Introduction Personal History & Goals

The Early Years I grew up in Norway, and Norwegian is my native language. From an early age I was very interested in American culture. Norwegian television stations broadcast a lot of American TV-shows and movies, and I received a great deal of English input through this media. I believe my interest in American culture stems from this. Also, English is taught in Norwegian schools at a very early stage. I was eight years old when I started learning English in school. I had a good start with English, and connected to the language from an early age.

Another passion of mine is Martial Arts. I started practicing Taekwon-do (Korean martial art) at the age of twelve, and at the age of fifteen I started teaching it. Being an instructor in Martial Arts has many parallels to classroom teaching. For instance, every lesson has to be planned. You need to give feedback on the students technique. I have developed several strategies on how to give feedback. For instance, when students are performing a technique incorrectly there are often several
Practicing Taekwon-do

reasons why. However, telling the students every mistake at once would be too overwhelming. I therefore tried to focus on one error at a time. You also need leadership qualities. My experience as a Taekwon-do instructor made me better at giving commands, and speaking in front of large groups. Inspiring motivation in the students is also key. The lessons need to be fun and interesting, or else members might drop out. In order to motivate my students I had to constantly vary exercises, and create new activities. I believe my experiences as a Taekwon-do instructor led me to pursue a Bachelors degree in Sports and Physical Education at the University of Stavanger, in Norway.

Higher Education When I first started the degree, my ambition was to become a personal trainer at a fitness center. However, the degree program placed great emphasis on teaching, and I realized that working in a school and teaching physical education would suit me better. During my fourth semester one of my teachers informed me that we could study abroad the fifth semester at a college in South Dakota. I knew immediately that I wanted to pursue this opportunity. I had always wanted to go to an American college and live on campus. I therefore took one semester abroad at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakaota. This was a very valuable experience. Listening to lectures, doing assignments, and having presentations in another language felt a bit intimidating at first. However, getting to speak, listen, read and write English every day really improved my skills. One way I improved my proficiency was through the schools tutoring center. I went there

several times to get help with my academic writing. My American roommate would also occasionally proofread by homework assignments.

Augustana's Mascot Ole the Viking

Road trip to Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Another way I improved was through social interactions with Americans and other international students. I did a lot of everyday activities, like going to restaurants, movies, and parties. I also got to go on some road trips. One of them was to Mount Rushmore as seen in the picture above. Furthermore, I got to interact with a lot of people through sports. I would often play team sports like soccer and volleyball. I had a great time at Augustana College, and gained several new friends. When I returned to Norway, I could only think about going back to America.

Teaching Experience After finishing my bachelors degree I decided to work one year to save money so I could study abroad again. I did not have any specific plans on where to study, but I

knew I wanted to study in America. I was fortunate enough to get a job teaching physical education at a junior high school. Getting experience in teaching was essential. It confirmed that teaching was the right path for me. Although working with teenage students was challenging at times, I enjoyed teaching them. One of the challenges was getting the students attention. I had a large group of over twenty teenage students to keep track of in a big hall. It became very important to establish routines, like having students help with setting up and putting away equipment. The students were also a bit undisciplined and rules had to be established. Thankfully, my experience with teaching Martial Arts had prepared me to lead a large group of people. My time at Sola Junior High School made me realize that having only one subject to teach would make it difficult to get a full time job. Being able to teach more than one subject makes you more attractive to employers in Norwegian schools. I therefore decided that I wanted to teach English in addition to physical education. Having made a strong bond with American culture while studying at Augustana College and being confident in my English skills led me to this decision.

My Discovery of the MA in TESOL Program at HPU I did a lot of research before choosing to study in Hawaii. I remember clearly when I first found out about the MA TESOL program at Hawaii Pacific University. I was browsing through a Norwegian website called Kilroy Education when I found out about it. I had never heard about TESOL before, but the masters degree in this field fit perfectly into my plan of teaching English and physical education in Norway. Also, Hawaii was very alluring.

Hike to Pu'u Hapapa, Hawaii

Growing up in a cold country where summer only lasts for three months makes a tropical place like Hawaii very attractive. The beautiful nature, and the maritime life also lured me. I was sold right away when I realized I could study at Hawaii Pacific University. I will reflect on my education in the MA TESOL program in the holistic reflection section.

The Future In my fourth semester of the MA TESOL program I started applying for jobs in Norway. One school called Stavanger Katedralskole advertised a teaching position in English and physical education at a high school, for one year. The job seemed perfect, and I applied right away. The next day I was e-mailed and offered a Skype interview, and one week later I was offered the job. So when I am finished with my masters degree I will work for one year at Stavanger Katedralskole, in Norway. After that, I might consider working as an English teacher in another country. I love travelling and experiencing different cultures. I definitely want to do more of this while I am young.

It is important to stay up-to-date in the TESOL field. I believe I can achieve this by staying updated on new research and teaching trends, in areas like phonology, syntax, assessment, corpora, and teaching reading and writing. I plan to do so by becoming a member of the TESOL International Association, which will give me access to two electronic newsletters, the TESOL Connections and the English Language Bulletin. They will keep me updated on news on the field from across the globe. Other membership benefits include access to the TESOL Journal, which will allow me to view and download new research articles. I especially think it is important to be up-to-date on technology, since teaching is becoming more and more computer-assisted. As a student, I remember how frustrating it was when a teacher had problems with technology because much time was wasted. One field I find interesting is CALL (computer-assisted language learning). I want to study this area more, so I can integrate technology in my teaching. I plan to do so by reading books, and research articles on the topic, such as Integrating CALL into the Writing Curriculum by Kevin Cunningham, or Using Movie Trailers in an ESL CALL Class by John Gebhard. Another possibility is to request to be a virtual sit-in student for the course CALL 6740A: Research and Issues in Computer-Assisted Language Learning, offered at HPU by Dr. Hanh Nguyen. When I tried to register, the class was full, so I could not take it. Participating in this course as a virtual sit-in student would keep me abreast on new topics and tools in this field.

In conclusion, I would say that feeling confident in my English skills is one of the factors that led me to pursue a Masters degree in TESOL. Furthermore, I believe my

experience as a Taekwon-do instructor prepared me for teaching. Taking my Bachelor degree in sports and physical education was another factor that led me to pursue a career in teaching. The MA TESOL program had emphasis on pedagogy, which inspired me to focus on teaching physical education in the Norwegian public school system. Lastly, getting to work in junior high school made realize that I wanted to teach more than one subject. This was another reason why I am happy that I chose the MA TESOL program at HPU.