Obtaining a Master of Arts in Teaching English and Reading, often called Language Arts, allows teachers to enhance their professional knowledge and teaching skills. Some programs require students to already be teaching, but most just require applicants to have a bachelor’s degree. For those who just have a bachelor’s degree, look for programs that combine teaching certification preparation and language arts specialization.

The English Teaching Profession

Reading, writing, and the critical thinking skills that go with them are vitally important in today’s global economy. The ability to put an intelligent, grammatically correct, sentence together separates those who are hired from those who aren’t. It’s the most important, and often one of the least valued, subjects in school. Language Arts teachers usually teach middle school and high school grades which come with disciplinary challenges.

Earning a Master’s in Teaching English and Reading

Master’s degree programs in teaching English and Reading (or language arts) include graduate level English courses in poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction writing, rhetoric and composition, linguistics, grammar, children’s literature and young adult literature, as well as courses in teaching methods, lesson planning and activities. Many have a research component as well for which students must conduct research in literacy and present their findings.