College of Education

 

The aims of this master’s degree program are:

 

  1.  To provide a thorough theoretical grounding for the practice of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), including English for Academic and Special Purposes (EAP & ESP) and Digital Education (including e-Learning), depending on the chosen specialism, especially in colleges, institutes, industrial settings, and the military.
  2.  To investigate and analyze good practices of English teaching for enhancing English teaching in higher education in Oman.
  3.  To meet the current and future needs for postgraduate qualifications for practitioners of English education.
  4.  To support both theoreticians and practitioners committed to professional development through capacity building and, thus, enrich their own practice of English teaching, either in its general, EAP, and ESP variants or in digital environments.
  5.  To offer an up-to-date, innovative, and flexible study modality that caters to both full-time and part-time students, especially those combining work and study..
  6.  To provide professional master's degree programs that are comparable to those offered by reputable international institutions.
  7.  To offer English language graduates the opportunity to prepare themselves locally for PhD research either in the Sultanate or overseas.

 

This program offered at:

 

  1.  UTAS-Rustaq

 

Upon completion of the program, the students will demonstrate that they can:

 

Core LOs: TESOL
  1.  Analyze English written, oral, and multimodal texts, their language, sociolinguistic and pragmatic dimensions, and their functions in higher education and the knowledge society.
  2.  Explain, elaborate on, critique, and apply theories of English language learning among speakers of other languages (TESOL).
  3.  Conduct research about the English language and TESOL.
Specialized LOs: Digital Education in the Knowledge Society
  1.  Design, develop, implement, and assess learning experiences in digital environments conducive to the learning of General English.
  2.  Explain, elaborate on, critique, and apply theories about digital education in the knowledge society, paying special attention to AI.
  3.  Conduct research in (Language) Digital Education in the Knowledge Society.

 

Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in English Language Teaching may be directly admitted to the program:

  1.  If they had a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and 2. If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.5 or higher in all skills (or equivalent), not older than two years. If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.0 when they apply, they may still enroll, but they cannot graduate until they present an IELTS certificate band 6.5 (or equivalent) in all skills.

Candidates with other bachelor’s degrees may also be admitted to the program after a successful intake interview provided that:

  1.  Their bachelor’s degree is in a related field (e.g., Teaching, Language Teaching, English language and literature, or English Linguistics), and they obtained a GPA of 2.5 or higher,
  2.  They have an IELTS certificate band 6.5 or higher in all skills (or equivalent), not older than two years. If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.0 when they apply, they may still enroll, but they cannot graduate until they present an IELTS certificate band 6.5 (or equivalent) in all skills.
  3.  They successfully take and pass a series of bridging courses (15 credit hours as per OAAAQA) assigned to them upon the recommendations of the Program Coordinator in consultation with the faculty,.

 

The graduates will have access to:

  1.  Employment in the English language sector, especially in higher-education institutions, including foundation, post-foundation, and undergraduate programs
  2.  Employment in the Ministry of Education as Supervisors and Curriculum Designers
  3.  Further postgraduate studies, such as postgraduate certificates, diplomas, and master’s and doctorate degree programs.

 

This module will focus on specialized aspects of research, including paradigms and approaches, applications, in the areas of language, linguistics, language teaching, and digital literacy. Action Research will receive special attention as a way of enhancing professionalism and responding to one’s work needs. The module will include explorations into the relative strengths and potential challenges of different approaches to classroom research and the associated ethical issues. All students will be trained in how to conduct research involving human participants in ethically responsible ways.

This module helps the students develop their critical analytic skills, knowledge base, and practical skills in relation to learning and teaching in blended environments (with a stress on digital environments) using digital technologies. The module also focuses on research and communication skills through activities and debates, both independently and in groups.

 

This module will focus on:

  1.  Defining the materials' targeted outcomes (within EAP/ESP teaching).
  2.  Breaking down the outcomes into enabling and terminal goals.
  3.  Choosing the materials’ scope and content.
  4.  Deciding on the materials' modality, resources, and technologies.
  5.  Determining their proficiency, involvement, and collaboration levels.
  6.  Designing individual and shared components.
  7.  Ensuring clarity, attractiveness, ease of use, and appropriate degree of challenge.
  8.  Differentiating the presentation of the data and the learners' response.
  9.  Designing follow-up activities for autonomous learning, remediation, enrichment, and assessment.

