Random Quote
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
---- Sheik Abd-al-Kadir
I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
---- Mitch Hedberg
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.
---- Edward Abbey
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
---- Evan Esar
Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.
---- Fred Allen
This may be the most interesting blog theme I've ever seen. http://eflgeek.com/index.php Definitely in my top 5 at least.
---- Steve Dembo
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
---- Thomas A. Edison
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
---- Franklin D. Roosevelt
We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.
---- Thomas A. Edison
A magician pulls rabbits out of hats. An experimental psychologist pulls habits out of rats.
---- anonymous
The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself.
---- Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case, 1995
Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over IBM versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs.
---- Jack Lynch
it's probably not a good idea to underestimate my ability to make an ass out of myself—just when I seem to have it under control, I'll turn around and surprise you.
---- Tenser said the Tensor
Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"
---- Kelvin Throop III
Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
---- Edward R. Murrow
I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
---- Terry Pratchett
To have another language is to possess a second soul.
---- Charlemagne
I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.
---- Galileo Galilei
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
---- Arnold Lobel
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
"It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'"
---- Sam Levenson
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
---- George Orwell
If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.
---- Doug Larson
Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.
---- Author Unknown
Graduate School
Both Tensor and Semantic Compositions have recently written about returning to graduate school and their experience as re-entry students.
Like The Tensor, I too was worried about getting accepted into graduate school based on poor academic performance with my B.A. - I graduated with a B.A. in Asian Studies (same as a B.A. in basketweaving with regards to employability) but only after quitting Engineering. I dropped thermodynamics in order to attend the Engineering Beer Olympics! How’s that for not have your priorities well organized. Fortunately I no longer drink like a fish and have priorities, which brings us back to graduate school.
When I first came to Korea I had planned only to stay one year and then teach in Japan or Taiwan. I was not interested in teaching as a career, however I soon realized I enjoyed it as long as I was not teaching children and decided to make a careero out of teaching. To this end I started reading linguistic and ESL pedegogy literature on my own but wanted more.
Unfortunately my situation is such that it is not very feasable for me to take a couple of years off of work, move to a new country with no job. My wife would also be very unemployable at least in the short term, so I decided to do a distance degree through Macquarie University. Before I made that decision I did some research as I was a concerned about the viablity and acceptability of distance learning, one of the articles I read is Distance Learning for ESL/EFL Professionals
One group that would find great utility in distance learning degrees are those who have chosen to build their careers in non-English-speaking countries where few teacher education programs are available in English. For these teachers, the only choices available are to either return to their country of origin and pursue a residential degree there or, as is now possible, pursue a degree through distance learning.
There are some people who will never accept your earning any kind of degree through distance learning. If you didn’t earn it in exactly the same way as they did, then it is unacceptable. Finch readily admits that there is some discrimination toward distance degree holders but believes, as do others, that that will change. “The issue is not the validity of distance learning. The issue is the validity of any other form of learning for people who want to be educators,” asserts Finch
Graduate school via distance education is much different than being on campus and studying in classes with professors and students to provide feedback and clarification on difficult points. When I have trouble with a point I generally try to figure it out on my own. If it is really difficult, then it is possible to post a question on the WebCT disscussion board, but that is not always helpful as many other students do not participate. The online component is generally not required and even the professors are slow to respond. <rant> I recently had to wait more than two weeks to get an answer and by the time I got it, it was too late. The reason - professor was out of the country and had no internet access. What kind of professor teaching online students leaves without notice and doesn’t provide a way for students to contact him. </end rant>
I do agree with both Tensor and SC that it would be much better to not have a job while studying. Even with my current job only working 12 hours a week, I find that it distracts me from properly focusing on my studies. The additional complication for me is that my essays happen to be due at the same time that I am also conducting exams (mid-term and finals) as well as calculating the grades for submission.
Tensor also states that:
All of these are true for me. One of my ex-colleagues told me that she did her M.A immediately following her undergrad degree and wishes that she had taken some time off to give her more perspective and relevant experience.most people would be much better off with a few years away from school, for several reasons. First, as I mentioned above, a full-time job gives you perspective on the academic workload. Second, work experience encourages you to develop a work ethic—do the work because you’re interested and you committed to do it, not because some parent-analog is going to frown at you if you don’t.
