Yiwen Ou

I genre analysis

Rhetorical situation, purpose, audience

The genre that I want to analysis is the statement of purpose (SOP) for students who

intend to apply to a master program of applied linguistic in graduate school. The SOP is an

indispensable document that required by most graduate programs’ applications in US

universities. Applicants’ SOP will be viewed by the admission board or community, and the

SOP is expected to provide important information about the applicant, such as academic

record, personal characteristics, interest, the reasons why the applicant choose the program.

The aim of the SOP is to provide required information and use it to impress the

admission board or committee in order to be admitted. To be more specific, the admission

board or committee, as the audience of this genre, gains information they want to know about

the applicant. Most of the time, there are guiding questions about the SOP on the website of

the program (“why do you want to apply to this major” “what is your interest in this area?”).

Moves

Three SOPs of applicants with different L1s (one Russian, one Portuguese, and one Arabic)

have been collected, and they are all aimed at applying to the TESOL programs at Penn State

University. After analyzing those sample, I found out that these moves are frequently used in

these components. They are as follows:

(1) Anecdote: This is a dispensable move in a SOP, but if there is one, it always appears in

the first paragraph. It might be something that happened in childhood of the applicant, or
 an impressive experience which triggers the applicant to have interest or passion in the

applied area. The aim of this part is to show how this anecdote lead the applicant to the

area he or she is applied to and make the reader feel interested at the same time.

(2) Academic background: In this section, applicants can explain why he or she is

academically competent to be admitted to this program. Things like university degrees or

programs of similar majors and other forms of language learning experience can be

provided in this part. However, most degree and program information has been listed in

CV/ Resume, thus it may be unnecessary. What applicants can do is to provide some

details about one or two learning experiences which is the most powerful or impressive

one. And applicants can talk about what he or she learn from it. In sample 1, the applicant

mentioned he has the experience in research projects in the areas of sociolinguistics, L2

reading and vocabulary and materials development. From these experiences, he gained “a

great amount of knowledge and expertise in these fields, and began to contemplate a

career as a scholar”. In this case, the applicant used experience in research projects to

prove his academic competence. Similarly, in Sample 2 the applicant mentioned she

conducted a research in her senior year concerning the TEFL field, and this research was

awarded the first place in the Fourth Scientific Conference for Saudi Students of Higher

Education. Besides, applicants can use their grades of programs to show academic

competence. In Sample 1 the applicant said “While working full time as a teacher at a

language school, I managed to keep excellent grades and graduated first in my class.”

And in the 2nd Sample, she mentioned she graduated from her last university with first

class honors degree. This move is used frequently, and it is usually put after the
 introduction paragraph.

(3) Working Experience: In this part, applicants can talk about their related work experience

or internship. Besides, it is important to express the applicant’s feelings and reflections

about this experience. They could do this by answering questions like “How this

experience help me do be a better teacher?” “What is my success and failure in the

process?” “How I feel happy/encouraged… through the experience”. Through this

process, applicants can not only provide their rich experience in this field, but also show

their passion and the reason why they decide to pursue a master degree in this field.

For example, the 1st sample mentioned that “Teaching gave me plenty of opportunities to

translate the skills I had acquired at university into action.” And “This invaluable

experience allowed me to grow exponentially and sparked my interest in the field of

second language teacher education and development.” This information explained how

this applicant’s thinking, ability and interest are influenced by his teaching experience.

And in Sample 2, the applicant said “This new task added a lot to my experience, and it

had a strong impact on my knowledge and raised my professional level to a higher one”,

which expresses her professional improvement through this experience.

Considering that teaching is a pragmatic area, it is necessary for applicants to provide

detailed and insightful information about their teaching experience. This move is a must

in MA TESOL application, and it generally appears after Academic background

(4) Expectations about the applied program: This move is about what the applicant wants to

attain from the applied program. For this part, the applicant can talk about how this

program could satisfy his or her needs, maybe the goals or objectives of the program are
 what the applicant wants to achieve. In the 3rd Sample, the applicant mentions that he

does not want to be left out of “successful teachers’ competition” and wants to develop

professionally. Besides, he is interested in teaching adult learners. And on the official

website of Penn State MA TESL program, it states that “The MA TESL at Penn State

provides a theory-driven, reflective, professional approach designed for individuals who

wish to pursue a career in adult language education either as teachers, coordinators or

administrators of ESL or EFL programs”. So the need of the applicant perfectly matches

the aim of the program, and it is the same case for sample 2. Besides, some applicants

applied to a program with the expectation to take the courses and learn with some

extraordinary scholars. In sample 1, it mentioned “Penn State’s Department of Applied

Linguistics has a strong, well-rounded faculty whose diversified research and areas of

specialization are in alignment with my interests. I have confidence that professors such

as …would be excellent course advisors and help me integrate the knowledge acquired

with practical experiences.” This move is aimed at showing the expectations of the

applicants fit the content of the program. It always occurs in SOP, and it is often in the

last paragraph.

