Linguistics courses concentrating on the scientific study of language and language learning have long been a staple of the MSU English Department. However, over the past few years the English Department’s linguistics program at MSU has been steadily growing and making stronger connections with other disciplines within the English Department and across campus. This growth includes links with the Foreign Languages Department, the Anthropology Department, the Sociology Department, and the Psychology Department. In fact, a number of our linguistics courses are cross-listed in Anthropology. The combination of students from varied disciplinary backgrounds in the classroom provides a rich environment for them to learn new ways of thinking about language. 

Within the last two years the English Department has begun to offer both a certificate program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and a linguistics emphasis in the Master of Arts degree. In addition, the university now offers a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics through its General Liberal Arts degree program. These new opportunities have led to an increase in linguistics enrollment and to wider class selections, including both an on-campus Methods in TESOL course and a TESOL Practicum course that takes place in Monterrey, Mexico.

Currently the linguistic program offers nine classes which are staffed by two faculty members: Scott Crossley and Ginger Pizer. Dr. Crossley acts as the TESOL Director and is responsible for teaching the majority of the classes related to the TESOL certificate and TESOL MA emphasis. These classes include Introduction to Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Syntax, TESOL Approaches, TESOL Practicum, and TESOL Methods. Dr. Pizer teaches the majority of the general linguistics classes related to the MA in linguistics including Sociolinguistics, English Grammar, History of the English Language, Language and Culture, as well as Introduction to Linguistics.

The most popular program offered in linguistics is the TESOL Certificate program. Every year, the English Departments grants about 15 TESOL Certificates to students from the English Department, Foreign Languages Department, Psychology Department and many other departments on campus. The certificates demonstrate that the students have received training in linguistic and pedagogical theory, knowledge critical for job placement in English-teaching positions both in the United States and abroad. The English Department, along with the Department of Education and the State of Mississippi, also provides TESOL supplemental endorsements for education majors. The supplemental endorsement broadens the job market for credentialed teachers in the State of Mississippi.

Linguistics faculty members have also been active in working with traditional English majors through undergraduate advising and guest lectures in the English Studies Class and the Graduate Research in English class. Additionally, a special-topics split level course was offered in the spring 2008 semester entitled Linguistics in Literature. The class focused on links between linguistic theory and the critical interpretation of literature. 

Our linguistics majors also serve an important function in our community and in communities abroad. Over the past few years various linguistic students have volunteered their time, energy, and expertise in local school districts, industries, and service organizations by helping tutor and mentor English second language learners. These efforts have included outreach in the Starkville, West Point, and Meridian school systems, the English as a Second Language Center at Mississippi State University and the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS). In addition, ten TESOL students took part in a study abroad program last summer in Monterrey, Mexico. Working with the LaSalle School system, the TESOL students gained critical practical experience teaching English to non-native speakers in a foreign language environment. The students also traveled throughout northern Mexico and were introduced to the Mexican culture and the Spanish language. The students also gained MSU class credit by enrolling in the TESOL Practicum course offered through the English Department.

TESOL graduates have been successful at finding employment opportunities abroad and in the United States. Because of our strong links to our sister universities in South Korea and our dynamic Korean exchange program, many American TESOL graduates have joined their Korean classmates and friends teaching in South Korea. These students include Emily Stinson, Sara McAdory, and Scott McMullin. Brad Vice, a recent TESOL graduate, is currently a professor of English at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. In addition, Brian Coffman, who graduated in 2007, is employed as both an engineer and an English teacher in China. Two past TESOL graduates (Charlie Lin and Tinukwa Chibuzor Okojie) are in the process of finishing their Ph.D. in the Education Department. There is also a strong contingent of TESOL graduates using the skills they acquired in both TESOL and foreign language classes to teach in the MSU Foreign Language Department. These include Taylor Dearman, Anna Debicka-Dyer, Amie Russell, and Lori Sizemore (who also taught in Central America after graduation). Additionally, many of our TESOL graduates have accepted teaching positions in public schools across Mississippi and Tennessee.

TESOL Certificate Ceremony, Spring 2008

The linguistics program is a crucial part of the MSU English Department. The strength of our program lies in its integration with the other English disciplines and its focus on language and language learning. With the continued support of the faculty, the staff, and, most importantly, the students, the linguistics program should continue to develop and play an important role in the growth of the English Department.