Headstart in the Masters teacher education 1st degree English

Advanced Bachelor’s students who are interested in taking Master’s level courses can follow the Fast Tracking Master Teacher Education 1st degree English minor. This minor consists of 6 master’s courses in Literature, Linguistics, Writing, Drama and Methodology. The courses are designed to further students’ knowledge of both the subject matter and its relevance to upper secondary level teaching, while developing and exercising students’ critical thinking and research skills. 

This minor is meant for students from the bachelor teacher education programme English who are planning to pursue their 1st Degree English teacher certification and/or those who are looking for more depth in their teacher training. Through this minor you will be able to start the master’s programme by earning 30 ECs of the required credits. As long as the courses that you have passed are still part of the program content when you complete the master’s, you will not have to take these courses when pursuing your master’s.  

Admission

Students need to show an adequate level of language skills. HU students need to have passed two of the three following courses: Writing 3, Literature 3, and Speaking 3. Outside students need to prove C2 level and comparable level coursework in Writing, Literature (analysis), and Speaking. Students from outside of the HU will need to participate in an intake meeting if they cannot produce comparable coursework and/or C2-level certification. Part-time students can also take the minor.   

The Examination Board determines which minors do not have a higher professional education level and/or have an unacceptable overlap with the compulsory curriculum of your own study programme. Check at the page Not allowed minor courses under your institute which minors are not allowed. This page will be updated from 21 February for the 2025-20256 minor offer.

Content

As mentioned above, this minor allows you to get a head start in the master’s program by completing 6 of the 12 English department courses required for the master’s program. This means that students who later go on to complete the master’s program need only  30 additional credits of English courses, along with the 30EC of General Education courses (which are typically spread over 2 years, and linked to an upper level internship during that time).  

The master’s programme prepares students to teach English language and literature to the higher classes of Dutch higher secondary and tertiary education (HAVO, VWO and HBO in Dutch). During your time in this minor you grow as both an educator and an English language specialist. The programme is both practical and meant to strengthen your teaching know-how. Not only will you master English at a very high level, you are also taught a critical approach to education quality and innovation. You are expected to have an internship during the course of the minor, as you will need access to a group of students in order to complete some of the coursework (for example, collecting data from students for your Differentiation research, or teaching drama lessons to students for Drama in the Curriculum). 

Courses

Academic Writing 

This class is designed to strengthen your writing skills to prepare you for the writing tasks that are required for other Master’s courses. You will learn to recognize and utilize the key structural elements of the deductive essay, which is the foundation for all academic writing tasks. You will practice writing in a formal academic style, using a variety of simple and complex grammatical structures as well as academic vocabulary. Along the way, the readings for this course will expose you to high level academic writing which will reinforce the skills covered in the class. 

The learning goals of this course: 

• You can read and understand English at the C2 level of the Common European Framework or Reference for Languages. 
• You can produce written English texts at the C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 
• You can analyze and evaluate recent scientific studies on teaching writing in an effective written format in accordance with the criteria specified in the assessment rubric. 

Methodology: Teaching and Testing 

During the course you will research into literature and develop your vision of modern foreign language teaching. You will also self-assess your teacher competencies and reflect on them to see whether they are in line with the needs of today’s learners. Special attention is paid to understanding digital citizenship, digital didactics in connection with the different ways in which students can be guided in acquiring the four skills at B1 and B2 level (CEFR). You will also get acquainted with the ways to prepare learners for the final assessment at these levels, as well as the ways in which they can be assessed communicatively. 

Topic in the sessions will guide you to research modern foreign language, language policy and curricular requirements, student needs, the latest development in teaching methodology focusing on digital didactics and communicative testing. You will also reflect and design materials for teaching and assessing the upper secondary classes. You will present what you have learned and what assignments you have completed to each other during the meetings (formative assessment in the form of peer assessment and self-evaluation. 

Learning goals of this course: 

• You understand learners’ needs. 
• You develop a vision about your teaching, educational trends, digital didactics, and school policy. 
• You develop a cross-curricular lesson series plan including formative and summative testing 
• You develop materials for teaching in line with your vision and student needs. 
• You use knowledge of communicative testing and forms of testing 

Literary Toolbox 

The student acquires knowledge of literary and literary theoretical concepts, approaches and terminology and learns to apply these by means of text interpretation, analysis and appreciation of a great variety of literary texts. Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to tackle new texts on their own to enrich their future teaching practice. These will include poetry, short stories, a novel and a Shakespearean play. Subjects that will be discussed include imagery, meter, rhyme, perspective, setting, etc. During the course, the following working methods and materials will be used: literary texts, texts on literary analysis, recommended internet sources, lectures (these are offered online), working groups with plenary discussions and self-study.  

Learning goals of this course: 

• You will be introduced to a very diverse spectrum of literary texts. 
• You acquire literary-critical and literary-theoretical knowledge. 
• You develop skills to apply this knowledge to literary texts in order to interpret and evaluate them. 
• You are able to draw attention to a well-founded statement in a clear argument, both orally and in writing and to defend it adequately on the basis of knowledge and insight. 

Highlights from English Literature 

You read a number of novels from the canon of English literary history from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The novels are discussed from both a literary historical and a thematic point of view. One novel per class week is read and there are often elective opportunities. The novels are read within historical context so that you learn to recognize and name literary historical features. In addition, the works are approached thematically, from the theme of “heroes and villains. 

