FAQs for Current Students
1. How can I follow APA style?
The style with follow in the field of TESOL is the APA, which comes from the American Psychological Association. There are many guides to this available on-line and there should be no trouble finding one. But they also show slight differences and include details that are not always relevant for the kind of work we expect students to do in the MA program. The small differences between the resources available on-line can be confusing but the trick to following APA guidelines is being consistent. To help with this we have prepared a simple guide which shows how we expect our students to format their papers.
Here is a file we have produced that can help: Research Paper Guidelines. (APA style)
Students in the program are strongly encouraged to follow these guidelines for the papers they submit in the program. These guidelines were created with midterm and final papers in mind. For shorter weekly papers the most important aspect of the guidelines to be applied would be those related to citing and listing references. Students need to use their own common sense judgement in following the guidelines depending on the type of paper being written. Short answers to focus questions do not need titles, section headings, or appendices. Longer papers probably do. This is something that students can determine or their own or simply ask the professor if there is any confusion about how to style the paper.
2. How can I find the right article?
Finding the 'right' article, or really set of articles (resources), boils down to two major aspects. These are being able to access suitable resources and also knowing and being able to find what is suitable or useful. There are different ways that one can search for and hopefully find useful resources. Luckily we live in an age where web resources have made searching easier and also more fruitful. TESOL MA students have access to the main library, the purpose-built TESOL Resource Center, as well as other on-line resources.
The main resource available to MA students is the Sookmyung Women's University main library. Most of the library site is in Korean but there are English section titles to help students less proficient in Korean to navigate the site. The library is not only a depository of print materials (books and periodicals) but also provides access to a rather large database of e-journals, e-books, and special collections (such as theses). The TESOL Resource Center, located on the ground floor of the Sookmyung Professional Center, is our departmental library and has a fairly good collection of print materials related to the field of TESOL. In addition to these there are also regular, free on-line services that anyone can use, such as Google Scholar.
The best way to access the materials in the main library is from a computer on the main Sookmyung campus (this excludes the Professional Center). The library will instantly recognise the location of the computer and all is well.
If one is NOT on the main campus then there is a way to access the library resources.
1. Go to the library main page and log in. The log in (로그인) button is found in the top of the main website page.
2. Once logged in, then click the button on the right of the page marked, 교외접속 서비스. This allows one access to library resources from anywhere, including home. It also allows one to use search engines like Google Scholar and avail of the subscriptions our library holds.
3. After you log in a new page will open. On this page a link will appear. This is what it looks like: http://libproxy.sookmyung.ac.kr/_Lib_Proxy_Url/ Copy this link into the URL browse section of a new blank webpage. Be sure to change the last part of the link replacing _Lib_Proxy_URL with the name of the site you want to use to search, for example Google Scholar.
The TESOL Resource Center has books and also some periodicals related to our field. It is a small space and I find it actually interesting and useful to just walk though the stacks to see what is there. Books on the list but not found ion the stacks can be requested and students are also able to request new books with the Book Order Request form. MA students can also ask their professors to order books that they might need for their research. Free on-line search engines can also be very useful. When looking for scholarly articles and books Google Scholar is probably the best resource. When using Google Scholar it is important to be aware of the language. Since we are in Korea Google Scholar usually opens into a Korean page. This is fine if you are looking for articles in Korean (and of course there is nothing wrong with Korean articles), but if you change the site to Google Scholar in English (you can do this by hitting the command on the bottom right of your screen) then you will get better access to articles written in English. It is important to note that Google Scholar will also provide links to books on Google Books. In our field, edited books are often the source of seminal articles and one should also include edited books in their searches. Now that we have covered a bit about access out is time to briefly review some different methods that can be used to search for the right article.
Regarding specific search techniques there are different ways of looking, but the best results will come when one incorporates a range of different info ration into search. One way is too search using a specific name. For example, if you are looking for information on pragmatics in SLA then a good name to start with would be Kasper (always use the researcher's family name). To make the search more effective, include subject information as well. One can search for a specific paper and to do so simply use the author name and the publication date (for example, Ninio, 1986) as is used in a reference list. Using the specific title of a paper can also help you find related papers with similar key words. Running a search is a fairly painstaking process. One should be prepared to try several different searches. This means using a range of different search words and difference combinations of words.
