MA TESOL - Language Requirements

The minimum scores required for admission to the MATESOL program:

• iBT TOEFL =100 or above

• PBT TOEFL = 600 or above

• IELTS = 7.0 or above

• International students who have been admitted to PSU have already met the minimum TOEFL or IELTS score that satisfies the M.A. language requirement.

• After PSU graduate admission, the second-language proficiency requirement will be marked as "met" on your PSU transcript .

• In addition, you must submit the Applied Linguistics form: Language Requirement for Foreign Students in the MA TESOL Program. Please consult your adviser.

Two groups of MATESOL candidates must must satisfy PSU's second-language proficiency requirement by demonstratring proficiency in a language other than English:

1. native speakers of English

2. students whose transcripts list English as their first language because they hold a previous degree from an English-medium institution

There are several ways to satisfy the non-English language proficiency requirement.

Provide a verified transcript of at least two full years of second-language coursework:

• completed at PSU or another institution

• at the 203-or-equivalent level

• with a grade of C-minus or better

• within 4 years prior to admission into the PSU graduate program

• Coursework completed at community colleges and summer intensive language programs is acceptable.

If you choose to satisfy the Masters of Arts requirement by showing a transcript of previous foreign language coursework,

it is essential to request validation of the coursework from the Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literature as early as possible in the MATESOL program.

How?

Bring an unofficial transcript to the Dept of Foreign Languages and Literature.

FLL will certify and send copies of the form to:

• Office of Degree Audits
• Graduate Office
• Dept. of Applied Linguistics.

The department copies are filed in the MATESOL students' folder

Why?

If one is still enrolled in the MATESOL program more than 4 years after completion of the last language course, PSU rules require either:

•  
  • retake the language coursework
  • take the proficiency (oral and written) exam.

Avoid this problem by getting your language coursework certified as early as possible!

Complete the 203 level of a language class taught in the Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literature at PSU, with a grade of C-minus or better.

Foreign language coursework intended to satisfy the university Master of Arts requirement can be taken concurrently with MATESOL coursework.

Completion of the language proficiency requirement is a condition of admission into the MATESOL program. Therefore, students who are still finishing up their language coursework may be granted conditional admission.

Please advise the Applied Linguistics office coordinator as soon as you meet the language requirement, so that your conditional status can be upgraded.

Pass a language proficiency test administered by the Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures at PSU.

Acceptable languages: 

• living languages (not Latin, Ancient Greek, Old English, etc.)
• American Sign Language (ASL) is acceptable

Computer languages are not acceptable.

The examination for MATESOL students includes BOTH

• an oral proficiency interview
• a written test.

The Dept of Foreign Languages and Literature needs to be able to provide an examiner for the language if a student wants to fulfill the requirement by a test.