English as an Additional Language (Taught)

The PGDip in English as an Additional Language (EAL) is designed for education professionals working with multilingual learners in the national and international sectors. This part-time course, taken over three terms, grounds participants in EAL research evidence to help inform policy and practice.

Delivery of this course is mostly online, with a one-week residential component.

Across all components of the PG Diploma, students will receive a grounding in core knowledge and skills, and cover four key themes of EAL policy and pedagogy:

• Understanding who EAL Learners are and associated theory;

• School-level policy for EAL;

• Supporting classroom practice for EAL learners; and

• Understanding approaches to research in EAL.

The core aims of the course are to promote:

• understanding of theory and research relating to language acquisition among school-aged EAL learners, and effective related pedagogy

• a practical understanding of research-informed practice, including critically engaging with research evidence and designing and conducting classroom-based research

• an understanding of cross-cutting themes relevant to research-informed EAL practice

• the application of research and theory to practice through reflection on ones’ own teaching

• the skills of independent critical thought, rational inquiry, and self-directed learning

• critical engagement with, and reflection on, current issues and debates in the field of EAL research and practice, through the lens of research and theory.

Course structure
The course consists of three summatively assessed modules, and a one-week residential which will be formatively assessed.

You will have the opportunity to take a non-assessed module on research methods in applied linguistics. This self-paced, eight-session module provides deeper information about the methods by which research is conducted in the field, and will help to prepare you for your independent study and to interpret reports of research that your read. The optional research methods module will be available for the duration of the course and can be studied independently at your own pace.