Learning goals of this course: 

• You have an overview of the historical development of English-language (here British) literature, distinguish the main movements and periods, and have read and studied representative literary texts and place these works in their social and historical context. 
• You formally and substantively analyze, interpret, and discuss literary texts using literary and literary theory concepts, approaches, and terminology. 
• You place artistic and socially significant phenomena within their historical and cultural contexts.  
• You place a literary work in the broad context of a cultural movement and name the common features of cultural expressions. 

Drama in the Curriculum 

This course offers a general introduction to the cultural backgrounds and history of theatre in the English-speaking world and explores the possibilities of using drama in upper-level language classrooms. Students become familiar with improvisation, dialogues, role-plays, and other drama techniques geared toward the development of advanced language skills. Students study plays from the point of view of literary analysis and as performance pieces; in response they will make an electronic documentary-style presentation and participate in an interview based on an analysis of three plays from a modern playwright or movement from the English-speaking world. Students also put together a teacher pack including materials they have found and/or created for upper-level English class, as well as making a recording of a lesson in which one activity is conducted with upper-level students and verbally reflected upon. Throughout the course students work on their own speaking skills and should be able to demonstrate CEFR C2-level by the end of the course. 

Learning goals of this course: 

• You apply different drama techniques and dramatic literature in a first-degree English curriculum and reflect on them in connection with theories of language acquisition. 
• You analyze dramatic literature in English and critically analyze related secondary sources. 
• You express yourself in a dynamic way and at CEFR level C2 for both speaking and having conversations. 

Linguistics 1: Linguistics in Practice 

In this course, you learn how principles and approaches from general linguistics can be applied to second language acquisition and how these principles and approaches play a role in second language acquisition. You begin by learning the principles of second language acquisition research. Then the different approaches are discussed: implicit and explicit cognitive approaches, interactional approaches, meaning-based perspectives, and sociocultural perspectives. The course is assessed with a digital theory test (50% of final mark) on the concepts and approaches to second language acquisition and a theoretical research report (50% of the final  mark) in which different studies and/or approaches are compared and from which your own conclusions are drawn. 

Learning goals of this course: 

• You know the concepts and approaches from theoretical and applied linguistics relevant to the study and description of second language acquisition. 
• You recognize those concepts and approaches in the practice of language acquisition. 
• You critically consider the implications of those concepts and approaches for foreign language teaching in upper school. 
• You critically examine a linguistic sub-topic and give a clear written report on it. 

Assessment

Test             Course                                  Assessment form
Period

A or B           Academic Writing                  Portfolio of revised essays & Take-home exam

A or B           Differentiation                        Report & Essay

B or C           Literary Toolbox                    Written Exam

B or C           Highlights from                      Written Exam & Workshop presentation
English Literature

C or D           Linguistics 1                            Digital Test & Research Report

C or D           Drama in the Curriculum    Oral Exam & Teacher Pack

Literature

Academic Writing 

Reading materials available on the Canvas site 

Methodology: Teaching & Testing 

• Tomlinson, C.A. (2017). How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms (3rd ed). Virginia, USA: ASCD 
• Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2nd ed). Virginia, USA: ASCD 

Literary Toolbox 

Mandatory: 

• Bainbridge, Beryl. (1974) The Bottle Factory Outing.  
• Murfin, Ross and Ray, Supryia M. (2009) The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary  
• Terms. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s 
• Shakespeare, William. (1606/1623) Macbeth. (an annotated edition like from the series  
• Cambridge School Shakespeare)  
• Highlights from English Literature 

Mandatory: 

• Terry Eagleton, The English Novel, ISBN 978-1-4051-1707-4, , 1e druk, 2005, Blackwell Publishing 
• Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813 
• Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights 1847 
• Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, 1721 
• Choice: Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1961 OR Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, 1932, 
• Choice: Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1903 OR Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Ubervilles, 1891 
• Choice: Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1861 OR W.M. Thackerey, Vanity Fair. 1848 
• Choice: David Herbert Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, 1928 OR Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, 1925 

Linguistics 1: Linguistics in Practice 

Mandatory: 

• Mitchell, R, Myles, F and Marsden, E., Second Language Learning Theories, by Rosamond, Taylor & Francis Ltd , Fourth Edition 

Drama in the Curriculum: 

Mandatory: 

• Maley, A. & Duff, A. (2005) Drama Techniques: A Resource Book of Communication Activities for Language Teachers. 3rd revised edition, Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521601191  
• 3 contemporary plays originally written in English upon teacher approval 

Recommended: 

• Schrivener, J. (2010) Teaching English Grammar, Macmillan Education ISBN: 9780230723214 (Recommended) 

Schedule

With the exception of the first teaching period of the academic year (starting September), the lesson and test schedules are always posted on Mijn Rooster four weeks before the start of each teaching period. The schedule for the first teaching period of the academic year can be found on the site three weeks before the start. The most up-to-date schedule is always visible on Mijn Rooster.

At HU, full-time education may be scheduled between 08:30 and 19:00.

Additional costs

Aside from the mandatory books, there are no additional costs for this minor. 

* While we do not anticipate any alterations to the master’s curriculum, courses are subject to change. All courses except Differentiation will nonetheless count toward completion of your master’s degree.  It is also important to note that after completing these courses, it will still likely take you 2 years to complete your master’s once you officially enroll after graduating with your bachelor’s. This is due to the fact that the series of research courses you will take are designed to be completed over two years, and you will need to complete 80 hours of upper-level teaching per year (160 hours in total). Nonetheless, if you have already completed these courses, you will have a much lighter course load, which will allow you to concentrate more fully on teaching and research.