We are starting off the 2021 new year with an inspiring image and post from Elaine, a current 2nd year student in the LTS program.

Hello Elaine! Could you tell us a little about your language background?

My name’s Elaine. I’m a native Chinese speaker and I can speak English and Japanese as second languages. I started to learn English when I was 6 because of the requirements of our national education system. Later when I was around 8, my mom taught me 2 Japanese phrases and I realized Japanese was very interesting. I started to learn Japanese more seriously 3 years ago here at UO. I found learning languages has become a huge part of my interests and I really enjoy it. That is also the reason for me to choose LTS for my MA major.

You have been doing the longer, 2-year schedule of the program. What do you think have been the advantages of doing this? 

I consider myself to be a slow learner and I always need more time to complete readings than other students do, for example. So I chose the 2-year schedule of my MA program. I have experienced many advantages of doing this. First, it gives me time and “supports” for deciding on my MA project topic. I have changed my topic many times since being in the program because even though I had a general idea of what I wanted to focus on, I was still confused about how I should define it specifically. During the first-year of my study, I learned various teaching skills. By reading different articles, I learned about different needs of students with different backgrounds and goals. Sometimes I can feel a resonance with people in such studies. So, after the first year, I found the topic I wanted to focus on was becoming clearer and more “shaped”. Another advantage is that since the 2-year learning schedule is much more flexible than 15-month version, I could have more time to do extra readings, and I had more time to select and collect the articles I need. When I have more time to do these things, I feel less stressed and had more time to think while reading, which was also helpful for shaping my topic.

What is your MA Project topic about? What inspired you to tackle this topic? 

My MA project topic is “Integrating video games into curricula for EFL learners in China”. I decided on this topic in the end for few reasons. First, I’m a gamer and I love playing different games. I found that I have learned a lot from the games I played even though some of them were in Chinese. When I was playing games in English and Japanese, I learned a lot of vocabulary and saw how the characters use the languages in ways that are different from the examples in textbooks. I started to think of the possibility of integrating games into language teaching and learning. That way, learning could become a fun thing for students to do, and teachers would have more choices when they are designing their classes.

What else has been important to you during the LTS program? 

Overall, I love being a member of LTS program. I found what I need for my future. I found friends with similar goals and they are so encouraging to me. LTS is not only a program or a mission to me, but a second family. I feel glad to be here and I will always tell people who want to become a language teacher in the future: “Come join us! We’ll make a great episode for your life journey.”