Ke Qianqian

I?graduated?from?Zhejiang?Normal?University?and?have?been?teaching?high?school?English?for?more?than?13?years.?Currently?I?am?an?in-service?teacher?in?Wenzhou?Semir?United?International?School.?My?passion?for?English?teaching?and?my?desire?for?self-improvement?have?led?me?to?the?pursuit?of?a?Master's?degree?in?International?English?Teaching.?I?was?fortunate?to?become?a?part-time?student?in?the?first?cohort?of?the?TESOL?Master's?program?at?WKU?in?2020.

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During?my?two?years?of?study?at?WKU,?under?the?guidance?of?professors?like?Agnes?Tang?and?Christie?Chou,?I?gained?knowledge?in?various?aspects?of?English?teaching?and?research,?including?teaching?methodology,?linguistics,?teaching?practice,?academic?research?methods,?and?thesis?writing.?This?experience?provided?me?with?a?more?systematic?and?in-depth?understanding?of?English?teaching?on?various?levels.?As?a?high?school?teacher?with?many?years?of?experience,?the?program?not?only?inspired?practical?insights?into?teaching?design?and?skill?development?but?also?opened?the?door?to?academic?research?for?me.?I?learned?how?to?collect?academic?materials,?assess?the?quality?of?journal?articles,?adhere?to?thesis?writing?standards?and?formats,?and?explore?cutting-edge?research?directions?in?the?field?of?English?teaching.?This?knowledge?greatly?assisted?me?in?my?own?thesis?writing.?I?can?now?apply?the?experience?to?guide?students?in?writing?essays,?coach?them?for?the?John?Locke?Essay Competition,?and?prepare?senior?students?for?future?undergraduate?research?and?academic?exploration?abroad.

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Despite?the?challenges?of?balancing?work?and?study,?it?was?the?excellent?guidance?and?inspiration?from?the?professors?at?WKU?that?injected?more?theoretical?foundations?into?my?teaching?and?allowed?me?to?see?the?essence?beyond?the?surface.?Simultaneously,?the?research?experience?taught?me?how?to?become?a?lifelong?learner?and?bridge?the?gap?between?different?fields.