(5) Knowledge about the program: This move is about what the applicant know about his or

her applied program. By talking about the rich resources possessed by the applied

program, the applicant could express his or her intention of applying. In the 1st Sample,

the applicant mentions the faculty members of Penn State TESL program. Besides, in 3rd

Sample, the applicant points out that Penn State is ranked in the top 100 universities in

the world, and he mentions the mentors, advisers and curriculum of Penn State TESL
 program. In this way, readers could know that the applicant has done abundant work to

understand the program. This move indicates the quality of this program and the

professional stature of the faculty. It is optional and is usually with the expectation of the

applied program.

(6) Research interest: In this part, the applicant can provide information about his or her

academic interest in the applied area. In Sample 1, the applicant pointed out that he is

specifically interested in the “discursive practices that form the identity and self-

perception of teachers of English, especially nonnative ones.

(7) Future plan: This part is about the plan of the applicant after graduating from this

program. In sample 2, the applicant pointed out that her goal is to “continue my education

abroad and finish PHD degree.”, and another applicant (sample 1) mentioned that his goal

is to get advance in career and academic knowledge and ultimately become a university

professor. This move frequently appears but not a must, and it is often in the last

paragraph.

Language use

Generally, the language used in the SOP should be academic. Specifically, the word choice

and sentence structure are expected to be academic. This genre is used to apply for academic

programs. As a result, the admission committee expect the applicants to have the ability to

write in academic language.

However, not all the moves should be written in an absolute formal way. In the moves of

anecdote and narrative of working experience, the language could be less formal. While in
the moves of academic records, future plan, research interest and expectations of applied

program, the language tend to be mostly formal. Such as in the 1st Sample, the applicant uses

words and phrases like “had not idea”, “write them out”, “sing alone”, “joy” when he talks

about a short anecdote and his first teaching experience. However in other part, the language

becomes quite academic. When the applicant summarizes his achievement of a working

experience, he writes “I made is a priority to kindle interest in our team by demonstrating

enthusiasm with their classes, acknowledging creativity, and rewarding their commitment

with positive feedback”. The word and phrases “kindle interest”, “demonstrating enthusiasm”

and “acknowledging creativity” are quite academic.

Besides, in the SOP the writer’s voice is quite obvious. In all of the three samples, plenty of

“I”, “me” and “my” are being found. The applicants use those personal voice to express their

understanding and thinking, which is necessary in this genre.

II My writing sample and reflection

Statement of purpose

English has been a part of my life since I was young. At that time, one of my favorite

types of entertainment was to indulge in English literature. Because of my interest in English

reading I never get bored learning the language. After practicing teaching English in several

internships, not only did I find my passion in this area, I also realized my lack of pedagogical

knowledge. As a result, I decided to pursue a master’s in Second Language Teaching. The

excellent courses and abundant academic resources provided by the MA TESL program at the

Pennsylvania State University could prepare me to achieve my goal of being an outstanding

English teacher in the future.

 I graduated university with a major in International Trade and Economy and a minor

in Translation and Interpreting. The knowledge that I gained from my first degree allowed me

to see how the English language works as a significant bridge in transnational communication

in this era of globalization. At the same time, in my translation classes, I learnt that things

such as identity, culture and first language influence the process of learning and using a

language. Likewise, these variables can sometimes cause misunderstandings in authentic

communicative contexts. These learning experiences aroused my curiosity about the theories

of second language acquisition and provided me with rich language knowledge at the same

time.

My exploration towards English teaching began before I became an actual teacher. As

my English grades were always among the top in class from high school to undergraduate,

many of my classmates often turned to me for help. I provided them with language

knowledge as well as my methods of learning English. At the same time I began to realize

that my methods could not be suitable for everyone. Consequently I collected information

from different sources about different ways that successful English learners approached their

learning. I tried, then, to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each method and its

suitability to different types of learners. Meanwhile, I found myself quite encouraged and

eager to help more people as I saw my classmates improving and appreciating the experience.

