English Language, Linguistics and TESOL

English language, linguistics, and TESOL is a combination that prepares you both to understand language as a scientific and social phenomenon and to teach English to speakers of other languages in a multilingual world. Linguistics provides the theoretical frameworks for analysing how language is structured, how it is acquired, how it varies across communities, and how it conveys meaning. TESOL, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, applies that linguistic knowledge to the practical challenge of developing effective teaching approaches, understanding the needs of language learners from different backgrounds, and assessing progress in a principled way.

At York St John this part-time programme includes a foundation year, which gives you a preparatory stage to develop the academic and linguistic foundations you need. Across the degree you will explore how we learn and use language, how it is structured from the level of sounds and words up to discourse and conversation, and how meaning is created and communicated in different contexts. The TESOL strand develops your understanding of second language acquisition and the practical methods and materials used in English language teaching, preparing you for the growing demand for qualified English teachers in schools, language institutes, and higher education settings across the UK and internationally.

A sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement experience are all available within the programme, providing professional experience, international study, and a practical portfolio.

Graduates move into English language teaching in the UK and internationally, TESOL teacher training, language education policy, educational publishing, translation, linguistics research, and related roles in education and communications. Many go on to postgraduate study in applied linguistics, TESOL, or language education.