FLT Course Descriptions

All courses in the FLT curriculum are fully online and credit bearing. They are asynchronous, but not canned. You will interact with faculty and peers throughout the 14-week semester. Courses begin in September, January, or May.

If you have been accepted into the MAFLT or the FLT Certificate, you may enroll yourself at student.msu.edu. If you are new to MSU or you are a student in a different MSU graduate program, click How to Enroll for next steps.

See the Program Handbook for sample trajectories that show various sequences and paces for completing the program.

See Semester Updates for upcoming offerings. Courses are offered every year, often in multiple semesters per year.

See FAQs for more information on cost, eligibility, recommended hardware and software, etc.

Click here for Program Requirements

Courses Offered 2023
This chart shows when courses are typically offered. Search available courses via SIS (student.msu.edu).

FLT Content Courses

Credits: 3

History of methods in foreign language instruction. Current practices in language teaching, materials design, and classroom management. Techniques in teaching culture, listening, speaking, reading, and writing at various levels of student proficiency in the foreign language. How to motivate and maintain motivation. Strategies instruction and targeting advanced proficiency.

FLT 807 Foreign Language Teaching Methods – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Classroom diagnostic and achievement assessment. Reliability and validity of language tests. Standardized and performance-based testing. Program-level assessment. Measuring language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar, and as integrated skills. Formative and summative assessment. Alternative assessment methods.

FLT 808 Assessment – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Methodologies for teaching culture in foreign language courses. Definitions of culture. Interrelatedness of language and culture. Application of theory to development of culture teaching strategies for any foreign language course.

FLT 815 Culture – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Current issues in language program administration and development. Practical application of theory in foreign language program development, marketing, articulation, technology integration, supervision, curriculum design, program evaluation, and teacher training.

FLT 817 Program Development and Administration – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Selected topics and issues in foreign language learning and teaching. The topics of FLT 841 are determined by the professor teaching the course and may vary from year to year. Past topics have included Sociolinguistics and Spoken Language, Literacy and Biliteracy, and Reflective Teaching and Teacher Inquiry. 

FLT 841 Special Topics – Sociolinguistics and Spoken Language – Sample Syllabus

FLT 841 Special Topics – L2 Literacy – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Methodologies for teaching phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, discourse and pragmatic systems in foreign language courses.

FLT 845 Language Concepts – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Factors in foreign language learning such as age, motivation, language input and interaction, social influences, the role of the native language, and language universals.

FLT 860 Foreign/Second Language Acquisition – Sample Syllabus

Credits: 3

Teaching a foreign language with technology. Web applications for online foreign language instruction, hybrid learning, and distance learning. Feedback in online environments, including within computer-mediated communication. Online materials development. Creating interaction online. Online task development, evaluation of online tasks. Creating foreign language class web pages.

FLT 881 Technology – Sample Syllabus

Experiential Module

MAFLT students may enroll in an Experiential Module with approval of the Program Director or the EM Mentor (who approves an override for the student to enroll in the course). Experiential Modules should be taken during the student’s final year in the program. At least one semester before you intend to enroll in the EM course, you should fill out the EM Application and meet with the EM Mentor to discuss your plans for the project. 

Five credits are required that consist of one Experiential Module for five credits or two Experiential Modules, one for three credits and one for two credits. Students may choose from the existing list of Experiential Modules or design other Experiential Modules in consultation with the Experiential Module Mentor (the professor offering the Experiential Module course). Selections will be based on the individual background and professional goals of the student.  An Experiential Module application must be completed and approved by the student, the EM Mentor, and the Program Director. For more information on EM options and expectations as well as the EM application, current students can look in the EM folder in the MAFLT Community in D2L (our online course management system). 

Credits: variable from 2 to 5

* MAFLT students must request an override from the instructor of record before enrolling in the Experiential Module course.  

FLT 885 Experiential Modules – Sample Syllabus

Currently available Experiential Modules include the following project types:

  • Action Research Project (5 credits)
  • Ethnographic Research Project (5 credits)
  • Community Outreach/Service Learning (5 credits)
  • Language or Area Studies Immersion (5 credits)
  • Teaching Practicum (5 credits)
  • Internship in Program Administration or Teacher Supervision (5 credits)
  • Developing an Assessment Tool (5 credits)
  • Professional Seminars for Teachers (2 or 3 credits)
  • Materials or Curriculum Design (2, 3, or 5 credits)
  • Conference Participation (2 credits)
  • Self-Designed Module (2, 3, or 5 credits)

Final Portfolio

The MAFLT Program culminates with a Final Portfolio. For institutional reasons, this is also referred to as the Comprehensive Exam. These portfolios are fully online and include materials drawn from other coursework as well as some new material. In the final semester, enroll in the following course. Click here for links to alumni portfolios: Showcase | Final Portfolios.

Credits: 1

Final comprehensive portfolio exam.

MAFLT students may enroll in the MA Comprehensive Exam (Final Portfolio) with approval of the Program Director (who approves an override for the student to enroll in the examination). This exam involves review and approval of the portfolio content by appointed faculty members. 

* MAFLT students must request an override from the instructor of record before enrolling in the Final Portfolio course, FLT 898.  

FLT 898 Final Portfolio – Sample Syllabus