EdM in Language & Literacy Education

The non-licensure master’s degree program is designed for professionals who wish to study the theoretical and empirical knowledge of language and literacy education that informs policy, practice, and research in home, schools, and communities. Students choose one of the three specializations: (a) Language Education, (b) Literacy Education, or (c) American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Studies. The program of 32 units comprises study of literacy development and language acquisition, with a strong emphasis on building on students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds and on students’ development of bilingual/multilingual competence. This program does not lead to a teacher license. It is best suited for graduate students who have a clear sense of what they want to learn in their master’s program and wish to tailor their program of study to fit their educational needs and intellectual interests.

Unlike the Reading Education, TESOL-Licensure, World Language Education, and Deaf Education programs, the Language & Literacy Education program does not offer students the opportunity to meet state licensure requirements for teaching in public schools. Therefore, although there is substantial overlap with these licensure programs in the course of study, students in Language & Literacy Education are not required to complete the field experiences required to meet licensure requirements.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of representative language/literacy/deaf studies research and theory and the ability to critically analyze the literature.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of effective practices in language/literacy assessment and instruction.
• Demonstrate knowledge of new and multimodal texts (including ASL texts, when applicable) and their effects on language/literacy learning in school, family, and community contexts.
• Demonstrate knowledge of cognitive, sociocultural, socioemotional, economic, and political components of language/literacy learning in school, family, and community contexts.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of role of language and culture in the literacy development and learning of children and adolescents.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the evidence-based approaches to educating bilingual and multilingual learners.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for building on students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds as assets in the learning process.

Program Requirements

Coursework (32 units)

All Specializations

• WED RS 600 Introduction to Research (4 units)

In consultation with an academic advisor, students design a program of 28 additional units selected from the following course offerings:

Literacy Education

• WED BI 620 Educational Issues in Bilingualism (4 units)
• WED LR 782 History of Reading Research (4 units)
• WED LS 627 Critical Analysis of Children’s and Young Adult Literature (4 units)
• WED LS 628 Exploring Picture Books for All Readers (4 units)
• WED LS 629 Looking at YA Literature through Multiple Lenses (4 units)
• WED LS 670 Multicultural Literacy PreK-Grade 12 (4 units)
• WED LS 690 Classroom Discourse as a Teaching and Learning Tool in Diverse Classrooms (4 units)
• WED LS 725 Discourse, Narrative, and Literacy (4 units)
• WED LS 727 Topical Seminar in Literacy and Language (variable units)
• WED LS 750 Culture, Language & Cognition (4 units)
• WED LS 762 Literacy Acquisition and Development: Addressing Strengths and Needs (4 units)
• WED LS 763 Clinical Intervention (2 units)
• WED LS 780 Reading Processes (4 units)
• WED LS 781 Processes of Writing (4 units)
• WED LS 790 Literacy Assessment to Inform Instruction (4 units)
• WED LS 792 Teaching Adolescent Readers and Writers (4 units)
• WED LS 793 School-Based Intervention (2 units)
• WED LS 902 Seminar in Early Literacy (4 units)
• WED LW 736 Teaching Writing in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools (4 units)

Language Education

• WED BI 515/TL 508 Methods in Bilingual Education/Methods in Teaching English as a Second Language (4 units)
• WED BI 535 Literacy Development for English Learners: Instruction and Assessment (4 units)
• WED BI 620 Educational Issues in Bilingualism (4 units)
• WED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 units)
• WED LS 565 Applied Linguistics: Language and Linguistics Survey (4 units)
• WED LS 610 Applied Phonology (4 units)
• WED LS 626 Intercultural Communication (4 units)
• WED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition (4 units)
• WED LS 725 Discourse, Narrative, and Literacy (4 units)
• WED LS 726 Discourse Analysis: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches (4 units)
• WED LS 750 Culture, Language & Cognition (4 units)
• WED TL 509 Foundations of TESOL Pedagogy (4 units)
• WED TL 511 Methods of Teaching Modern Foreign Languages (4 units)
• WED TL 512 Computer-Assisted Language Learning (4 units)
• WED TL 520 Teaching English Language Learners (4 units)

American Sign Language & Deaf Studies

Prerequisites (Note: Students will complete an ASL proficiency assessment prior to the first term, which will be used to determine appropriate placement in ASL courses.)

• WED DE 581 American Sign Language I (4 units)
• WED DE 582 American Sign Language II (4 units)

Required Coursework

• WED DE 572 Social Psychology and the Deaf World (4 units)
• WED DE 575 ASL Development in Deaf Children (4 units)
• WED DE 583 American Sign Language III (4 units)
• WED DE 584 American Sign Language IV (4 units)
• WED DE 585 Academic ASL (2 units)
• WED DE 586 Applied ASL (2 units)

Additional Coursework

• WED DE 551 Teaching Deaf Literature and Visual Arts (4 units)
• WED DE 573 Topics in Speech, Language, and Hearing for Deaf Educators (2 units)
• WED DE 576 Bilingual ASL/English Development, Assessment, and Planning for Deaf Children (4 units)
• WED DE 577 ASL/English Bilingual Instruction (4 units)
• WED DE 578 ASL/English Literacy Instruction (4 units)
• WED DE 672 Sign Language Structure (4 units)
• WED DE 691 Advanced Seminar: Learning and the Deaf (4 units)