Student Profile

My name is Juia Nolting and I completed my Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics at the University of Waikato in 2006.

After completing my English degree for primary and secondary teaching in Germany, I was looking for a graduate degree that would tie in with my past studies and deepen my theoretical knowledge that informs my English teaching.

Doing my Master in this Department was mainly influenced by two aspects, namely; they offered taught papers and the classroom teaching background of lectures. Out of all the Masters of Arts (Applied) offered in English speaking countries that I looked at, this one at this Department sounded the best for me. I was won over because the papers cover a broad range of current topics and research issues in applied linguistics which brought me up to date. Additionally, it was important for me to know that all lecturers have actually taught a couple of years in schools and therefore are able to make the link between theory and practical applications. Personally, in my previous experience I have found that sometimes lecturers have a deep theoretical knowledge but because they have been out of the classroom for a long time, they are not able to formulate realistic implications for the classroom that could really help teachers, like me, to improve our teaching for the students. This is not the case with lecturers here.

The deeper understanding of research and theoretical knowledge they gave me has informed my teaching in a way that I am now more secure in what I am doing in the classroom. The way lecturers constructed their courses, first of all, encouraged me to be more reflective on what I am doing which I regard as one of the most crucial abilities a teacher should acquire. Also, being a young teacher, the exposure to a deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding helps me to look at upcoming everyday teaching problems in class from different perspectives and therefore to react more flexibly. I can say that I was equipped with tools enabling me to be more independent and flexible in the actual classroom.

In the next couple of years I want to apply my gained knowledge as an English teacher for primary and secondary schools in Germany. As a longterm goal I am aiming to do my PhD. The MA (Applied) has not only offered me an opportunity to think about doing a PhD but has prepared me for this step by offering papers such as Research Methods in Applied Linguistics.

Studying at the Faculty was a very good experience as the learning atmosphere is absolutely student-centered. In a mutual dialogue with other students and lecturer topics are complied and discussed. The big advantage of this Department is that classes are kept very small with a broad mix of students of different age groups and cultural background. This diversity creates a productive learning atmosphere for students and widens one's personal horizon. Also, as the number of students is limited the individual support is enormous and helps the students to be successful in their studies.