My name is Joe. I'm an American expat living in Japan with my wife and my two cats where I teach
English to university students here at the local university. I think it's pretty obvious I chose
the distance MA programme in applied linguistics really to further my career but, you know, being
here, working full-time it's really not easy to be actually on a physical campus and so that's why
I decided to go the distance route. That said, I decided to go with the University of Birmingham in
particular because, through my research, I was looking at some of the universities to go to,
I found out that the UK has a reputation within distance education compared to some of the other
countries around the world and so I narrowed my focus down to that and as I was looking
into the applied linguistics and TESOL programmes within the UK the University of Birmingham really
stuck out as a reputable university within that field. I think, probably, what kind of did it for
me as far as the University of Birmingham is the fact that the University of Birmingham has summer
schools here in Japan. That was a huge surprise and it's something I didn't see at any of the
other universities. I have since been to two of those summer schools where you spend a week with
a few professors who come and do lectures and then also, of course, your peers are there as well too
and I cannot tell you how so much fun that week is to be able to just spend time with your professor
and your peers and you get to make those connections, connections I've still maintained.
I still talk to some of these people even though they've finished the programme. It's just been
so helpful. It’s such a great little addition to the distance programme. I really feel like I've
become a better thinker. I've had to process so much information in this programme. The modules
are just thick with so much information and the assigned readings are just great.
It's the right amount, it's not too much, but it's just enough to get your feet wet within each topic
and then you take it from there when you do the assignment. You do the research
and then, of course, writing. Having to do all that writing has definitely turned me into a
better writer and then, of course, just soaking all this information in about language acquisition
and teaching methodology. I'm just a better educator, I'm better at my job for this programme.
So what's my impression of the programme? Overall, it's been incredibly challenging.
This is not an easy program precisely because the university has a reputation. It's a prestigious
university and it will challenge you as it has me, but you're not alone, you do have a
tutor throughout the programme. My tutor has been extremely helpful in helping me put my thoughts
together to get through the modules and really keep me on track. I'm now in the dissertation
portion of the programme and my advisor is an expert in my field which really makes me
super comfortable. He's been super helpful and I'm halfway done. I'm almost there, I can totally see
the light at the end of the tunnel. It hasn't been easy, but it's been well worth the ride, I
can tell you that much and if you want to grow, if you want to be challenged, I love a good challenge
and this programme has certainly challenged me and I've come out of it, well I'm almost out of it,
I'm in the dissertation right now, but having gone through the whole module programme I certainly
am a better thinker, a better writer and a better educator, no doubt in my mind about that.