Regarding more general strategies for searching, one can start a search from scratch or can use what it already known, such as a particular author, set of authors, or a particular publication. When trying to find the right resources, it is good to use what one already has and this means carefully reviewing the reference list in the articles one has already found. For this strategy, newer articles are much more useful than older ones. Some publishing companies will also provide a list of related articles along with the article one has found.
Finally, the real key to all this is reading. Finding articles is all well and good but one needs to have the reading skills to be able to skim and scan to determine of the article is useful or not. This involves initially reading only certain parts of the article. The abstract lets you know if the paper has hit the mark at all. The introduction is important in letting you know what it is that the paper is doing differently from others. It creates the context for the paper and let's you know the specific focus. Quickly skimming through the methods and results provides an indicator of the overall quality of the paper.
Really, searching is a numbers game. To find the right articles, one needs to look through many. It is also a skill and leaning experience. One need to learn how to search and by doing so also learns about the area in which they are conducting the search. like all skills, the more one does it the better one becomes. This part of what we need to learn to do as graduate students, so do get started. (도서관 학술이용 교육을 매달 실시 하고 있습니다. 국내외 학술 자료 검색법에 대한 교육을 들어보시는 방법도 추천합니다.)
Finding other students' theses
If you want to find and read the thesis of our previous students, here are the simple steps. You can use 1) Sookmyung library website or 2) RISS where all theses written by Koreans are uploaded.
1) how_to_find_the_thesis_of_previous_tesol_ma_students.pdf
2) using_riss_to_find_our_students_theses.pdf
3. What kind of courses should I take?
This is the kind of question that MA students need to ask themselves and discuss with their academic counsellor after looking g through the 2-year cycle. In fact, it is for this very purpose that the academic counsellor system was created. We fully understand that the program provides the students with the quandary of choice, but that is also a good thing. The important thing is to have some goals in mind as these will help you map out your path. Bear in mind as well that there is flexibility built into every course. Don't let the names of the courses alone give you a false impression of what YOU can do in the course.
Also, don't get too worried about the designation of courses as 'more basic' or 'more advanced'. This designation is more about the focus or scope of the course as opposed to degree of difficulty. Don't skip a course you are interested in simply because it is called 'more advanced.'
Basic descriptions for each of the courses are available on this website so please read those before making any decision and of course ask the professor. More detailed course descriptions are available a few weeks before semester begin in the portal system and we also typically post these up in the MA Message Board. The reality is that to get the materials in time students need to select their courses more than a couple of weeks before the semester begin. This means talking to others, your peers, and especially the academic counsellor or some other member of the faculty.
4. How can I get a good idea for the thesis?
The thesis essentially provides the answer to a question or series or closely related questions. Bearing this in mind it is good to approach the thesis not merely from a topic area but really a question. Students can start making lists of questions that have occurred to them not just from the basis of their experience teaching but really from what they have read. It is better to generate questions based on academic study of a certain area. This will ensure that not only is the question answerable, but will also immediately provide some guidelines as to how the question has been answered. For the thesis, students should look primarily to previous research. The best theses are ones that continue a well-established research tradition. They take an idea that has already been studied and rework it slightly in order to help find the answer to something that has not yet been sufficiently dealt with. This approach obvious;y requires a certain amount of reading. For most students the initial part of the process comes from the requires readings in the class they have taken. These required readings and the classes in general provide an introduction to some of the major issues that can and often should be further explored. What appeals to students in their course readings is a good place to start, but again it is important to look at the readings critically. There are always ways of extending previous studies. It is also a good to idea to talk to fellow students and faculty members. Students who cannot talk about their thesis will have a lot of trouble writing it.
5. Which one suits me better, the thesis or the practicum?
The these and the practicum are not necessarily as different as many people think. Both involve research and writing. The thesis obviously centers around the writing of a high-quality thesis as an independent study project. The practicum centers around the creation of a standards-based portfolio and the writing of comprehensive exams. There are two principle differences between the two. The first of these relates to focus. The thesis involves a much more specific focus while the practicum is more general. In the thesis the student is expected to learn a great deal about one particular issue while in the practicum the student is expected to be able to demonstrate knowledge on a wide variety of TESOL topics.
