Master's in Applied Linguistics

[Little Linguist]

Well guys, I've just gotten accepted to the University of Bochum's master's study program in Applied Linguistics.

I'm psyched.

Anyone else do something similar? What were your experiences?

 

[Aquarelle]

Congrats!

I started out doing my masters in Linguistics. Eventually I changed because I decided it was too technical; I wanted to do something more related to sociolinguistics. (Also, all the courses were during the day, and I had to crap up my work schedule to get to them.) But I still think linguistics is awesome and fascinating! Good luck to you!

 

[Halla74]

Congrats to you!

I'm finishing my master's in public administration, and I am now even more aware of how corrupt and complicated the world is, but I still want to make it a better place.

 

[Little Linguist]

Congrats!

I started out doing my masters in Linguistics. Eventually I changed because I decided it was too technical; I wanted to do something more related to sociolinguistics. (Also, all the courses were during the day, and I had to crap up my work schedule to get to them.) But I still think linguistics is awesome and fascinating! Good luck to you!

OMG How cool, Aquarelle. Maybe you could tell me a bit more about it because in Germany, we incorporate all different elements of linguistics in one big batch and also combine the theory with language teaching, which is AWESOME. I'm so psyched - do you have any good literature to recommend?

Congrats to you!

I'm finishing my master's in public administration, and I am now even more aware of how corrupt and complicated the world is, but I still want to make it a better place.

YAY!!!!!! How's that going for you???

 

[sui generis]

Awesome, congrats!

I am fascinated by linguistics. Can I ask what your career plan is after grad school? I'm super curious. In the past, I'd given thought to a MA in linguistics, but am not sure what I'd do with it.

 

[Aquarelle]

OMG How cool, Aquarelle. Maybe you could tell me a bit more about it because in Germany, we incorporate all different elements of linguistics in one big batch and also combine the theory with language teaching, which is AWESOME. I'm so psyched - do you have any good literature to recommend?

We do that in the US too; it all just depends on what the individual university decides to focus on. Here at the U of MN, the focus is really on the technical aspects of linguistics - studying syntax, phonology, semantics, etc. I'm interested in that stuff, but only to a certain point - I'd rather use it as a base to look at sociolinguistic issues. Sociolinguistics courses were elective and you could only take like 2, and language instruction is a completely different program.Also, my original plan was to go in to translation, but that's most likely not going to happen now. So I'm now doing a Masters of Liberal Studies, focusing on Language & Identity. I love it, and it's a much better fit.

As for literature, hmmm.... most of what I read is pretty specific to the issue of how language relates to identity. There's some good stuff, but I don't remember the exact titles... I have them written down and home though, and I'll try to remember to post them.

What aspect of linguistics are you most interested in, and what do you hope to do after completing the Masters?