Mission Statement
Dankook University’s MA TESOL program is a unique program, encouraging a critical consideration of TESOL practices, with a focus on within the Korean context. This program is designed both for inservice and preservice English teachers. An ultimate goal of the program is for all students to graduate from the program having an understanding of TESOL and English language education as they intersect with the world and community we live in, as well as being able to utilize these understandings to enhance our language classrooms and to gain confidence in developing and share new innovations. The program highly values the reciprocal relationship between theory and practice and works toward constructing understandings of how they each inform one another and how both are intimately and inextricably connected. In this manner, students will engage in discussions encouraged to develop their own ideas, co-constructing knowledge and informing understandings of TESOL, while gaining practical experience with teaching and teaching techniques. Students are encouraged to challenge, critique and question the surrounding world, with a specific focus on the local community and Korean context.
Dankook University’s MA TESOL program has four key cornerstones: (language pedagogy, research development, culture & society, and language & linguistics), each of which is integrated throughout the program. In recognizing the four cornerstones, they considered individually in order to highlight the importance and significance of each. Each of these categories combines to form the four cornerstones upon which the MA TESOL program at Dankook University has been structured.
1--Language Pedagogy courses focus on interacting with language in the classroom, with opportunities for students to explore various teaching techniques and strategies in the language classroom.
2--Language & Linguistics considers languages and specifically the English language and its form, meaning and context, while simultaneously problematizing and de-constructing traditional understandings.
3--Culture & Society courses investigate the complexities of TESOL and English education within the larger scope of society while considering the effects of the intersection of culture and language.
4--Research Development courses are designed to help prepare students to share their findings with other language teachers and scholars. These courses focus on working toward the contribution of innovative original ideas to the TESOL field.