History

Blog

View recent blog entries

Member for

45 weeks 1 day

Member Details

Name

Kirsten Anderson

Country

Birmingham (on campus)

Area of Study

TEFL/TESL

When did you begin at The University of Birmingham

04/01/2006

Current Status

module 4

About Yourself

Currently I'm a mixed mode student. I started as a distance student living and working in Toyama, Japan in April 2006. I was working as an ALT in two public junior high schools and two elementary schools. I joined up with Steve, Mark and Anthony on skype after Hiroshima 2006. Meeting with them every week helped me stay motivated and focused. It was also an brilliant opportunity to share ideas and collaborate! I'm not sure I could have gotten through those modules without our group!

After a 9 month hiatus, I'm now on-campus doing the last three modules from Jan-April. As an on-campus student I have access to a different variety of modules. I'm currently enrolled in:
--Teacher Training
--Intercultural Communication
--English as a Global Language
--Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Teaching (auditing)
--Research Methods (required)

After April, I hope to do my dissertation research in Tamil Nadu, South India! I'm particularly interested in the English language teaching for disadvantaged students in Tamil Nadu. There is a huge discrepancy regarding who has access to English education and often this discrepancy is tied both to family economics and social background (caste/community). Even though English is considered a national language and is used in the government, media, business and tourist industry--a huge percentage of the population is not being given access to adequate English education. Some argue that inadequate second language education is supporting the continuation of caste oppression.

Thoughts or comments about my ideas and research are most welcome!

My nickname: Sista K or Shakespeare (thanks Steve!!)
www.sistak.blogspot.com