Part V: Holistic Reflection

When I entered the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) program, I was unclear which career path I would pursue after graduation. I had always valued education, but I felt I lacked direction. In this paper, I will discuss how I improved on my weakness, built on strengths, and changed as a student, as a peer, and as a TESOL professional by participating in this graduate program. As a MA TESOL student, I discovered my passion for the use of technology in language teaching. Although I had always been fond of computers, I had not considered myself especially adept at handling them. During various projects throughout the program, however, I found that I was the default technology savvy classmate and was consulted by my peers whenever there was a technological crisis or requirement. Now I enjoy finding innovative ways to incorporate technology into lesson planning, group projects, and assignments. I have also begun to see myself in a more professional light; I have presented at regional conferences, started the process of publication, and experienced real-life teaching through my practicum course. Each of these types of experience furthered my understanding of the field of TESOL. As a peer, I believe that I have improved tremendously. My patience used to be very thin when it came to group projects or presentations, as I felt I was always the one doing the majority of the work. I have learned that my classmates, however, were just as hard-working and driven as I was, leading to amazing collaborations throughout my various classes. My attitude toward group projects vastly improved and I feel I was able to contribute even more because of it. I used to think that there was a right way and a wrong way, but now I pull from everyones ideas

to come up with a result that benefits everyone; every opinion has its merit. On a personal level, I feel I have become more open minded about different cultures, languages, and countries. Although I have always considered myself an advocate for people of other cultures, I had not experienced the amount of diversity that was present in the program. I made friends from around the world South America, Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Taiwan, etc and a Rahma and I with a view of Diamond Head

particularly close friendship with Rahma Kadir, who is from Indonesia and of the Muslim faith. Growing up as an American, I see now that I was instantly wary of the word Islam due to the frequent hostile relationship between our nation and Muslims around the world. Rahma, however, helped me realize that friendship does not rely on similarities in religion, politics, or culture. It is based on mutual respect and open-mindedness, which can be applied to any coworkers I may have in the future. I consider my friendship with her to be one of the more rewarding of my life, as it challenges both of us to reflect on ourselves and the state of the world as a whole. The friendships I have made in the MA TESOL program will be a strong base for future connections in the field, and I plan on maintaining them for the rest of my life. On a smaller scale, I have found that organization can make or break ones time as a graduate student and teacher. During my undergraduate studies, I planned poorly and did not organize myself early enough in the semester. I vowed to myself to make my graduate studies different. By maintaining a schedule, creating various binders, and getting into the habit of

revising right away, I was able to succeed. Creating agendas also relieved anxiety during group meetings; otherwise, as close friends, some of us would have gotten into the habit of wasting time during a meeting. By having an agenda, we ensured that we would get through each of the bullet points before partaking in personal conversations. This helped all of us be responsible students and maintain good friendships with our peers throughout the program. Public speaking is also an important aspect of becoming a professional in the TESOL field. I was not the strongest public speaker as an undergraduate I talked too fast and moved through the material too quickly. This program has taught me to reflect on my own experience as a language learner; when my language teacher spoke too quickly, I would feel overwhelmed and anxious instead of in control and motivated. For this reason, I now make sure to check myself at various times throughout my lesson to ensure that my speech and pace is moderate instead of overpowering. I also perform comprehension checks to ensure my students understand, rather than simply asking the question, Do you understand? to which students are most likely going to nod their heads, regardless of their actual comprehension. As an aspiring TESOL professional, I have developed an enormous appreciation for teachers and administrators tasked with curriculum development, material development, lesson planning, and daily presentations; it is such an involved, complicated process that only the truly passionate are able to navigate it properly. There are so many ways to teach a language, and matching each lesson and assessment tool to students needs is challenging. Throughout the MA TESOL program, we were taught many different techniques to develop our lessons, teach the language, and asses that which we have done. As just one example of an activity that I find extremely effective, Professor Jean Kirschenmann taught us how to use silent clips in order to help students develop their English fluency. In the activity, the teacher would divide the students

into pairs, with one person facing away from the projector screen (Student A) and one facing it head on (Student B). The teacher would then play the silent clipa silent cartoon, for example and Student B would have to describe, in English, what was happening in the clip while it was playing to Student A in order to build their communicative and on-the-spot processing of English through uninhibited speech. This is definitely a specific activity I plan on incorporating into my ideas and practices. During the program, I was able to become a graduate assistant at the study abroad office. I applied the work ethic I had gained through the MA TESOL program to my position and was able to help nearly fifty students fulfill their own dreams of studying abroad this year. Because of this worthwhile experience, I have become more equipped at event planning and program coordinating, which is a valuable tool in the field of TESOL. With HPUs Study Abroad office, I was able to create a Language and Culture Program, which pairs international English learners with domestic English-speaking students interested in other cultures. The program, along with my experience as a graduate assistant, has also helped me solidify my long-term career goals. I came to appreciate the forward-thinking and philosophical mindset of the university setting. As I have always nurtured a love of international travel, I hope to nurture it in others in the future as well by continuing to help people travel abroad. I also came to the realization that I would like to research international education and the education abroad field by one day pursuing a PhD. Three years ago, I did not think such an academic feat was a possibility; now I am more excited about the prospect than hesitant. As an undergraduate, I did not think of myself as particularly academic and was concerned with the programs course load. I was the first person in my family to pursue a Master

of Arts degree, so I was apprehensive about whether or not my academic ability would be enough to handle the stress and expectation of graduate school. I had no one to look toward within my family for guidance. No one on my mothers side of the family had even received a Bachelors degree, and my fathers side of the family is all engineers and scientists. Due to my excellent professors, the programs well-planned curriculum, and my own work ethic, I was able to earn a GPA of 3.88 and will be graduating with distinction. I feel stronger as a person, as a student, and as a teacher after completing this program, and I will utilize the skills that I have been taught throughout my life.