Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) examines the social, linguistic, educational, cognitive, cultural and political processes affecting the teaching, learning, assessment, and use of English as an additional language locally and globally. TESL graduate students gain experience and understanding in such areas as: current issues in TESL theory and practice, second language acquisition, second language reading and writing, language socialization, language and identity, second language assessment, discourse analysis, critical applied linguistics, and research methods.
The program faculty have expertise in TESL methods, applied linguistics, second language acquisition and socialization, content-based language education, pedagogical and functional grammar, second language writing, issues of language and identity, language in education, multilingual literacies, language policy, and English in immigrant and international communities. The program also jointly sponsors the UBC/Ritsumeikan Joint Academic Exchange Program.