Overall aims of the programme

Graduates of this degree programme will be qualified to teach English as a foreign language at various types of Czech upper-secondary schools. They will be well-grounded in the theory and practice of teaching English to adolescents and young/emerging adults.

It is expected that the students who enter the programme possess a sound knowledge of English linguistics, literary theories and the literatures and cultures of English-speaking countries, and that their written and spoken proficiency in English corresponds to the CEFR C2 level. These capacities will make it possible for the students to understand the educational reality of language teaching and develop their professional knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs in the field of teaching English as a foreign language, including professional ethics.

More specifically, the graduates will be able to perform activities that manifest their professional competences in the following fields: planning (of lessons, series of lessons, courses), the learning environment, learning processes, assessment and evaluation, reflection on their own teaching, school development and collaboration with colleagues, collaboration with parents and the wider community, and their professional development. They will have read and critically assessed studies from up-to-date professional publications.

Information for prospective students

Upper Secondary School Teacher Education in English Language and Literature is offered as a single-subject programme (completus) to full-time and part-time students, or as a double-subject (major, minor) programme to full-time students. For deadlines, possibilities and requirements see the website of the Faculty of Arts: https://www.phil.muni.cz/pro-uchazece/navazujici-magisterske-studium

Academic staff

In the ELT section there are three internal members who are responsible for the programme and the majority of compulsory courses, including teaching practice, and supervise diploma theses. External co-workers are responsible for some other courses and/or supervise diploma theses.

Internal members:

External co-workers:

Information for current students

Students in a follow-up master’s programme (2 years) need to get 120 credits in total. In both full-time and part-time single-subject (completus) programmes students are supposed to take the compulsory courses, elective courses in EFL didactics and then other courses offered by the Department of English and American Studies (see the study plans below) to get 120 credits in total. Full-time students enrolled in double-subject programmes (major, minor) only take the compulsory courses (see the study plans below).

All works submitted in the programme need to follow APA Style 7th edition (see for example APA style website; Purdue Online Writing Lab)

Students enrolled in the single-subject (completus) programme need to get an additional 16 credits from the courses offered by the Department of English and American Studies (Preferably master's studies).

Teaching practice and portfolios

Students complete 3 courses in teaching practice together with reflective seminars (second, third and fourth semester). The teaching practice courses are organized centrally at the faculty. Comprehensive information about the teaching practice can be found here.

During their teaching practice students keep a reflective diary and complete a portfolio where they collect and store their lesson plans, teaching materials, fieldnotes and other material required.

A teaching portfolio, which is presented during the State Final Examination, is a selection of material from the duration of the studies.

Recognition of the Practical English Examination

The conditions for the recognition of language examinations are the same as for students in the philology programme. More information here.

Diploma theses

Students following the major and single-subject study plans have to write a diploma thesis within the EFL teacher education programme in line with the requirements described below. The citations in the diploma thesis need to be in line with APA Style 7th edition (see e.g. https://apastyle.apa.org/).

Foreign language teaching is both a theoretical and practical field. Through writing a diploma thesis the student should gain deeper insights into a selected area of language teaching. This means that theory (or principles, concepts and conceptualizations, methods etc.) has to be connected with practice.

Implications: The diploma theses written within the ELT programme should be of an empirical nature (in the broad sense). This means that the students should show that they can implement the following three steps:

1) Select an issue in ELT and study relevant literature (i.e. theory).

2) Collect relevant data in the practice of ELT (which may or may not include their own teaching).

3) Seek meaningful connections between theory (step 1) and practice (step 2), which will help them gain deeper insights into an issue of their choice.

The empirical nature (and thus the focus of the empirical/practical part) may be one of the following:

1. a) Action research, i.e. students select an issue, study relevant literature, prepare an intervention for a group of learners, do the intervention, evaluate what happened, suggest improvements for future interventions (including evidence/recommendations in literature) and go through the cycle several more times.
2. b) Evaluation research, i.e. students select an issue, study relevant literature, prepare an intervention for a group of learners, do the intervention and evaluate its impact (e.g. how the learners reacted, what they learnt etc.)
3. c) Empirical research that uses relevant methods from research in education, linguistics, sociology, etc., to address a selected issue in foreign language teaching and learning.

In each case (a–c) the students should demonstrate that they can see the links between theory and practice. Theses that focus solely on theoretical aspects (e.g. review of relevant literature, conceptual issues in ELT, etc.) are possible, provided that the thesis, to a satisfactory extent, meets standards related to theoretical or review studies normally published in academic journals in the field.

The topics should be related to teaching EFL, ideally in the context of upper-secondary education. If students have access to other settings, this is alright, but they should at least discuss their findings in relation to ELT in upper-secondary settings, which is their field of study.

To support the process of writing a diploma thesis in line with the above requirements, the students take the following courses:

• Research Design (2^nd semester, compulsory) – an introductory course into research methods, finished with a thesis proposal. After this course students find a thesis supervisor.
• Diploma thesis in FL didactics (3^rd semester, elective) – a follow-up course in which the students are guided through the process of data collection and analysis.
• Master's Thesis Seminar (4^th semester, compulsory) – students consult their progress with a supervisor.
• Master’s Thesis (4^th semester, compulsory) – students get credit for submitting their thesis.

State final examination

The Master’s State Exam in English Language Teaching for Secondary Schools has 4 parts:

Oral component (60 mins):

1. Diploma thesis defence (if the thesis was written within the EFL teacher education programme)
2. Examination in English Language Didactics and Linguistics for Teachers
3. Examination in ELT Methodology and teaching capacity
   Written component (30 mins):
4. Examination in psychology and general pedagogy.

Ad 1) Students present their diploma thesis (research aims and questions; main theoretical underpinnings; research methodology; main findings; limitations and implications) and react to the questions and comments posed by supervisors and reviewers in the reviews. Students can use a Power Point (or similar) presentation. (8 minutes presentation + 12 minutes discussion.)

Ad 2) Students choose 3 books focusing on areas of ELT Methodology, English Language Didactics and Linguistics for Teachers. The list of books can be found here. This part of the state exam aims to determine whether students are capable of academic discussion about the books chosen, i.e., if they understand the topics discussed and are able to critically evaluate the books, set them in the context of English Language Didactics and Linguistics for Teachers and seek links between theory and practice (25 minutes).

3) This part of the state examination is based on the state exam portfolio. Students present their state exam portfolios based on materials collected during their studies and prepared in accordance with guidelines available in the respective ELF course.

Students first briefly introduce their teaching philosophy and how they developed professionally during their studies. Next, they introduce one selected item from the portfolio specifying how it illustrates their teaching philosophy and/or their professional development. Finally, students answer questions from examiners regarding their teaching philosophy and professional development. During the examination students are expected to be able to theorize the phenomena and relate their practical experience to relevant theories in the context of English Language Didactics and Linguistics for Teachers. Students should also be able to discuss possibilities and next steps in their professional development (15 minutes).

Ad 4) Written test prepared by departments of General Pedagogy and Psychology. It comprises mostly of multiple choice and some short open questions. The test is in Czech and is based on the following courses: Psychologie pro učitele I, II, Školní pedagogika, Školní didaktika, Kompendium pro učitele a Speciální pedagogika a pedagogická diagnostika (30 minutes).