The experience I have had both in business (one job) and teaching (several jobs) have been very beneficial while writing papers and studying. The experiences I have provide context for the application of theory and a platform from which to agree or disagree with different theories. If I only had book knowledge, I think it would be much more difficult to weigh the literature and make the right decision for my classroom. Additionally most of the assignments ask for an analysis of current or past teaching context in relation to the literature being studied. If I did not have this experience it would be much more difficult to complete the essays. This is exactly what my ex-colleague was referring to.
I am enjoying learning about linguistics and how to apply theory to the EFL classroom and I do recommend that anyone who is interested to pursue graduate school. However, if possible I do think it would be more beneficial to study in a classroom rather than via distance. Yes, I get to apply my studies immediately to my teaching, but it is also more difficult to stay focused and give 100% to both teaching and studying.
I am strongly considering doing a doctorate, but will take one to three years between the masters and the doctorate before pursuing that option. Macquarie does have a distance doctorate program. The difference between the doctorate and the masters level is a required six months on campus. By the time I enroll for that I should be financially able to survive a six month unemployment period - house should be paid off next year and I finished my student loan payments March of this year.
I think this post has rambled on and on, if it has I apologize. This is probably due to my quitting coffee cold turkey today. For the past 6 weeks I have been drinking two pots - yes POTS - of coffee or more a day. Quitting has left me with a mind numbing withdrawal headache. Back to regular programming from tomorrow.
fixed numerous typos
Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday Jun 17, 2004 at 03:38 PM
general_linguistic_study | Dissertation |
Dan wrote 69 words on Thursday Jun 17, 2004 at 05:53 PM
Thanks for the comments on distance learning. I’m in the process of applying to an MA program in Japanese for courses that begin in October. I’m working and there is no way I could take time off to study. I’ll try and dovetail it into my professional life as much as possible so there is overlap, for example in publishing. Otherwise, I’ll just read your advise and stumble on.
Semantic Compositions wrote 111 words on Thursday Jun 17, 2004 at 06:10 PM
As Dana was quick to comment, taking time off to work isn’t suitable for everyone. I guess the flip side of that is that taking time off for grad school isn’t, either. My situation isn’t wholly applicable to other people, as I spent 2 1/2 years commuting roughly 500 miles per week during the academic year in order to maintain both my job and my academic role—which wreaked havoc on my ability to perform in either one. Aside from 2 classes, though, distance learning wasn’t an option for me. It sounds like, minus some bugs, it’s working out for you, though, and I hope it becomes more prevalent in the future.
ted wrote 240 words on Sunday Jun 20, 2004 at 10:19 AM
Not to turn this into too much of a rant fest, but so far the online component of classes at MQ is just useless. There seems to be no system in place for instructors being unavailable for long stretches. Your’s was on the road, but the convenor for 905 was hospitalized for about a month this past term. Obviously he wasn’t in a position to do anything about that, but I would hope that someone in the Linguistics department knew he was gone. Instead of being left hanging for a month, someone else should have stepped into the forum to let us know. Even when he was at work, the instructor basically refused to use the WebCT board. These two things tell me that there is probably no training for instructors and no guidelines in place for online ed in the department. I really wanted to do the doctoral program at MQ, but I’m having second thoughts.
Now that I have just shot down MQ, I still think that online degres can be valuable. Here in Japan, the degree is important, but publication is even more important. The degree is the minimum requirement so that someone who wants to hire you can, but long lists of publications are what get you through the faculty meetings. Does Korea work similarly? Doing any decent online grad program should help you to generate enough writing so that you can get some decent publications.
Winston wrote 128 words on Friday Mar 31, 2006 at 12:45 PM
(I just realized that I am replying to a post that is nearly two years old, but I’ll finish my reply nonetheless.)
Master’s Degrees in TEFL can be obtained (offline) at some universities in Korea, and knowledge of Korean language is not necessary at all. It is, after all, a Master’s Degree in Teaching English.
I teach English in Korea (Bundang), and my coworker is getting her Masters in TEFL at Sungmyeong Women’s University (in Seoul), where, incidentally, male students are also accepted in the graduate programs. She said that all of her teachers are American. (My coworker is Korean.) The program, too, is affiliated with certain universities in the U.S., and my coworker said that this particular university was considered the best in Korea for this degree.
Sean. wrote 48 words on Friday Mar 31, 2006 at 06:01 PM
Winston,
I believe you are referring to SookMyung University 숙명여대 and I am familiar with the program. I know that foriegners are welcome there, but I am unaware of any taking the program as students. If you know of any I would love to hear about their experiences.