The other big difference between the two is the nature of the process. The practicum is set up as a group discovery process. In the practicum nobody does anything completely on their own. Students and professors are deeply involved in providing feedback, support, and in managing the process. Students work together during the regular class time to help their peers improve their teaching techniques and study together for the comprehensive exams. In this way the practicum is an intense, integrated process. The thesis on the other hand the thesis is very much an independent study project. The student works together with the advisor, but the responsibility to get things done is on the student. There is little the advisor can do if the student has produced no work. Thus, time management is always a major issue in thew thesis. The thesis also a bit of a test of endurance. It begins in earnest in the fourth semester and does not end until well after the fifth. The process involves more than a year.
Which option the students feels is right for them should be based on the two main ideas discussed above. The thesis works best when the student has a clear question that she or he seeks to answer. It also works better for people who are self-diciplined and good at managing their own time. The practicum is for people with more general types of goals. It is much more intense than the thesis and practicum students need to be able to do many things quickly. As it is all planned out the student always knows what needs too be done and by when. This aspect of the practicum appeals to many.
To help students make this impotent decision, it is important that they read up on the materials posted on this website. As always talking to others, especially those who have been through either process with us, is a very good idea.
6. What stops students from graduating?
The answer is simple. First, taking a leave of absence. Second, the thesis. Here are some issues related to students finishing the program.
People who voluntarily quit the MA
People kicked out of the MA
Among those people
- 80% took a leave of absence in their 1st/2nd semester
- 20% did in their 3rd semester
People who officially started but never finished the thesis
People who took a leave of absence right before doing the thesis
People who are taking leave of absence right before doing the thesis
People who have not graduated directly or presumably because of the thesis
People who failed to graduate from the Practicum
7.How can I get my transcripts after graduation?
Here is the pdf file explaining how to get transcripts online. Please open and take a look at it: 'How to get transcripts online'
The style with follow in the field of TESOL is the APA, which comes from the American Psychological Association. There are many guides to this available on-line and there should be no trouble finding one. But they also show slight differences and include details that are not always relevant for the kind of work we expect students to do in the MA program. The small differences between the resources available on-line can be confusing but the trick to following APA guidelines is being consistent. To help with this we have prepared a simple guide which shows how we expect our students to format their papers.
Here is a file we have produced that can help: Research Paper Guidelines. (APA style)
Students in the program are strongly encouraged to follow these guidelines for the papers they submit in the program. These guidelines were created with midterm and final papers in mind. For shorter weekly papers the most important aspect of the guidelines to be applied would be those related to citing and listing references. Students need to use their own common sense judgement in following the guidelines depending on the type of paper being written. Short answers to focus questions do not need titles, section headings, or appendices. Longer papers probably do. This is something that students can determine or their own or simply ask the professor if there is any confusion about how to style the paper.
2. How can I find the right article?
Finding the 'right' article, or really set of articles (resources), boils down to two major aspects. These are being able to access suitable resources and also knowing and being able to find what is suitable or useful. There are different ways that one can search for and hopefully find useful resources. Luckily we live in an age where web resources have made searching easier and also more fruitful. TESOL MA students have access to the main library, the purpose-built TESOL Resource Center, as well as other on-line resources.
The main resource available to MA students is the Sookmyung Women's University main library. Most of the library site is in Korean but there are English section titles to help students less proficient in Korean to navigate the site. The library is not only a depository of print materials (books and periodicals) but also provides access to a rather large database of e-journals, e-books, and special collections (such as theses). The TESOL Resource Center, located on the ground floor of the Sookmyung Professional Center, is our departmental library and has a fairly good collection of print materials related to the field of TESOL. In addition to these there are also regular, free on-line services that anyone can use, such as Google Scholar.
The best way to access the materials in the main library is from a computer on the main Sookmyung campus (this excludes the Professional Center). The library will instantly recognise the location of the computer and all is well.
