Are you thinking about joining the LTS program (or currently looking for a Master’s program dedicated to language education and pedagogy) but aren’t quite sure about your motivations to take the graduate school plunge or wondering what you can expect out of such a program? In order to help prospective students understand what the LTS program is all about we asked current graduate students about their reasons for signing up to be a member of the LTS 2016-2017 cohort!

Why did you join the LTS program?

• Suparada Eak-in (Thailand): “I am an English teacher in Thailand. I joined the LTS program because I wanted to gain more knowledge and experience about teaching, language and culture.”
• Anh Duong (Vietnam): “I’m a Vietnamese FLTA. I joined the program because I am an English teacher in my home country, so I believe I will benefit a lot from the program developing my teaching skills and to know more about American education.”
• Aska Okamoto (Tokyo, Japan): “I did the SLAT program when I was in undergrad and really liked it. I worked at a Japanese Immersion school for one year as an OPT and decided to come back as an LTS student because I want to research more about L2 teaching.”
• Dan White (Portland, Oregon): “I became interested in language teaching while getting my undergrad in Linguistics. I taught English in Korea for 3 years, and I would like to get my Master’s to become a better language teacher.”
  
• Kainat Shaikh (Pakistan): “I am an FLTA teaching the Urdu language at the Yamada Language Center. I am a Fulbright scholar and researcher. I joined LTS to experience American classes and to learn from the experience of the UO faculty. LTS will improve my English teaching methodologies and will bring light upon modern pedagogy.”
• Iryna Zagoruyko (Ukraine): “I’m very fascinated with teaching after I’ve been teaching Russian for two years at the U of O.”
• Becky Lawrence (Lafayette, Louisiana): “I originally joined LTS because it was a short program that would allow me to specialize in English teaching. However, I realized that there were many opportunities for me that I’m so grateful for. I got to meet others from many countries around the world, which has expanded my perspective greatly. I also extended my time another year so that I can do an internship in Japan for this term. Basically, the LTS program has everything I ever wanted in an MA program and more!”
• Ruya Zhao (Beijing, China): “First, I’ve been dreaming of being a language teacher. Second, as an international student (as well as bilingual in English and Chinese), this program offers me many chances to practice and learn pedagogical theories.”
• Juli Accurso (Ohio): “I joined the LTS program because it was the next ‘academic’ step that blended with my interests in language, linguistics and teaching that I discovered in undergrad!”
• Sue Yoon (South Korea): “I really enjoyed taking LT courses as an undergraduate student here at UO, so I decided to join the LTS program and learn more about language teaching!”
• Chris Meierotto (Denver, Colorado): “I felt that the program offered through the University of Oregon was more attractive than other teaching programs because of its focus on application, emphasis on technology, and its fundamental approach as a language teaching program rather than just an English program.”
• Jiyoon Lee (Seoul, South Korea): “I liked the uniqueness of this program. I want to teach both Korean and English in the future, and this program allows me to focus on multiple languages. It’s great that I can take some elective classes from the EALL department as well.”
• Yan Deng (China): “There are three reasons. First, when I was little, I wanted to be a language teacher. Second, LTS is a wonderful program and I could learn a lot from it. Third, there are a lot of people who come from different countries. Since I want to make new friends, I love the LTS program.”
• Heidi Shi (China): “I’m currently a Ph.D student majoring in Chinese linguistics. The LTS program is my concurrent degree and the reason why I wanted to join was because it facilitates my research in Chinese pedagogy.”
• Lin Zhu (China): “I realize that teaching one’s own native language is not as easy as I thought. So, the LTS program is really helpful for me to be a good language teacher.”
  
• George Minchillo (Dallas, Texas): “After graduating from my undergraduate studies, I wanted to take some time to travel. When the English Program in Korea offered me the opportunity to travel and work at the same time teaching English, I couldn’t resist. After a year teaching in Korea, I decided to pursue a graduate program that would allow me to continue on this career path and the LTS program promised just that. I’ve seen the success of former students and couldn’t wait to join the cohort!”
• Adam Li (China): “I was eager to learn more techniques in LTS and it’s also easy to get a concurrent degree with my EALL program.”
• Valeria Ochoa (Las Vegas, Nevada): “I joined the LTS program to help others learn language efficiently and comfortably as well as to better understand how language acquisition works. I also want to be an awesome, well-prepared teacher.”
• Irena Njenga (Kenya): “I want to learn how to integrate language and culture.”
• Joliene Adams (Portland, Oregon): “I joined LTS because it’s more than your average TESOL program, because of a diversity of language teaching and potential languages one could teach that are offered within, and because of the job placement rate and satisfaction I found when researching graduates!”
• Kunie Kellem (Japan): “I would like to learn the practical methodology for teaching students in Japan.”
• Krystal Lyau (Taiwan): “I would like to become a language teacher, and help my students learn a second language without suffering.”
• Devon Hughes (Dunn, North Carolina): “I joined the LTS program because it offered, on paper, the same courses as a M.A. in Education TESOL, with the added benefits of being housed in the linguistics department and the partnership with the AEI. I knew, with both of these aspects, I would be able to have a solid, theoretical linguistic foundation on which to build a career of application and practice in the TESOL classroom. The opportunity to be the AEI GE also made this program stand out from the rest. It’s rare to receive funding in the social sciences at the Master’s level. I’m thrilled to have work in the exact type of classroom I want to be in after graduation.”

Are you currently an undergraduate student who may be interested in joining the LTS program in the future? Or are you perhaps a graduate student who is interested in becoming a language teacher but are not sure another Master’s degree is what you’re looking for? We also asked students pursuing the Linguistics department’s SLAT certification (and taking classes together with the LTS cohort) about their interest in language teaching!

Why did you pursue the SLAT certification?

• Maude Molesworth (San Francisco, California): “I joined the SLAT program because I am interested in teaching, and possibly teaching English abroad after I graduate.”
• Jeremy Morse (Eugene, Oregon): “I think the knowledge and experience I can gain from the SLAT classes prepare me perfectly for what I want to do next: teaching English abroad.”
• Teal Henshen (Springfield, Oregon): “I joined the SLAT program because I love languages and want to travel to teach.”
• Russell Morgan (Los Angeles, California): “As a linguistics major it seemed like a good option to get a certificate while completing my upper division credits. I’d like to go overseas to teach and maybe come back for a Master’s.”