Susan K

Master of Arts (Applied Linguistics) graduate Susan K lives in the west coast of the United States of America.  

I received a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics degree from the University of New England in 2005 after studying part time while working abroad in Switzerland and then moving to Namibia to take on a new teaching position in 2004.

I was an online student and if my memory serves me well, was in the first cohort of students in the then brand new online degree program spearheaded by Dr. Karen Woodman.  I found the online modules and research project support to be outstanding, and what I mean by that is online activities were engaging, materials for reading and research cutting edge, and professors and students alike were caring, professional, and made learning challenging as well as a joy.

I researched several institutions and programs when I decided to pursue Applied Linguistics studies and was pleased to discover that UNE had an excellent reputation and offered a comprehensive online degree program taught by experts in their fields.  While I cannot deny that one attraction of studying at the graduate level in an Australian university program such as this one was the reasonable cost compared to studying at an American university, as it turned out I was more than satisfied with the quality of the program as a whole.  I soon realized that being exposed to core concepts and linguistic examples through the lenses of those in other locations and cultures than mine (teachers and fellow online students) was stimulating and enriching beyond what I had imagined.

I am currently transitioning back to the middle/high school teaching sector after a decade teaching academic ESL courses to international undergraduate and graduate university students.  Prior to that I worked abroad for sixteen years in Japan, Switzerland, and Namibia teaching at a wide variety of institutions and subjects ranging from EFL to Business Communication.  I returned to Oregon in 2008 to pursue a Master in Education degree and to become Oregon licensed to teach English Language Arts, French, and ESOL.

I jumped back into a high school setting with a temporary French teaching position this past winter and spring.  My district moved to distance learning in April due to the Corona Virus pandemic. It was a huge challenge, but I was very impressed with how EVERYONE worked together to get on board with technology and in some cases new teaching platforms to deliver consistent and hopefully, engaging lessons.  This could be a much larger topic of discussion, what administrators, teachers, students, and entire families here locally and around the world gleaned from first mandated distance learning experiences, but I will hold off on that for now.

I believe that in order to be successful in education and in any field, one must be sensitive to differences, a good listener, be organized, and strive to communicate honestly.

I believe that in order to be successful in education and in any field, one must be sensitive to differences, a good listener, be organized, and strive to communicate honestly.  Teaching can be overwhelming because of all that is expected, but there is also great satisfaction in developing relationships with others and being able to continually learn oneself.  If I hadn’t gone into teaching, I might have gone into wildlife biology or an arts related field such as music or dance.  I did study music (piano) at the undergraduate level and have long dabbled in contemporary dance and enjoy movement and choreography.

I have immensely enjoyed being involved with language teaching and learning for many years and my studies in applied linguistics have only enhanced my ability to examine language and to be more critical in how I approach various linguistic issues, including my area of special interest, intercultural communication.

Thank you for reading through and best wishes to all!