Pang Wai Yin
MA in Linguistics graduate
A few years ago, when I was still an undergraduate student of CUHK, I took some courses offered by the Modern Languages Department. I was delighted by the effort of the course teachers and their passion for teaching. The courses were well designed, allowing for our language proficiency to gradually improve. The courses helped us develop different skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing. Listening and speaking were more difficult, but our teachers were very patient and supportive to encourage us to learn. They also made the class fun. We played small games in class through which we learned new vocabulary and grammar. We talked a lot and did short role plays in class in order to practise the language. We also watched cartoons and movies in the target language. In the summer session, we watched Spanish movies in a big lecture hall as if we were in a cinema. Our teachers also shared some stories from their home countries and the interesting experiences they had in Hong Kong. I got to know not only a new language but also a new culture and perspective with which to view my home city. Overall, I liked the language courses very much because they were like wonderful little retreats from the heavy course load.
Though I did not study in any language-related discipline before, I had a strong desire to know and to learn more about languages, so I applied for the MA in Linguistics programme. Fortunately, I was accepted. Though it was great to enter the field, it was challenging for me because everything was new - technical terms, theories and methodologies. I had to catch up fast in order to follow the intensive class schedule and to meet the requirements. Our professors required work of high quality. It was quite demanding but they pushed us to learn and gain more from the courses. It was rewarding to write my thesis under Prof. Yip's supervision. She was very supportive and gave me useful comments and advice throughout my research project on language acquisition. It also gave me beautiful memories of getting to know some friendly classmates at the orientation dinner, who sat with me at the same table with Prof. Gladys Tang. I was impressed by Prof. Tang who has been working for decades to bring social attention and changes to the deaf community. I had a very good time with my classmates who were excellent study partners, determined and diligent to pursue their goals. I could tell they loved linguistics a lot!
Currently, I am working as a Research Assistant in a laboratory of our Department. I am developing an understanding of how scientific linguistic research can be conducted. The on-going research projects in the laboratory concern language learning, speech perception, music perception, language disorders and the brain and genetics. I would like to thank Prof. Patrick Wong who gave me this opportunity. It is wonderful to work in a university environment surrounded by intelligent people with whom I can engage in intellectual conversations, My colleagues in the laboratory and staff in our Department are all willing to share their knowledge, expertise and current and past research experiences. There is always something new to learn everyday that makes my working life enjoyable. Changing from a language student to a research staff, I feel I have grown with our Department. I would like to wish our Department a Happy 10th anniversary!