If one is NOT on the main campus then there is a way to access the library resources.
1. Go to the library main page and log in. The log in (로그인) button is found in the top of the main website page.
2. Once logged in, then click the button on the right of the page marked, 교외접속 서비스. This allows one access to library resources from anywhere, including home. It also allows one to use search engines like Google Scholar and avail of the subscriptions our library holds.
3. After you log in a new page will open. On this page a link will appear. This is what it looks like: http://libproxy.sookmyung.ac.kr/_Lib_Proxy_Url/ Copy this link into the URL browse section of a new blank webpage. Be sure to change the last part of the link replacing _Lib_Proxy_URL with the name of the site you want to use to search, for example Google Scholar.
The TESOL Resource Center has books and also some periodicals related to our field. It is a small space and I find it actually interesting and useful to just walk though the stacks to see what is there. Books on the list but not found ion the stacks can be requested and students are also able to request new books with the Book Order Request form. MA students can also ask their professors to order books that they might need for their research. Free on-line search engines can also be very useful. When looking for scholarly articles and books Google Scholar is probably the best resource. When using Google Scholar it is important to be aware of the language. Since we are in Korea Google Scholar usually opens into a Korean page. This is fine if you are looking for articles in Korean (and of course there is nothing wrong with Korean articles), but if you change the site to Google Scholar in English (you can do this by hitting the command on the bottom right of your screen) then you will get better access to articles written in English. It is important to note that Google Scholar will also provide links to books on Google Books. In our field, edited books are often the source of seminal articles and one should also include edited books in their searches. Now that we have covered a bit about access out is time to briefly review some different methods that can be used to search for the right article.
Regarding specific search techniques there are different ways of looking, but the best results will come when one incorporates a range of different info ration into search. One way is too search using a specific name. For example, if you are looking for information on pragmatics in SLA then a good name to start with would be Kasper (always use the researcher's family name). To make the search more effective, include subject information as well. One can search for a specific paper and to do so simply use the author name and the publication date (for example, Ninio, 1986) as is used in a reference list. Using the specific title of a paper can also help you find related papers with similar key words. Running a search is a fairly painstaking process. One should be prepared to try several different searches. This means using a range of different search words and difference combinations of words.
Regarding more general strategies for searching, one can start a search from scratch or can use what it already known, such as a particular author, set of authors, or a particular publication. When trying to find the right resources, it is good to use what one already has and this means carefully reviewing the reference list in the articles one has already found. For this strategy, newer articles are much more useful than older ones. Some publishing companies will also provide a list of related articles along with the article one has found.
Finally, the real key to all this is reading. Finding articles is all well and good but one needs to have the reading skills to be able to skim and scan to determine of the article is useful or not. This involves initially reading only certain parts of the article. The abstract lets you know if the paper has hit the mark at all. The introduction is important in letting you know what it is that the paper is doing differently from others. It creates the context for the paper and let's you know the specific focus. Quickly skimming through the methods and results provides an indicator of the overall quality of the paper.
Really, searching is a numbers game. To find the right articles, one needs to look through many. It is also a skill and leaning experience. One need to learn how to search and by doing so also learns about the area in which they are conducting the search. like all skills, the more one does it the better one becomes. This part of what we need to learn to do as graduate students, so do get started. (도서관 학술이용 교육을 매달 실시 하고 있습니다. 국내외 학술 자료 검색법에 대한 교육을 들어보시는 방법도 추천합니다.)
Finding other students' theses
If you want to find and read the thesis of our previous students, here are the simple steps. You can use 1) Sookmyung library website or 2) RISS where all theses written by Koreans are uploaded.
1) how_to_find_the_thesis_of_previous_tesol_ma_students.pdf
2) using_riss_to_find_our_students_theses.pdf
3. What kind of courses should I take?
This is the kind of question that MA students need to ask themselves and discuss with their academic counsellor after looking g through the 2-year cycle. In fact, it is for this very purpose that the academic counsellor system was created. We fully understand that the program provides the students with the quandary of choice, but that is also a good thing. The important thing is to have some goals in mind as these will help you map out your path. Bear in mind as well that there is flexibility built into every course. Don't let the names of the courses alone give you a false impression of what YOU can do in the course.
