PG Dip in Applied Linguistics - Week of 4 June

Am having a one-week intensive course on the above. Felt shortchanged initially .... am I paying thousands to get a mere three weeks of lessons from now till next June? The only consolation is that the modules will count as credits for exemption into its joint Masters programme (Applied Linguistics) with NUS. Even that, I'm not too sure..... the course prospectus sounds quite dry and I'm not too sure if it's arcane compared to what NIE is offering. Who can I ask? My contacts are limited to my coursemates here .... maybe Dr Carmelita.... she sounds like an objective mentor students can pour their worries to....


It feels strange to be on the receiving end of lessons after 3 and half years as teacher (my bond has just ended! "Bond-free, as free as ...."), sitting in the room quietly listening to the lecturer. Initially, I was determined to be the ace student in the classroom that I never was. (strange how I got good results in my Os... ) , asking questions, predicting, paraphrasing, volunteering answers, reading ahead , reading thesis, textbooks..... all the active learning habits that precipitate learning success.....

but ran out of steam now.... munching on tidbits all the time and infecting my groupmates with the eating disease.... and I realise I didn't study my Applied Research module as diligently as Curriculum Design.... because I don't like the lecturer as much....."Why do you need my email?" still rankles in the mind.... who likes a teacher who doesn't avail himself in times of need?

Eeeewwww.... don't I sound like my students??? Maybe I really need to get my phD?... and sit in the ivory tower spewing academia that will never cascade to the ground??