STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Kiyoung Sohn

March 1, 2009

INTRODUCTION
I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with a background of
my education and experience which is directly related to my desire to seek a
Masters Degree in Instructional Science and Technology (MIST) at the California
State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB). My own learning and teaching
experience has made me very aware of the need for interactive and motivational
tools to keep students interested and engaged in the curriculum. I believe your
program will provide me with state of the art skills and abilities to provide the
best learning environment for my students.

PERSONAL ENLIGHTENMENT
Although English has been my interest and favorite subject throughout my
school years, the idea of teaching English as my career had never occurred to me
until I worked as a translator at a patent law firm where I was responsible for
translating bioscience-related documents and international correspondence. While
working in translation as a bioscience degree holder, I had often been asked by
co-workers and others what they could do to improve their English skills. Not
sure how to reply, I started to ask myself the same question. Before long, it
occurred to me that, more often than not, people were not as motivated as I was to
learn English. It was this question that I was often asked that drove me to seek the
answer and embark on a journey as a language professional.
Taking a slightly different route later in my life journey from a bioscience
major to a language instructor, I hoped that I would be able to give the right
answer, at least a very helpful one, to those who wish to master English in a more
efficient way. In addition, I was in search of more enjoyable and engaging ways to
learn languages based on my own language learning experience. Since I have
been taught languages in a classroom in which the traditional GrammarTranslation Methodology was the predominant teaching style, I had to make an
extra effort to look for more interesting ways to study languages outside the
classroom through Internet and other multimedia resources. This language
learning experience motivated me to develop more interactive ways of teaching
languages by brining audio visually enhanced materials into the learning
environment and making use of modern technology.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
I started my journey as a language professional in the Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate program at the Sook Myung

Statement of Purpose, Page 2

Womens Graduate school of TESOL in Korea. Course requirements included,

Second Language Acquisition for EFL Teachers and Cross-cultural
Communication. Among others, the following other elective courses are offered:

Introduction to Linguistics
Testing and Evaluation
Curricula and Materials Development
Learner-centered Teaching

I also completed the Internet Assisted Language

Learning (IALL) certificate course in the program having in mind the possible
impact that the computer assisted language learning can bring about in the foreign
language learning arena. Upon completing the TESOL Certificate program, I
worked as an English instructor in private institutions. The TESOL Certificate
program at Sook Myung University and teaching English in private schools in
Korea paved the way for getting into the language profession in that I learned
major theories and methodology in language teaching and was able to have handson classroom practice. The teaching experience also led me to further advance to
a Masters of Arts in TESOL (MATESOL) at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies (MIIS) for a more in-depth theoretical background.
While studying in the MATESOL program, I was introduced to a variety
of theories and principles in language learning and teaching. Through reading,
discussing, and getting involved in different group and individual projects and
research in the coursework at MIIS, my stance on language learning and teaching
language as a professional has been formed and is continuously evolving.
Participating in various coursework, I designed and conducted research and
developed a curriculum, lesson plans, and materials for classroom instruction. In
particular, the Program portfolio, the exiting mechanism in the MATESOL at
MIIS, allowed me to reflect and assess the whole learning process in the program.
In the process of compiling, revising, and refining projects and papers that
contributed to the evolution of my beliefs in language teaching, I felt a strong
sense of accomplishment as I reached the completion of my program. I have come
to realize that I now possess a rather massive amount of information to share with
others with regards to the question how to improve ones English skills. 1
After completing the MATESOL program, I started to work at the Defense
Language Institute of Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) where I was able to
bring the theoretical knowledge into practice. Whereas MATESOL program laid a
firm foundation in theories and principles that a language professional needs to
hold, DLI provided me with opportunities to expand my professional skills in
1

The Program portfolio discuss more detailed accomplishment throughout the MATESOL
program at MIIS. The pass/fail, however, is still pending by the Porfolio Readers.

Statement of Purpose, Page 3

creating more enjoyable language learning environments for students. DLI,

utilizes the most current technology to make available state of the art multimedia
sources. This has offered me opportunities to develop and implement more up to
date authentic materials and to incorporate them into the exiting curriculum.
Recently, DLI adopted Blackboard and SharePoint tools in an attempt to
accommodate the newer trend of learning environment, and to promote virtual
interaction between students and teachers. Working in such a technologysupportive academic setting such as DLI, I have come to realize the great
potential of technology which can play an important role in language learning and
teaching.

CONCLUSION
Although I actively participated in and benefited from different
workshops and training offered at DLI for instructors to become familiarized with
the available technology, I felt the need to pursue more professional education in
order to fully utilize advanced technology to make learning even more interesting
and engaging for learners. Continuing my journey as a language professional, the
MIST program at CSUMB is another step to equip myself with the skills and
knowledge which are essential to become an innovative language practitioner.
This education will enable me to answer the question, how to improve language
skills, by providing students with a more accessible and interactive learning
environment.
I believe the MIST program at CSUMB provides the best and the most
advanced education in this field and I could not find any better way to accomplish
my professional goal. I am very excited for the opportunity to continue on my
journey to become a better qualified language professional.

Statement of Purpose, Page 4