Today’s Student spotlight features current LTS student Austin Gaw
– blog post by Inês Bernardo Catarino, FLTA-LTS
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background!
Austin stands with his UO commencement regalia looking forward to the future
My name’s Austin Gaw, as you can probably tell. I graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. in 2023 with my bachelor’s degree in journalism before coming to UO for the LTS program. I’ve studied Japanese for six years, Latin for four years, French for a year, and picked up various pieces of Spanish from my childhood in southern California.
What brought you to language teaching? And to the UO?
Since I began learning languages in high school, I knew I wanted to do something with languages for my career. When I took a “Language-learning video games” class during my undergraduate education in D.C., I knew I needed to pursue the subject further. I knew UO had an amazing program from my research, so, here I am!
What have some of your past experiences been with language teaching? Do you have any specifically fond memories?
I took three language classes concurrently in high school, and I was obsessed with the different ways the classes were taught depending on the language. I especially remember bonding with my Latin classmates over our desire to use the language we were learning, even though it was technically a “dead language”.
What has been the highlight of your time in the program so far?
So far, I’ve enjoyed the hands-on experience I’ve been afforded through various projects, both in-class and out-of-class. I loved helping the Teikyo Oregon Experience Program, and I’ve enjoyed writing a mini research brief for my master’s project.
For the first photo, Austin stands with his Mom and dog, Bristol in 2021
How do you hope to work in the language teaching field in the future?
I plan to do work in the language teaching field that helps students who need it most. I’m supporting the Rwanda English Program this summer by analyzing samples that teachers have sent in. I believe my skills are best used to help students find their voice and become more intelligible and comprehensible.
What is something outside of language teaching that you are passionate about? A fun fact about yourself that others may not know?
Outside of language teaching, I’m drawn to creative writing and solving logic puzzles. As anyone else in the cohort likely knows, I also love solving crossword puzzles and anything on the New York Times games section.