Author: sdeng@uoregon.edu

Student Spotlight: Xiaoshuang Wei

IMG_0184Xiaoshuang Wei is from the Northwest of China. Her undergraduate major was English literature. In her senior year in college, she went on an exchange program in Eugene for five months. After getting her BA, she went back to U of O to pursue her Master’s degree.

What do you think about your learning experience here?
I really like the friendly and supportive cohort environment in this program. LTS is a program that encourages cooperation and highly values cultural diversity. I benefited just as much from working with my cohort members as learning from the teachers. Coming from China I’m used to passively listening to teachers lecture in class. In LTS classes, I experienced different teaching styles, which gave me great inspiration in developing my own teaching philosophy.

What is your MA topic? Why do you choose this MA topic?

My MA topic is Grammar and Cohesion — developing discourse ability in American learners of Chinese. I was interested in this topic from when I was doing my GTF as a Chinese tutor for the Chinese Flagship program in U of O. Grading and giving feedback on students’ writing has always been a challenge. Many students’ writing sounds alien; however when you look at individual sentences, they are mostly grammatically correct. This makes me wonder what it is that makes their writing incoherent and what the teachers can do to help improve students’ overall discourse ability.

What process have you experienced to finish it? What is the most challenging part?

I took a more linguistic approach in finishing this project. Unlike most of my cohort members who did surveys in their needs analyses, I created a mini corpus of all the students’ writing samples and did a writing analysis. The most challenging work is to create teaching material and activities that use the methodology we’ve learned in LTS classes to tackle the problems identified in the writing analysis. It is a valuable experience for me to modify teaching methods and activities that were originally designed for TESL/TEFL context to teach Chinese, a language that’s drastically different from English.

Do you have any suggestions for our cohort who haven’t finished our MA projects?
I believe that interest is the biggest motivation. Find out a real need or something you want to investigate and start from there. It is normal to feel stuck or overwhelmed. Talk to your advisors with specific questions that you have and ask for recommendations for big names in the field or important literature. The teachers are always happy to help you and they all want us to succeed.

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Student Spotlight: Becky Lawrence

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Becky Lawrence, originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, double majored in English and Spanish Linguistics. She is currently learning Japanese as her third language and dreams of teaching English at a university in Japan. She is interested in integrating digital games and creative writing into her future classrooms.

Why did you choose the LTS program?
 
I chose the LTS program at the UO because it offered something I couldn’t get anywhere else I researched: the ability to obtain a Master’s degree through an intensive one-year program completed with a small cohort of peers under the guidance of excellent faculty. During the day, I am a busy graduate student with classes and work. When I go home, however, I hang up my backpack and leave the student life at the door because I have a three and a half year old who has missed me all day. Being able to get such an amazing education in half the time allows me to get into my desired career sooner than anywhere else. It is almost too good to be true!
 
What are you involved in outside of your LTS classes?
 

I am currently a Conversation Partner and Help Desk Writing Tutor at the American English Institute (AEI), an intern at the CASLS, the Center for Applied Second Language Studies, and an English Language Circle Leader at Mills International Center.

How do you balance everything that you do?

I wake up every morning and look at my child. It really is that simple. Seeing her young, innocent face and imagining the dreams I want her to be able to achieve one day gives me the motivation to do everything I can to not only provide for my family, but to show her that she can do anything she dreams of as long as she never gives up.

What advice would you give to other parents about going to grad school?

Don’t ever limit or label yourself. Don’t think that you’re too old, or too busy, or too anything. If you want to go to graduate school, do it! The hardest part is believing in yourself. The only things that are impossible in life are the things you have never tried doing.

What are you most looking forward to this year in class or in your other involvements?

I am looking forward to starting on my Master’s Project! Although it’s going to be a long and most likely difficult road (which is why energy drinks were invented !),  I am so excited to create something that will be useful to me in my career as a language teacher.

sdeng@uoregon.edu 1 Comment

Student Spotlight: Katie Carpenter, a new GTF at CASLS

Katie Carpenter is originally from Anchorage, Alaska. She speaks Spanish, and some Japanese and Portuguese, and is interested in learner engagement and motivation, and curriculum and materials planning. She has taught English at a language school in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, working with all levels.

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Why did you choose the LTS program?

I chose the LTS program because of the experience I had at the UO, in the Language Teaching and Linguistics Departments, while an undergrad. I originally wanted to go into elementary education, and was taking classes to do that. Since I love languages and travel, I decided late to try out some LT and LING classes, and loved the material and faculty I got to work with. I really liked how I found everything I was learning to have a real-world application in the areas I was interested in, and I got a lot of support from others in LT and in the Linguistics department. After that, it felt like the obvious choice for me.

What is your GTF context?

I am the Curriculum Development Assistant at CASLS, the Center for Applied Second Language Studies. A lot of what I have been doing so far is helping on projects where they need some extra assistance–doing transcription, helping get the game app Ecopod (which was recently used in its first class at UO!) ready, helping at a freshman orientation booth, etc. I’ve been able to learn a lot about many different projects at the center. One project I am working on now that I really enjoy is writing classroom materials/activities for InterCom, our weekly newsletter, and that will be a portion of materials taken to this year’s ACTFL convention.

What is the most challenging part of your GTF?

A lot of the materials/resources developed at CASLS are intended to be used in a language classroom in the United States, which is not where my past experience has been. CASLS also has projects that are very game/interactive technology focused, and I don’t have much experience using that type of technology in the classroom. I’m finding that I often need to do some extra research, or ask questions of those around me, to expand upon my own experience and knowledge. I think this helps me create materials that are applicable in a wider variety of contexts than I am used to, so that they are useful to more teachers and classes. Luckily, CASLS has a really supportive environment, and I’ve been able to get lots of advice.

What is the most rewarding part of your GTF?

I’m learning so much, and I’m getting really valuable experience. It also makes me proud that the materials that I write, or projects that I help with even a little, are going to be resources that are used in language classrooms, and that will help students learn. Like I said, it’s a really supportive environment, and they’ve already made a point to not only put me on projects where they need help, but also give me work that will help me develop my own skills and qualifications.

What are you most looking forward to this year in your GTF or in the
LTS program?

In my GTF, I’m looking forward to learning from what everyone at the center has to offer, getting more resource development experience, and, short term, hopefully going to the ACTFL convention this year with them.
In the LTS program, I’m hoping to take advantage of all the opportunities for skill development they offer. I’m looking forward to doing an AEI internship, to starting on my MA project, and to developing more relationships with faculty.
Both contexts provide me with a lot of opportunities, and I’m eager to take advantage of them!

sdeng@uoregon.edu 2 Comments