Professional Development

Classes taught by experienced faculty

PSU faculty have years of experience not only in language teaching, but also in research and in solving real-world problems. Students regularly rate their interaction with professors as being a highlight of the program.

For teaching language

PSU offers many courses that are valuable for increasing professional skills. Teachers of a language may benefit from courses such as:

Introduction to Linguistics (offered online and on campus)
Second Language Acquisition
Applied Phonetics & Phonology
Applied English Grammar
Grammar for TESOL
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
Curriculum Design and Materials Development

For working with immigrants and refugees

In addition, teachers and anyone who works with immigrants and refugees may be interested in courses such as:

Understanding the International Experience
Language, Identity and Culture
Sociolinguistics
Bilingualism

Experienced Faculty

At PSU, classes are taught by faculty with years of experience not only in language teaching, but also in research and in solving real-world language problems. It is easy to benefit from faculty experience, since they are known to be accessible in class, around the department, and at Applied Linguistics events. Students regularly rate their interaction with professors as being a highlight of the program.

Collaborative and Diverse

The PSU Applied Linguistics Department has a diverse student body - in terms of age, culture, nationality, socioeconomic background, and professional experience. Students collaborate and learn from one another during class time, working on group projects, and in planned or impromptu study sessions. Class discussions are often so engaging that they continue in the halls, lunch areas, and in the Park Blocks outside.

Student Experience

"I was a high school teacher for a few years a long time ago. [So when I came to PSU], I started in the Department of Education. But I knew the teaching part, and I wanted more of the linguistics. So I enjoyed taking classes like Second Language Acquisition. I really liked classes like Pragmatics, and Corpus Linguistics." --Laura Cowley-Martinson