This module will offer a space for learning about, applying, and experimenting with technologies that are being used to enhance both English language teaching and Arabic-English-Arabic translation, including artificial intelligent tools. The students will learn to use technology-enhanced tools to learn from, teach, and translate an array of English oral and written sources. The module includes a theoretical framework, familiarity with a selection of technologies, research, and hands-on exercises.

 

This module studies the relationship between language, knowledge, and society. Among its main topics are the role played by language and epistemic background in thinking, knowledge landscapes, social relations, and knowledge societies and economies. So that students can contextualize the theory, the module integrates analyses of and discussions about critical issues, such as colonialism, post-colonial world order, decoloniality, eco-justice, and industry 4.0, particularly in relation to language, knowledge, and education. Given that the advent and incidence of artificial Intelligence cannot be ignored, the module also treats the relationship between AI, language, knowledge, human uniqueness, and society.

  1.  EDDE5201: Big Data, AI, and Education
  2.  EDDE5202: Competencies for Cultural Digital Transformation
  3.  EDDE5203: Critical Digital Literacies

 

  1.  EDLA5201: Critical Thinking for Language Practitioners
  2.  EDLA5202: Cross-Cultural Communication for Educators and Translators
  3.  EDLA5203: Comparative English-Arabic Stylistics & Rhetoric

The project is designed to provide an opportunity for the students to test in the practice what they have learned in the modules as well as to gain realistic hands-on experience. Where possible, the project’s objectives and design, as well as the site where it will be executed, shall enhance the students’ career goals. The project must both contribute to the entity/institution where the students are employed or conduct their project and be worthy of academic credit. Consequently, students are allowed to integrate within their project work-related tasks or duties.

 

Pre-/Co-Requisites:

  1.  EDCM5101
  2.  EDCM5102
  3.  EDTC5101

 

The Graduation Thesis is perceived as a robust indicator of students’ cognitive mastery, technical skills, and thinking, analytical and writing abilities. At the same time, it signals their incipient membership of a research-driven and evidence-based community of practice.

 

Pre-/Co-Requisites:

  1.  EDCM5101
 

 


 

The aims of this master’s degree program are:

 

  1.  To provide a thorough theoretical grounding for the practice of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), including English for Academic and Special Purposes (EAP & ESP) and Digital Education (including e-Learning), depending on the chosen specialism, especially in colleges, institutes, industrial settings, and the military.
  2.  To investigate and analyze good practices of English teaching for enhancing English teaching in higher education in Oman.
  3.  To meet the current and future needs for postgraduate qualifications for practitioners of English education.
  4.  To support both theoreticians and practitioners committed to professional development through capacity building and, thus, enrich their own practice of English teaching, either in its general, EAP, and ESP variants or in digital environments.
  5.  To offer an up-to-date, innovative, and flexible study modality that caters to both full-time and part-time students, especially those combining work and study..
  6.  To provide professional master's degree programs that are comparable to those offered by reputable international institutions.
  7.  To offer English language graduates the opportunity to prepare themselves locally for PhD research either in the Sultanate or overseas.

 

This program offered at:

 

  1.  UTAS-Rustaq

 

Upon completion of the program, the students will demonstrate that they can:

 

Core LOs: TESOL
  1.  Analyze English written, oral, and multimodal texts, their language, sociolinguistic and pragmatic dimensions, and their functions in higher education and the knowledge society.
  2.  Explain, elaborate on, critique, and apply theories of English language learning among speakers of other languages (TESOL).
  3.  Conduct research about the English language and TESOL.
Specialized LOs: EAP and ESP
  1.  Design, develop, implement, and assess learning experiences conducive to the learning of General English, EAP and ESP.
  2.  Explain, elaborate on, critique, and apply theories about EAP and ESP.
  3.  Conduct research in EAP and ESP.

 

Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in English Language Teaching may be directly admitted to the program:

  1.  If they had a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.5 or higher in all skills (or equivalent), not older than two years. If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.0 when they apply, they may still enroll, but they cannot graduate until they present an IELTS certificate band 6.5 (or equivalent) in all skills.