I got my first internship as a teaching assistant in an English language institution. In the

job interview, the interviewer was impressed by my passion towards English and right

attitude towards helping others. During the internships, I participated in some listening and

speaking courses to help students practice and improve pronunciation. Thanks to many
training lessons held by our apartment, I gradually learned how to be a skilled teacher. Last

summer, I participated in an English learning program in Huazhong University of Science

and Technology as a teaching assistant. My job was to teach lessons focusing on the IELTS

speaking part. Not only did I tell them about how to prepare for the IELTS speaking test but

also concentrated on how to enhance their English proficiency more broadly. I often

communicated with my students after class in our WeChat group, where I could share more

learning experiences with them and seek feedback on my teaching. I found out that I had put

so much content in a single lesson that some students failed to absorb all of it. I discussed this

problem with professional teachers and they offered some solutions to me. With this

experience came the realization that teaching was my vocation, and this understanding

prompted me to pursue more specialized knowledge in an MA TESL program.

The Department of Applied Linguistics at Penn State has an excellent faculty and

provides a variety of high-quality courses on language acquisition and teaching. Among those

courses, I am particularly interested in Second language acquisition and Teaching American

English pronunciation. If I am given the chance to study at Penn State, I am certain that the

specialized knowledge gained in the program will enable to become an all-round teacher and

eventuallyin the future. Thus I can help more students to learn English positively and

efficiently.

Reflection

After writing a statement of purpose myself, I reviewed my writing process and found

three steps that I followed to compose it.

At the first stage, I did a brainstorming about the things that I could use in my statement
of purpose. The aim of the statement is to impress the admission committee and show them I

am a competent and suitable applicant. From here, I began to consider what characteristics and

experience of me could contribute to that goal. In order to solve this, I looked up the website

of the department of applied linguistic in PSU and found this description “The Master of Arts

in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA TESL) degree is designed for individuals

seeking advanced professional preparation in the teaching of English as a second or foreign

language with adult learners in the U.S. or abroad.” From this description I saw two important

points. The first is that this program is designed for “individuals who seek ADVANCED

professional…” which means that the applicant is expected to have some degree of profession

and practice in this area and still eager to get improved. Another one is that this program is

focused on “teaching English as a second or foreign language with adult learners” which means

applicants with experience in teaching adult learners are preferred. After this analysis, I had a

clear view about my standard of selecting materials for each move.

After that I began to write each move. As for anecdote, it is always a hard one because not

every English teacher has an interesting experience related to teaching. Meanwhile applicants

need to avoid using a long paragraph to tell the story and explain how it relates to teaching.

After consideration, I decided to begin my first paragraph with sentences explaining my

passion of English learning as a learner.

The following part is about my academic records. My undergraduate degree is not about

linguistic, consequently it is not wise for me to simply introduce my learning experience in

economy or translation. However, the two programs that I majored in are closely related to the

use of English as a second language and provide plenty of English courses, and the use of a
language is certainly connected with the learning and teaching of a language. As a result, I

decided to use these learning experience to show my exploration in using English and my

thinking about language learning.

The next part is my related working experience. I struggled a lot in this part, because I

hoped to exhibit all my working experience to prove my exploration in English teaching, which

is not realistic in limited pages and overlapped with CV. Then I began to look through my

working experience in my CV and think about “What I learnt from this experience?” “Which

experience did I benefit the most about teaching?” “Did I encounter problem and how did I

solve it?” Then I sorted out my first working experience and one most memorable one to

provide in this section. For this part, I not only showed my practice in English teaching but also

express my weakness which is the lack of profession in pedagogy.

After that, I wrote about some courses of this program to show that I did some work to

know about this program and I am certain about being a suitable applicant, and this part is not

hard to write. Finally there is a paragraph to summarize and express applicants’ wish to be

admitted.

