Bilingual Education, TESOL, Learning Technologies, and English Education have stood at the center of my world for many years. I hope to be accepted to your PHD Program in Linguistics at XXXX University to continue to make progress towards my maximum contribution in language education. Dr. XXXX, in particular, would be an excellent candidate for my advisor since she works in Bilingual Education and TESOL.
Currently teaching English in Vietnam, I am a mature, experienced, and very hard-working student and teacher originally from Iraq; as well travelled as I am read, I have lived extensively in the USA, most of Europe including the former Yugoslavia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. I earned my MA Degree in TESOL from XXXX University in 2014.
I spent several years working for NATO as a civilian translator, both inside and outside of my native Iraq; and this served to further drive my profound interest in and passion for language, translation, and especially language education. In addition to English and Arabic, I also speak conversational French and I am currently learning some of the basics of Vietnamese in Vietnam.
Finally, I have spent a lifetime off and on working to resurrect a better understanding of my own original language, Babylonian, to the extent to which I have time and it is possible to do so. I am an artist with a special historical connection not only to ancient languages of the Middle East but also caricature and acting. I see drama as especially compatible with my central professional goal, becoming a world class English as a Foreign Language teacher and teacher of EFL teachers. Someday, I hope to return to my native Iraq, my home once it is safe to do so. My central long-term dream is to develop curriculums for EFL instruction in Arab countries.
I worked for both NATO and the U.S Marine Corps translating back and forth between Arabic and English. I like to think that my language skills were a crucial part of the democracy building process in Iraq both during and after Operation Iraqi Freedom. The hardest part of the job was working in the extremely dangerous post-war territories. At the same time, this experience was most enjoyable since I was able to help the people communicate with the military and, thus, with the international community. Working for NATO was an experience like no other. The environment was multicultural and diverse where individuals - military and civilian - brought their own cultural perspectives to bear on every conversation. I thrived on the challenge.
Having first studied communications technology as a younger man, by the time that I had finished my undergraduate studies in Linguistics and began my Master's Program in TESOL, I had become well aware of the fact that my earlier, advanced training in technical studies was most beneficial for my career as an English teacher insofar as it helps me to prepare for teaching technical English and particularly computer literacy. I am most enthused, in fact, that computer English language learning stands at the forefront of our field (CALL). Humble, unpretentious, non-materialistic, I intend to work another 20+ plus as a teacher of Interpretation, Translation, and most of all, teaching English to English teachers – with a focus on speaking abilities.
If accepted to your PHD Program in Linguistics at XXXX University, I hope to devote myself to the development of creative TESOL curriculums that take full advantage of computer-based technology to enhance language learning. My extensive travel around the world, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East provides me with stories to share of English-language-learning in diverse cultures. I also look forward to contributing to research in culture and language learning.
Thank you for your consideration of my application to XXXX University.
Passionate Educator Seeking PHD in Linguistics for TESOL
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