English as an Additional Language PgDip

<strong>The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.</strong><br/><br/>The PGDip in English as an Additional Language (EAL), designed for education professionals working with multilingual learners in the national and international sectors, grounds students in EAL research evidence to help inform policy and practice.<br/><br/>Delivery of this course is mostly online, with a one-week residential component.<br/><br/>Across all components of the PG Diploma, students will receive a grounding in core knowledge and skills, and cover four key themes of EAL policy and pedagogy:<br/><br/><br/>• Understanding who EAL Learners are and associated theory;<br/><br/><br/><br/>• School-level policy for EAL;<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Supporting classroom practice for EAL learners; and<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Understanding approaches to research in EAL.<br/><br/><br/><br/>The core aims of the course are to promote:<br/><br/><br/>- understanding of theory and research relating to language acquisition among school-aged EAL learners, and effective related pedagogy<br/><br/><br/>- a practical understanding of research-informed practice, including critically engaging with research evidence and designing and conducting classroom-based research<br/><br/><br/>- an understanding of cross-cutting themes relevant to research-informed EAL practice<br/><br/><br/>- the application of research and theory to practice through reflection on ones’ own teaching<br/><br/><br/>- the skills of independent critical thought, rational inquiry, and self-directed learning<br/><br/><br/>- critical engagement with, and reflection on, current issues and debates in the field of EAL research and practice through the lens of research and theory.<br/><br/><br/>Course structure<br/>The course consists of three summatively assessed modules, and a one-week residential which will be formatively assessed. An optional research skills module will be available for the duration of the course and can be studied independently at your own pace.<br/><br/>With the exception of the residential induction week and the independent study, all modules are delivered asynchronously online through Canvas, the University’s online learning platform. Sessions will be posted weekly, and you will engage with them at your own pace over the week. Typically, each session will consist of a pre-recorded lecture, accompanied by a mix of pre- and post-lecture readings, forum discussions, quizzes and activities. You should expect to spend about ten hours per week engaging directly with the module materials. Module leads will convene a live online Q&A session at least once per term.<br/><br/>Work on your independent study will begin with discussions with your supervisor at the start of the course, and will be your sole focus of Trinity term and the long vacation. Typically, this will involve engaging in background reading, collecting data (in your school or setting), and writing up.<br/><br/>Employment in, or access to, an appropriate professional context (eg school, early years setting, ethnic minority achievement service, youth group, etc) will be helpful. Many of the activities will ask you to reflect on the relationship between your learning and a relevant context. Your independent study may focus on your professional context and/or the learners in them. <br/><br/>You will be entitled to attend the department’s fortnightly applied linguistics lunchtime seminars and weekly public lectures, all of which are streamed live and recorded for viewing later.