Also, don't get too worried about the designation of courses as 'more basic' or 'more advanced'. This designation is more about the focus or scope of the course as opposed to degree of difficulty. Don't skip a course you are interested in simply because it is called 'more advanced.'
Basic descriptions for each of the courses are available on this website so please read those before making any decision and of course ask the professor. More detailed course descriptions are available a few weeks before semester begin in the portal system and we also typically post these up in the MA Message Board. The reality is that to get the materials in time students need to select their courses more than a couple of weeks before the semester begin. This means talking to others, your peers, and especially the academic counsellor or some other member of the faculty.
4. How can I get a good idea for the thesis?
The thesis essentially provides the answer to a question or series or closely related questions. Bearing this in mind it is good to approach the thesis not merely from a topic area but really a question. Students can start making lists of questions that have occurred to them not just from the basis of their experience teaching but really from what they have read. It is better to generate questions based on academic study of a certain area. This will ensure that not only is the question answerable, but will also immediately provide some guidelines as to how the question has been answered. For the thesis, students should look primarily to previous research. The best theses are ones that continue a well-established research tradition. They take an idea that has already been studied and rework it slightly in order to help find the answer to something that has not yet been sufficiently dealt with. This approach obvious;y requires a certain amount of reading. For most students the initial part of the process comes from the requires readings in the class they have taken. These required readings and the classes in general provide an introduction to some of the major issues that can and often should be further explored. What appeals to students in their course readings is a good place to start, but again it is important to look at the readings critically. There are always ways of extending previous studies. It is also a good to idea to talk to fellow students and faculty members. Students who cannot talk about their thesis will have a lot of trouble writing it.
5. Which one suits me better, the thesis or the practicum?
The these and the practicum are not necessarily as different as many people think. Both involve research and writing. The thesis obviously centers around the writing of a high-quality thesis as an independent study project. The practicum centers around the creation of a standards-based portfolio and the writing of comprehensive exams. There are two principle differences between the two. The first of these relates to focus. The thesis involves a much more specific focus while the practicum is more general. In the thesis the student is expected to learn a great deal about one particular issue while in the practicum the student is expected to be able to demonstrate knowledge on a wide variety of TESOL topics.
The other big difference between the two is the nature of the process. The practicum is set up as a group discovery process. In the practicum nobody does anything completely on their own. Students and professors are deeply involved in providing feedback, support, and in managing the process. Students work together during the regular class time to help their peers improve their teaching techniques and study together for the comprehensive exams. In this way the practicum is an intense, integrated process. The thesis on the other hand the thesis is very much an independent study project. The student works together with the advisor, but the responsibility to get things done is on the student. There is little the advisor can do if the student has produced no work. Thus, time management is always a major issue in thew thesis. The thesis also a bit of a test of endurance. It begins in earnest in the fourth semester and does not end until well after the fifth. The process involves more than a year.
Which option the students feels is right for them should be based on the two main ideas discussed above. The thesis works best when the student has a clear question that she or he seeks to answer. It also works better for people who are self-diciplined and good at managing their own time. The practicum is for people with more general types of goals. It is much more intense than the thesis and practicum students need to be able to do many things quickly. As it is all planned out the student always knows what needs too be done and by when. This aspect of the practicum appeals to many.
To help students make this impotent decision, it is important that they read up on the materials posted on this website. As always talking to others, especially those who have been through either process with us, is a very good idea.
6. What stops students from graduating?
The answer is simple. First, taking a leave of absence. Second, the thesis. Here are some issues related to students finishing the program.
People who voluntarily quit the MA
People kicked out of the MA
Among those people
- 80% took a leave of absence in their 1st/2nd semester
- 20% did in their 3rd semester
People who officially started but never finished the thesis
People who took a leave of absence right before doing the thesis
People who are taking leave of absence right before doing the thesis
People who have not graduated directly or presumably because of the thesis
People who failed to graduate from the Practicum
7.How can I get my transcripts after graduation?
Here is the pdf file explaining how to get transcripts online. Please open and take a look at it: 'How to get transcripts online'
