Jennifer Dai
MA in Linguistics graduate
Time flies. It has been eight long years since I completed my MA (Linguistics) studies. I still remember very clearly the day when I went to the Department's General Office to submit my thesis. It was a bright sunny day in June. After handing in my paper, I decided to walk down the hill to the train station rather than take the shuttle bus, as I wanted to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of a place which is twice my alma mater.
As I was making my way down to the station, I could not help thinking back to the two years I had spent attending the MA (Linguistics) course. It had been tough, very tough. I was teaching English during the day and going to classes at night, to learn how to become a more effective teacher. It was not easy at all but the diligence and persistence have paid off. Not only did I receive my degree – that was very important to me from a practical point of view, I have also been taught knowledge and skills far beyond my expectations.
Before MA, I used to feel frustrated when my students repeated the same mistake over and over again, in spite of my constant correction. But doing the Course, I came to know that error correction is no simple matter. Students do not always eliminate their mistakes just like that. Many other factors could be at work, for example, affect and attention. Slowly, I began to adopt a more understanding attitude and instead of feeling frustrated, I now try to think of ways to inspire my students to love English. Although I am not always successful, at least, I am doing something constructive.
I was, still am, especially interested in the topic of language acquisition. Quite a few of the electives I chose were related to it. When I first heard about implicit and explicit learning, I thought to myself: Ah, Eureka, this is it! I thought it was such an important concept for me to grasp and remember as an English teacher, when many of my students believed that grammar drills was the only answer to improving their English. Now, when there is time, I will share this concept with my students and encourage them to read more and listen to BBC or other telecasts by native speakers and not just focus on grammar exercises, which are, of course, useful in themselves, too.
My MA studies have given me much more than practical knowledge. I had gone to school at a time when students were not required to make oral presentations. This classroom practice was totally new to me. Now that I have been through them myself, I have a better idea of what my own students face and I will try to relax them by smiling and offering words of encouragement when they feel nervous. It was such a wonderful experience doing MA and I owe this wonderful experience to all my teachers at the Department. I have learnt so much from them. The ladies at the office were ever so kind and helpful too. May I wish the Department a very happy tenth anniversary and many more brilliant and successful years beyond.