Lesson plan

Syllabus
Learners:
Individuals who plan to apply to a mater program of applied linguistics.
Major: students are from different majors.
Countries: Different nationalities.
L1: different L1s.
Schedule: 4 lessons (1 hour/lesson)
Needs: Ability to write a statement of purpose
Activities:
Interview, peer review, discussion, presentation
Assessment: the final draft of a statement of purpose

Lesson plan1
Goal: To make students know what a statement of purpose is.
Objectives:
1. Students know the purpose and audience of the SOP.
2. Students know the moves of the SOP.
Materials:
1. PPT
2. Samples of the SOP

procedures Time purpose

(min)
1. Teachers briefly introduce the 5 To make students be familiar with the
SOP(purpose, audience) use of this genre.

2. Interview in pairs: Students 5 An icebreaker activity, and it lead

work in pairs and interview students to think about the elements
their pairs with following needed for a statement of purpose.
questions:
-What is the program you
want to apply to? (If there is a
decided one, just make an
imaginary one)
-Why do you want to apply to
this program?
-Do you have related learning
background?
-Do you have related working
experience?

3. Group work: 3-4 students 30 Make students explore the components

work in a group with the same of a statement of purpose by
statement of purpose. And themselves and find out indispensable
different groups have different and optional elements.
 samples. Students work in a
group need to analyze the
components of the given
statement of purpose. Then 2
groups work together to
compare the similar and
different components of their
samples. Finally, they need to
report the similarities and
difference to the whole class.
4. Teachers introduce moves of Make students aware of the
20
an SOP indispensable and optional moves in an
SOP
Homework: Students will be given another sample, and they need to draw an outline for both

the new sample and the sample they use by group in the class. Besides, each students should

choose a program that they intend to apply to.

Lesson plan2
Goal: To make students select the materials they can use in the SOP
Objectives:
3. Students know how to find materials for a SOP.
4. Students know how to select materials for a SOP.
Materials:
1. PPT
2. Students need to bring laptops.

procedures Time purpose

(min)
1. Teachers introduce a method 5 To make students understand a method
to find out the expectation of they could use to identify what they
the admission committee need to be admitted.
towards applicant:
-Analyzing the requirements
and description of the
program on the official
 websites.

2. Pair work: 10 To make students find out their own

-Students first work standards of selecting materials for
individually and find out their SOPs.
information about their own
targeting program, and try to
analyze the expectations
towards applicants
-Share it with a pair and see if
the pair agree on the analysis.
3. Pair interview1: Students 30 Make students explore their resources
work in pairs and interview of writing these two indispensable
about academic records. They moves.
are provided with these
optional questions:
-Can you tell me some
specific learning experiences
that provide you with insights
in applied linguistics?
-Have you ever participated in
related research? If yes, can
you tell me some details?
Pair interview2: Students
work in pairs and interview
about working experience.
They are provided with these
optional questions:
- Which experience did you
benefit the most about
teaching? What did you learn
from it?
- Did you encounter problem
and how did you solve it?
Before they begin to interview,
students have 2-4 minutes to
list their learning and working
experiences on a paper.
4. Group work: talk about To make students find out their
5
expectations towards the expectations towards the applied
applied program and write it program.
down individually.
 5. Teacher provides some To help students find some resources
10
samples of anecdotes to for anecdote from their experience.
students, then students work
in pairs to interview each
other about anecdote. These
optional questions are
provided:
-Is there a particular
experience that make you
want to become a language
teacher?
-Is there any memorable event
happened in your English
learning and teaching time?

Homework: Students need to select materials for the moves they want to include in their own

SOP and draw an outline of it.

Lesson plan3
Goal: To make students know the language use of the SOP.
Objectives:
1. Students know the language use of each move.
2. Students know the moves of the SOP.
Materials:
1. PPT
2. Samples of the SOP (Given to students in the 1st lesson)

procedures Time purpose

(min)
1. Group work: Students work in 30 To make students explore the language
the group (the same as the use of the SOP by themselves.
group in the first class, all the
group members have the same
samples) and analyze the
 language use in the samples.
They should pay attention to
the register and voice. Finally,
every group need to report
what they find to the whole
class.
2. Teacher talk about language 15 Summarize the analysis of students and
use in the SOP and each provide more information on this to
move. students.
3. Group work: Students work in 15 To let students help each other to make
a group of 3-4 members, and a better outline for the SOP.
it would be their peer review
groups for next lesson. They
need to share their SOP
outline with their group
members and give suggestions
to each other.
Homework: Students need to write a first draft of their SOPs and send them to the teacher

and their peer group members. Teacher need to give feedback to them and have individual

conferences with every student. Students need to revise their SOPs and prepare a

presentation.

