Jennifer Yeh

EMA, Class of 2016

1. What made you decide to join our program?

I was inspired by an American host family when I stayed in New York for one month in 2012. The father in the host family was a professor who teaches economics in Warwick University in Oneonta, New York, and his house was full of all kinds of books. I really liked the atmosphere of books around the house. After that, I thought a while about getting an MA degree. At that time, I did not have the savings to study abroad, so I started searching evening MA programs in Taipei City online, and I found Taipei Tech’s program. I feel grateful that I could still work while studying in order to pay the tuition fee for the evening MA program. The evening MA program was perfect for me although it was quite tough to work and study at the same time. Nevertheless, my three years in the evening MA program are an unforgettable memory.

2. Why should people consider the evening MA program at Taipei Tech?

Taipei Tech has great professors with diverse research interests. It offers many courses, such as translation, cross-cultural communication, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and more. The school location in Taipei City is very convenient, and that was important for me. It is right at exit 4 of Zhongxiao Xinsheng station, so I could attend the class on time by taking the MRT after work—even during rush hour. I feel grateful that I didn’t have to quit my full-time job while studying in the program. Students can still have their full-time or part-time job and continue to pursue higher education at the same time.

3. How long did it take you to complete the MA program at Taipei Tech? What would you recommend to students who want to complete the program quickly and efficiently?

It took me three years to complete my evening MA program at Taipei Tech. If students want to complete the evening MA program in two years, it is possible, but also very challenging. Here is the timeline I suggest:

1st semester (1st year): Take three courses and conduct a pilot study for your thesis.

2nd semester (1st year): Take three courses and try to submit a paper and present at a conference.

1st semester (2st year): Take two courses and start writing the gradation thesis (chapters 1, 2, and 3) and hold your thesis proposal defense.

2nd semester (2nd year): Finish up the thesis and have your final thesis defense.

4. What was your thesis topic?

My thesis topic was “Perceptual Learning Style Preferences and English Vocabulary Achievement among Vocational High School Students in the Metro Taipei City.” It was interesting to me because I have often been curious about how people study English vocabulary words and if the way they study has any relationship with their achievement. I was pleased with the insights I gained after conducting the research.

5. How did the MA program help you with your career goals?

I had been working in sales during my time in the evening MA program, but I entered the program because I wanted to change my career and to become an English teacher. After I obtained my MA degree, I had many chances for job interviews and received a few good offers.

6. What skills have you gained during your time as an MA student?

My English writing skills improved greatly after I learned how to write academic and research papers in the evening MA program at Taipei Tech. Reading journals, particularly, helped my reading and writing skills, and the professors taught us many useful methods to write a good research paper. Also, my public speaking ability improved by presenting in classes.

7. Have you appreciated particular courses that we offer? Which ones? Why?

I particularly appreciated the Research Methodology course that I took in the first semester of my first year in the program. It was the first time I learned how to conduct research and write a research paper. I also learned about statistics, which includes data coding and collection, SPSS (statistics software), and analyzing results.

8. What other aspects of the program have you appreciated?

The program offers many courses in Applied linguistics and Literature for students to select, and I really appreciated the professors at Taipei Tech; they are always kind and patient. I did not only obtain my MA degree at Taipei Tech, I also made many good friends with my fellow students. I also feel grateful that I completed my pilot study in the first semester of the first year of the program when taking the Research methodology course, so I had a chance to present my paper at an international conference (ESBB) in Izmire, Turkey in my second semester of the first-year program.

9. How can incoming students prepare so that they will do well in the program?

Incoming students should read course-related journals and do assignments in order to do well in the program. Abundant reading would be a basic task, but it’s also a challenge in this program. Moreover, first-year students in the MA and Evening MA program can start reading other people’s theses and conduct a pilot study in their first year, so they can have some ideas of their research interests, and then they can try to present a paper at a conference. In the second year of the program, they would then have more time to focus on their graduation thesis.