A Non-Stop Journey: Interview with Haiyu Zhang, a graduate from Master of Applied Linguistics

Rena Gao

Haiyu graduated in 2021 from the Master of Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. After graduating, she worked first English teacher at Prime education institute and then she went back to China, her home country, to become an English teacher at an international school. In this interview, Haiyu shares with us her experience and how she thinks her studies have helped her shape her career as a language teacher. 

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Hi Haiyu, did you graduate from the Master of Applied Linguistics in 2021? 

Yes, a total Mappling graduate from 2021. 

What was the reason to pursue this degree at UniMelb? 

Well, there are quite a few reasons. After my undergraduate study, I realised my passion was no longer limited to language learning, but, over time, it has driven me to be a linguistics enthusiast. Meanwhile, my thesis at that time focused on the areas of sociolinguistics and language teaching. I guess the more I explored in this field the more I was keen to keep learning. It was a reckless decision because when I applied at universities for my master’s degree, the only thing I cared about  was my interest. In other words, anywhere was fine, as long as the university provided me with abundant resources to support me in pursuing my interest . But now that I think about it and look back, I have the confidence to say that choosing to study applied linguistics at UniMelb was a wise choice.

Did you find these skills to be useful in your employment? What jobs did you do after graduating? 

I would say my job couldn’t have benefitted  more  from it. After graduation, I worked as a bilingual teacher at a weekend community school in Melbourne and I also volunteered  as a teaching assistant at North Melbourne Language Learning Centre, where I mainly served  vulnerable people and students from different cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups. To do this, special communicative skills were necessary. Halfway through  my first year of work, I believe I was able to handle my job really well and I gained a great sense of achievement from doing it. To find a fulfilling career is not an easy thing, so I guess my previous learning experience at UniMelb definitely deserves some credit. 

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What difficulties did you encounter in your daily work? 

I’ll share a true but funny story here:

When I had just started my work, I wasn’t  aware of the importance of establishing rules before starting the lesson  to maintain discipline in the classroom, which resulted in a total chaotic mess during my classes. Maybe it was due to the lack of teaching experience and strategies to handle younger kids and preteenagers. Those kids were super energetic in my class.  When the number of students in the class is over 5, students usually become too active and can’t help themselves from talking to classmates about things that are irrelevant to the subject matter. I felt overwhelmed for a while till a kind and experienced teacher reached out to me and taught me some techniques to manage my class. Before I was able  to fix the problem, the progress of my class was seriously slowed down and I even cried out loud in front of my students. Anyway, that was pretty embarrassing, but I guess after this I learnt my lesson and now every moment I teach I keep  in mind that, although having a harmonious teacher-student relationship in class is essential, class rules are equally important to ensure that the lesson proceeds well.

What recommendations would you give to other new graduates? 

Well, looking at my current life stage, I would like to say it is very important to make a plan for the future. I understand many of you might think future is unpredictable and you will never know what you will do and where you will be in the near future. However, at least take some time to think about what can truly make you happy and focus on your goals in that direction. I felt lost for a long time because I found it hard to make a life decision. It was after three years of constant trying wrong things that I finally moved onto the right track, well, at least currently I believe that’s the right track for me. 

Therefore, the key is never to be ashamed of trying and failing. If possible, always be ready and well prepared when you pursue your dream. Never let go of any chances you might be able to get in your life because you never know how it could change your life. On the other hand, every challenge means something and you will always gain something from your efforts. 

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What plans do you have for the future?

This is what I have been finding most exciting recently: I plan to be a research scholar and pursue a PhD degree as the next goal in my life. After teaching for several years in different contexts both in China and Australia, I realised that some hard-to-fix problems I encountered could possibly be solved through research. So I amt pretty excited and motivated to do research in the next few years. Luckily, I do have some previous research experience and resources. Now that I’ve found the  ideal supervisor to work with, the next step will be to polish my research proposal, do online applications with my potential supervisor’s  support and put some more effort into international publications to maximise my chances of winning a scholarship. In the meantime, I will stick to my current job till I am able to do a PhD program.

What other things did you like the most about UniMelb? 

To be honest, and no bragging here, I enjoyed all the things that the university gave to me. If I have to mention something, I would say : beautiful campus environment, nice library and convenient facilities. With a university account, you can gain free access to many valuable academic resources and free VPN for international students that you can use remotely overseas. On campus, there are nice canteens and cafe shops where people can socialise. I value the balance between school life and social life a lot. So I guess with all those facilities and a nice campus, along with your studies, you will enjoy the process of studying at UniMelb from the beginning to the very end.

Thank you for speaking with me, Haiyu!

Thank you, Rena.