Candidates with other bachelor’s degrees may also be admitted to the program after a successful intake interview provided that:

  1.  Their bachelor’s degree is in a related field (e.g., Teaching, Language Teaching, English language and literature, or English Linguistics), and they obtained a GPA of 2.5 or higher,
  2.  They have an IELTS certificate band 6.5 or higher in all skills (or equivalent), not older than two years. If they have an IELTS certificate band 6.0 when they apply, they may still enroll, but they cannot graduate until they present an IELTS certificate band 6.5 (or equivalent) in all skills.
  3.  They successfully take and pass a series of bridging courses (15 credit hours as per OAAAQA) assigned to them upon the recommendations of the Program Coordinator in consultation with the faculty,.

 

The graduates will have access to:

  1.  Employment in the English language sector, especially in higher-education institutions, including foundation, post-foundation, and undergraduate programs
  2.  Employment in the Ministry of Education as Supervisors and Curriculum Designers
  3.  Further postgraduate studies, such as postgraduate certificates, diplomas, and master’s and doctorate degree programs.

 

This module will focus on specialized aspects of research, including paradigms and approaches, applications, in the areas of language, linguistics, language teaching, and digital literacy. Action Research will receive special attention to enhance professionalism and respond to one’s work needs. The module will include explorations into the relative strengths and potential challenges of different approaches to classroom research and the associated ethical issues. All students will be trained in how to conduct research involving human participants in ethically responsible ways

This module helps the students develop their critical analytic skills, knowledge base, and practical skills in relation to learning and teaching in blended environments (with a stress on digital environments) using digital technologies. The module also focuses on research and communication skills through activities and debates, both independently and in groups.

 

This module will focus on:

  1.  Defining the materials' targeted outcomes (within EAP/ESP teaching).
  2.  Breaking down the outcomes into enabling and terminal goals.
  3.  Choosing the materials’ scope and content.
  4.  Deciding on the materials' modality, resources, and technologies.
  5.  Determining their proficiency, involvement, and collaboration levels.
  6.  Designing individual and shared components.
  7.  Ensuring clarity, attractiveness, ease of use, and appropriate degree of challenge.
  8.  Differentiating the presentation of the data and the learners' response.
  9.  Designing follow-up activities for autonomous learning, remediation, enrichment, and assessment.

This module focuses on three areas. First, the psycho-pedagogical aspects of learning a foreign or additional language. Second, it presents the main concepts of EAP and ESP curriculum design and implementation. Third, it connects curriculum design to assessment. During all three phases, the role of digital tools — AI, in particular — is analyzed for threats and opportunities.

 

This module studies the relationship between language, knowledge, and society. Among its main topics are the role played by language and epistemic background in thinking, knowledge landscapes, social relations, and knowledge societies and economies. So that students can contextualize the theory, the module integrates analyses of and discussions about critical issues, such as colonialism, post-colonial world order, decoloniality, eco-justice, and industry 4.0, particularly in relation to language, knowledge, and education. Given that the advent and incidence of artificial Intelligence cannot be ignored, the module also treats the relationship between AI, language, knowledge, human uniqueness, and society.

  1.  EDTM5201 : Training Professionals for English-Medium Teaching
  2.  EDEN5202 : English for Business and Engineering
  3.  EDEN5203 : Media and Multimodal Discourse Analysis

 

  1.  EDLA5201 : Critical Thinking for Language Practitioners
  2.  EDLA5202 :  Cross-Cultural Communication for Educators and Translators
  3.  EDLA5203 :  Comparative English-Arabic Stylistics & Rhetoric

The Practicum is designed to provide an opportunity for the students to test in practice what they have learned in the modules as well as to gain level-appropriate experience. The Practicum and the site selected for it should, where possible, be appropriate for the student's career goals. The Practicum must also contribute to the entity/institution where it happens and be worthy of academic credit. It may or may not be paid.

 

Pre-/Co-Requisites:

  1.  EDCM5101
  2.  EDCM5102
  3.  EDTM101

 

The Graduation Thesis is perceived as a robust indicator of students’ cognitive mastery, technical skills, and thinking, analytical and writing abilities. At the same time, it signals their incipient membership of a research-driven and evidence-based community of practice.

 

Pre-/Co-Requisites:

  1.  EDCM5101