity. 
  5. Demonstrate updated and in-depth professional and functioning knowledge of applied linguistics and apply such knowledge to issues in the said field.6. Lead in initiating the advancement of other’s appreciation in Applied Linguistics Using established information. 

Becoming Part of the Program

Application

Click here for the Admission Policies and Procedures of the Graduate School.

Fees

Go to THIS PAGE and look for the “Graduate School” tab for the tuition fees.

Program Curriculum

Pre-Requisite Courses

GS 500 – St. Thomas and Critical Thinking
As the philosophical foundation of Research Methodology, it is a study of the principles of skills in critical thinking according to St. Thomas Aquinas in the three areas of mental cognition: simple apprehension, judgment, and reasoning; and of common fallacies towards the acquisition of the art of argumentation.

 

GS 501 – Research Methods (Research in Applied Linguistics)
This is a course that provides basic knowledge on educational research. It is meant to guide the students in going through the research process, mainly on problem identification, critical review of the literature, observance of appropriate methodological procedures, and clear representation of the whole research proposal. Additionally, the course is designed to challenge the students to actively engage in research in applied linguistics involving critical issues and using the knowledge on research methods acquired. 

Core Courses

ELS 600 – Advanced Academic Writing
The course is rhetorical in approach, requiring writing tasks that follow the rudiments of formal writing expected of scholars in an academic community. Such tasks vary from the simplest structure, specifically defining a term, into a highly complex one: writing a research-based paper. Considered as the major features of the course, theses writing assignments are all aimed at preparing students in addressing their writing needs for this course and for other purposes–term papers and project papers in other courses, theses or dissertations, and / or papers for presentation in scholarly gatherings or for publication. 

 

ELS 601 – Foundations of Language Studies
This is an introductory course that will enable you to draw a broad understanding of human language: What it is, What it is used for, and How it works. It will lead you to examine your own linguistic beliefs and attitudes; make you aware of both the diversity of language systems and their fundamental similarities; and give you a reasonable taste of most of the subfields of linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics. It will also equip you with some tools and techniques for linguistic analysis and give you some practice in using these to discover the organizing principles of a language. It is hoped that through this course, you will be acquainted with the basic concepts necessary to further pursue linguistic studies. 

 

ELS 602 – Structure of English
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of English language sound, word, sentence, and meaning so that you can describe how English sentences are constructed. It will help you develop the skills necessary to analyze sentence structure and to explain how sentences are related to each other. At the end of the course, you should be able to justify your analysis of simple and complex English sentences. 

Specialization Courses

ELS 700 – Discourse Analysis
Aimed towards equipping the students with comprehensive knowledge on the pragmatic functions of language, the course outlines the principles, procedures, and techniques of discourse analysis in ELT.

 

ELS 701 – Second Language Acquisition
This course provides a critical context in their exploration, review, evaluation, and assessment of the present state of second language teaching and acquisition. It seeks to engage them in principled discourses as they examine the prevailing landscape with consideration and recognition of the history of ELT, and challenge them to come up with a research proposal or a position paper on the most relevant and pressing issues, especially those that impact on their own contexts.

 

ELS 702 – Varieties of English
The course deals with how languages in contact play a crucial role in the dynamic status of English, leading to the development of linguistic features peculiar to the varieties of English. It tackles issues in language acquisition, standardization, and how it impacts educational setting. More recent developments are also highlighted, such as new methods in data gathering and data analysis.

 

ELS 703 – Teaching Listening and Speaking
This course offers a wide range of discussion and critique of major and pressing issues in the teaching of listening and speaking. It focuses on procedures, methods, techniques, and practices and the related problems, difficulties, and needs of both learners and teachers. Students are expected to discuss, review, and determine relevant and current language teaching theories and principles that promote effective listening and speaking pedagogies in varied contexts.

 

ELS 704 – Teaching Reading and Writing
This course covers the theoretical foundations of reading instruction and their connection to the teaching of writing. This also emphasizes the nature of content area reading instruction and study skills that prepare students for writing informational academic texts. The course also presents current best practices for content area reading, writing, and study skills to guide the development of lessons and units that integrate reading and writing while covering concepts in various disciplines.

 

ELS 705 – Language Testing and Evaluation
This course covers the theoretical foundations of language testing and evaluation and the practices which have evolved from such. The various types of language tests, the process involved in their development, the various ways of interpreting test results, and the issues and concerns in both language testing will be discussed.

 

ELS 706 – Curriculum Design and Development
Orientated towards the ELT franchise and global language economics, this course puts forward revolutionary frameworks and models for students’ design of responsive, goal-directed, trans-disciplinary language programs, syllabi, and curricula. It encourages the students to be reflective, principled, and process-oriented in addressing situations-in-context curricular concerns.

 

ELS 707 – Evaluation and Preparation of Instructional Materials
The course is concerned with the evaluation of existing instructional materials and preparation of new ones in relation to the teaching of the five macro-language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing. Major problems arising from teaching practices will be dealt with in the light of current trends and new directions in instructional materials preparation.

 

ELS 708 – Special Topics
a. Forensic Linguistics
This course deals with the study of legal texts, the nature of legal language, language reform, and legal language practices (use of police caution, investigative interviewing, interpreting issues, and courtroom linguistics). It also engages students in the study of linguistic evidence for the purpose of law enforcement or the use of language evidence for legal and forensic contexts.

b. Computational Linguistics
This course provides a discussion of natural language processing from a computational perspective. It engages in the study of computer processing and understanding, the generation of human languages and the use of techniques in applications such as machine translation, speech recognition, information retrieval, intelligent Web searching, and intelligent spelling checking.

c. Missionary Linguistics
This course provides a discussion of the linguistic outputs (vocabularios, gramaticas, catecismos, confesionarios, etc.) of the missionaries during the Christianization / evangelization of the new world.

d. Folk Linguistics
The course studies the complete ethnography of language for any group. It takes into consideration the views of those who use the language daily and what they believe in. Language variation / change is an important aspect of this course.

e. The Grammars of Philippine Languages
The course engages graduate students to make an in-depth study of the structures of the 12 major Philippine languages (Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chabacano) and how they compare with the features of the vast Austronesian language family in terms of phonology, lexicon, and grammar. 

Cognate and Terminal Requirements

Cognate (3 units)
Any course which has a direct bearing on one’s thesis.

Summary of Program Requirements
Degree Requirements
Units
Prerequisite Courses
6
Core Courses
9
Specialization Courses
15
Cognate Courses
3
Written Comprehensive Exams
 
      Thesis Writing I
3
      Thesis Writing II
3
      Thesis Writing III
3
TOTAL
42