Personal Statement:English Language and Linguistics 2

TSR Wiki > University > Applying to University > Personal Statement Library > English Language and Linguistics 2

IPhD in English language and linguistics Personal Statement

I am interested in postgraduate study at Newcastle University for three reasons: I believe the integrated PhD programme will give me a much broader and deeper theoretical understanding of English language and linguistics than a traditional masters and PhD route; the interdisciplinary nature of the school; and familiarity with the region.

The programme interests me specifically because of the emphasis and time devoted to developing subject knowledge, which I believe will not only improve my understanding of English language and linguistics, but will also allow me to more appropriately apply this knowledge to the study of literature, which is my passion. I am, therefore, particularly interested in the following modules because of their potential application in relation to literary studies: discourse analysis; English sentence structure; English syntax: principles and parameters; grammar, language and mind; and topics in semantics and pragmatics.

The development of my interdisciplinary interests are quite diverse; my university department is small, which means I take every English module offered, then a module from outside English too, which was typically creative writing. This year I took philosophy of mind, and I am currently writing an essay on whether conciousness is a process in the brain, which is indirectly relevant to a number of modules aforementioned. More tangibly, however, the journalistic and travel writings of Ryszard Kapuściński and Mary Kingsley in Africa, and Joseph Conrad's short story An Outpost of Progress heavily influenced my entry ('A long walk to the internet') for this years Guardian international development journalism competition. I wrote about the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs's ADEN project, which aimed to increase internet access in eleven sub-Saharan countries. I was long-listed for the award and published on the Guardian's website.

I am, then, interested in all aspects of language use; practical and theoretical, and postgraduate study at Newcastle will allow me to explore a number of “structuralist” interests that developed throughout my undergraduate degree. For example, I am particularly interested in the theoretical works of Aristotle, Mikhail Bakhtin, Noam Chomsky, Jonathan Culler, Jacques Derrida, Northop Fyre, Gérard Genette, Roman Jakobson, Ferdinand de Saussure and Tzvetan Todorov. Broader topics of interests include: the semantics of realism (the aesthetic construction and transmission of “reality” through language); syntactic and semantic concerns in the short story and novella genres; the semiotics of postmodernism (a recent essay I wrote argued the use of a contemporary carnivalesque structure, which focused on a semiotic shift that used the signifier rather than sign to convey “meaning” paradoxically); and naturalist philosophy based on a Saussurian framework.

Newcastle as a university interests me, ignoring the obvious academic excellence of the school, primarily because of a familiarity with the region, which means I would have no problem adapting to life and study in Newcastle. I am from Northumberland, and studied at Newcastle College; A levels in computing, English language and mathematics. More appropriately, however, I used the Robinson library through the SCONUL access scheme in the summer when undertaking initial research for my extended essay on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground (1864). I am, then, already somewhat familiar with the universities facilities.

I aspire to be a university lecturer, and have attempted to further this aspiration alongside my undergraduate degree as best as I could. For example, I worked part-time for Aimhigher as a student mentor in my second year, using my subject knowledge in English to prepare GCSE students for their English language and literature exams. This involved researching fiction and non-fiction texts on the curriculum, creating revision material for students of different abilities, which was then checked by a senior lecturer in my department, and attempting to instil appropriate exam technique.

I believe this experience developed my communication and team-work skills as I worked alongside other mentors on the scheme, and coordinated with staff in the school. I often had to deal with large groups of students on my own too, which was difficult in terms of involving everyone in the session, especially when students did not know one another. But the way I learnt to prepare for sessions and explain ideas was the most valuable experience gained, pedagogically. Consequently, because of my aptitude, enthusiasm and reliability I was invited to participate in Aimhigher's new associates scheme, which launched in November. I will be working part-time at Macclesfield sixth form college from the New Year onwards, and I have also been invited to participate in one of the college's new staff training schemes too.

I have also been accepted onto the Liverpool student associates scheme for secondary English, and I am currently trying to organise a distant placement. Manchester Metropolitan University do not offer English placements so I contacted other regional providers and was given a placement less than a day after my interview, which not only proves my suitability for a career in education but also my dedication too. Given my extra-curricular experience, I would actively look to continue developing myself on the universities career development module (student tutoring) if it is available to postgraduate students, with the aim of eventually taking on a lecturing role and, more immediately, look to join the universities linguistic society too.

Universities Applied to:

• Newcastle University (MA in Linguistics and Language Acquisition) - Offer (2.1)

Comments

General Comments:

Originally, I applied for an integrated PhD programme in English language and linguistics, which a four year programme that allows students to spend more time building up core theoretical knowledge so that they are more suited for academic careers. Unfortunately, Newcastle University felt it would be more appropriate for me to do a masters before undertaking a research degree, which is understandable. As a result, I was allowed to choose any masters programme at the university and given an offer within the hour.

Comments on the statement: