Teaching English as a Foreign Language - Essay Example

Hashem Adnan Ahmed Hussein Abdullah Jasem Teaching English as a Foreign Language Desiring to Learn Learning that the University of Sunderland is one of the oldest schools in the country truly amazed me because I believe that an institution that survives for decades shows strength not only on its financial stability but more so on the quality of education it offers. I reckon that even if a school has a bank to back it up, it will never succeed if students are not satisfied with the services it offers. This is the vey reason why I considered your prestigious university when I decided to take my Masters degree for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The fees are the least of my concerns for now because I know that in the end, all my sacrifices will pay off whatever I will spend as I enter your university to get the education I so much desire to enhance my communication and teaching skills. I am Hashem Adnan Ahmed Hussein Abdullah Jasem, a Kuwaiti who is proficient in Arabic and the English languages. I am currently employed at the Ministry of Education in Kuwait as an intermediate school English teacher specifically for boys, starting during the last quarter of last year. Being new in the profession, I found out I still have so much to learn and one of which is about teaching the English language to speakers of other languages. When I was a student myself, it all seemed so easy for me to teach the English language but that, I now realize, was because I had the inclination to easily learn foreign languages. Learning however, is an entirely different thing because in the learning process, I concentrated more on how I could assimilate all the information given me at the speed I desired. Teaching on the other hand involves learning and imparting what one has learned, to various students who have different levels of speed in absorbing the information given. Effective teaching is another story which I want to impart to my students, wanting to make a difference and not just giving information. However, the profession has challenged me greatly that I saw the need for me to get a higher education and training to qualify me even more not just scholastically but in terms of knowledge and experience. Having a short job experience, I searched for schools that could accommodate me and at the same time cater to my needs and I found your good school to meet the help I am seeking for to improve me in my chosen profession. I believe I could work well with my professors if given the chance because I know I have the determination and passion of a young student who so much desires to be educated by efficient instructors who know how to bring out the potentials of their students. I am completely confident that your institution has all the resources not only materially but especially in the employment of quality educators. I have gone over the program of the school for the course I like to enroll in and I pretty much like it especially practical teaching, research methods in language learning and teaching and the theories of foreign language learning. I believe these programs would help me a lot in the improvement of my skills when it comes to communication and teaching the language I am most interested in, English. As an applicant to your well-known school, I am looking forward to be a part of your achievements with my humble contributions. Being young and voracious to learning, I know the university can take advantage of my possible contributions, though they might not be world-changing. I have been a good student, though not excellent enough to claim awards but my involvement to sports could give me some good credits. I have been an enthusiastic football player since I was eleven and have been privileged to be a part of the team sent to the Arabian games tournament for schools in Algeria in 2006. In addition to that, I also took part in the football team of our college which won the Kuwait University Championship Games for three consecutive years during my stay in college. Currently, I am still actively participating in sports being a member of the Al-Yarmouk Sports Club in Kuwait. I know there are competent athletes out there however, I am confident that I can play along with them not because I look up to myself but because I know that when you consider my qualifications, you will see me fit to be a part not only of the university but of extra-curricular activities as well. Of course that would be just a part of the performances I would like to contribute to the school. Above all, I am confident I could be a good student as my professors mentioned in their recommendation letter their appreciation of me as a team-player and not just a bench-warmer. According to them, they see me as a hard-working student with high moral principles and good communication skills as far as English is concerned. I believe I can adjust to the demands of Western education because as your information claims, the university has a long experience with international students making you know just what to do to accommodate us and attend to our needs as we seek for globally competitive education. To justify the observations of my professors, I could say I am resolved to finish my Masters degree as a full-time student in one year, making every effort to work well with my professors, submitting requirements on time and following their instructions to the letter. At my young age, I know I seem to be a lot more enthusiastic in finishing my post-graduate studies than most people my age however, I want to grab the chance of being sent to school with the help of my family while they are still able to do so. This is indeed a privilege I am enjoying which I am well aware would not last forever so that I am taking all the time I can while I am still single and supported by my family. For this reason, I also plan to finish my doctorate degree right after I finish my Masters degree and hope to finish in the least number of months I could possibly can so that I would also be able to work and pay back my parents while they are still strong. It is not that they are expecting me to do so, but it is my personal desire to show how thankful I am for all the support they are giving me and how grateful I am that they are my parents. It is my dream to become a university professor so I value the education I am trying to get from the University of Sunderland. I desire to have a wider exposure to a variety of teachers as well as learners from whom I could learn, may it be in a formal or informal setting. Having experienced the difficulties I encountered as a new teacher, I have now a burning desire to get equipped for me to be able to teach incoming and aspiring shapers of minds. I know how important it is for us to learn other languages, especially English because competition now has gone global. Taking my post-graduate degrees in your university would give me the push and the confidence in competing globally at the same time educating my fellow Kuwaitis to do the same. In conclusion, I would like to mention my interest in research which I believe is deemed important in a student’s life. As a college student, I engaged in the study of the Arabic and Ahmaric languages which I would like to pursue further, now concentrating more on the English language. Research is one of my inclinations which allow me to improve my analytical and communication skills. These could be the only things I can mention for now in my application to your great university but once accepted, I will do my best to be true to my words and show you more of the Hashem Jasem I can put into words. Read More