About the Program

The Language Acquisition and Teaching MA program offers professional preparation to students seeking careers in applied linguistics, foreign language education, computer–assisted language learning and instruction, and other related areas.

Students become familiar with current theories of second language acquisition and develop basic skills in applying that knowledge to teaching, testing, and classroom–oriented research in their language of specialization.

The program is flexible, with emphases varying according to students’ interests and faculty members’ expertise. It is ideally suited to the needs of the following types of students:

• Students who have completed undergraduate majors in foreign languages, applied linguistics, or related fields, and who are preparing for careers in academic settings.
• Foreign language teachers who wish to further their professional education and acquire more specialized competency in their fields.
• Students seeking the necessary preparation for advanced research and work in the field of high–technology applications to language learning and instruction.

Students are admitted to the program with a specific language specialization in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, or Russian.

To see a more detailed description of the program, take a look at the BYU Graduate Catalog (page 146).