Case studies: Teacher of English as a second language: Kaylee

Kaylee took a joint honours degree in English and linguistics at the University of the West of England (UWE). She now works in a Bristol secondary school.

Why did I choose to study linguistics? Mainly because I’ve always been passionate about the process of communicating. After finishing school I spent a gap year teaching in the UK, which I really enjoyed. This was another motivating factor in my degree choice decision. I chose to study at UWE because of the modules offered and because it was close to my home.

In my opinion, I got my current job because I worked for the school during my gap year, volunteering as a special needs assistant. During my degree course, the school employed me as a part-time special needs assistant, and after I graduated they were happy to give me a position as a teacher of English as a second language as they had already recognised my talent for teaching.

The linguistics side of my joint degree was directly relevant in securing my current job as linguistics is all about the study of language and communication. I’m able to appreciate how the students I teach are feeling about their language learning as my degree explained how language is used in a multicultural environment. Teaching requires excellent spoken and written communication skills, which I’m able to demonstrate in this job, as linguistics actually teaches you how to communicate - both theoretically and through ongoing practice. Another way in which my study has helped me is that I’m now able to teach techniques that help with the production of sound and the construction of sentences. One of my final year modules was extremely helpful in preparing me for an interview for my current job as it was all about second language acquisition theory in relation to teaching English as a second language.

Teaching English as a second language is extremely rewarding. I get to see first-hand the results of the effort I put in. A typical day involves me working in class alongside a mainstream teacher and also alone with smaller groups of students. When with a mainstream teacher I help students to understand what’s being said during lesson time. When working alone in small groups, I try to reinforce the lessons taken that week and go through homework allocations, identifying problems and coming up with various solutions. Monitoring and evaluating individuals’ progress is also key. Students I teach grow in confidence and make visible progress: this is the most satisfying part of the job My least favourite part is definitely lesson planning, as it’s so time-intensive.

If anyone reading this is uncertain whether or not to study linguistics, I would definitely recommend that you do. If you want to study linguistics and become a teacher, getting relevant work experience during your degree course is an essential part of the job exploration process. My one tip for students would be to gain as much quality degree/career relevant work experience as possible while you’re studying at university.

AGCAS

Written by Sam Brown, AGCAS

Date: 

October 2009

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