Lesson plan4
Goal: To make students improve their drafts.
Objectives:
5. Students know how to give feedback to peers.
6. Students know how to better revise their drafts.
Materials:
1. PPT

procedures Time purpose

(min)
1. Presentation 40 To make students show their work.
 2. Peer review: Students work in 20 Students can give suggestions from
their peer review groups and peers.
give suggestions to each other.

Assessment: Final draft of the SOP.

Criterion:

Task Student Student Student responds Student fails to

Achievement successfully adequately to the task but respond to the
responds to the responds to the with limitations. task. Student
40 task. Student task. Student Student presents presents sparse
effectively presents most of some of the key information and
presents the the key moves, moves but provides limited
key moves of but details may provides evidence evidence.
the SOP and not be relevant to that may not fully (10-1)
the evidence is the task. And the support the task.
strong. evidence is not (20-11)
(40-31) strong
enough(30-21)

Organization Text is well Text is generally Text is somewhat Text is not well
20 organized. well organized. organized. organized.
Student Student employs Student employs Student
employs a some cohesive few cohesive insufficiently
variety of devices. Ideas devices. Some employs cohesive
cohesive presented are ideas presented devices. Most
devices. Ideas mostly logically appear logically ideas presented
presented are connected. disconnected. appear logically
logically (15-11) (10-06) disconnected.
connected. (05-1)
(20-16)
 Lexical Student Student skillfully Student employs Student presents
Resources employs a uses a variety of a limited range of limited range of
20 wide range of lexical items but vocabulary. vocabulary. Most
vocabulary. there are a few Occasional everyday
Academic and inaccuracies in inappropriate use language.
accurate word choice and in word choice Overuse of
vocabulary collocation. and collocation. certain words.
usage. Student Occasional Spelling errors Severe spelling
demonstrates spelling errors. might cause errors.
sophisticated (15-11) confusion in the (05-1)
control of reader.
lexical (10-06)
features.
Minor spelling
errors.
(20-16)

Grammar Skillful use of A variety of Grammar Serious grammar

20 a variety of grammar problems that problems that
structures that structures are somewhat hinder
demonstrates used. Grammar interfere with communication.
accuracy and errors are present communication. Pervasive use of
flexibility. No but do not Occasional use of fragmented
fragmented or interfere with fragmented sentences
run-on comprehension. sentences (05-1)
sentences. (15-11) (10-06)
(20-16)

Final reflection letter

At the beginning of doing this project, I have no idea how I could figure out a way to

teach such an unfamiliar genre with only three samples. Fortunately, with the help of the

detailed guideline, Professor Johnson and peers. I gradually had a clear view about what I

should do and how I can improve my draft, and finally I could finish this project with insights

into second language writing.

 The genre analysis guide, rubric and samples of project are very useful for us students

to figure out the expectations of the teacher. The genre analysis guide not only shows us all the

elements we need in that part, but also provides us with many prompt questions which help me

think of many resources. Besides, the detailed rubric helps me to understand the elements that

are important in my project. Furthermore, the samples provide me with a clear view about how

my final work looks like. In my future writing teaching, I would definitely provide my students

with these useful tools.

I have learnt a lot from my peer review groups. Dmitriy read my draft carefully every

time and did precise notes about my problems with grammar, word choice and also organization.

This is really great because I sometimes cannot recognize some grammar or word choice errors

in my paper and make the same errors time and time again. However, other people might find

them easily. Besides, Menna always shared with her understandings towards my paper with me,

and I could see the differences between my intention writing that part and how my reader

understand it, thus I can think of a better way to interpret my meaning.

I will definitely encourage the use of peer group in the writing class, and maybe it works better

in high level students. Because due knowledge is needed to give efficient feedback to peers.

Another important thing to be mentioned is the help from Professor Johnson. Her

suggestions and feedback guide me all the way to compose a better draft, and I rarely feel

confused about her comments. The detailed comment about grammar and word choice in the

second draft provide me oceans of useful suggestions, and I appreciate it a lot.

Throughout the whole process, not only did I learnt how to prepare to teach an

unfamiliar genre, but also learnt how to guide and help students as a teacher.
 Appendix

Sample-I (1st language of the writer: Portuguese)

My passion for the English language began early on. I had no idea what the words uttered by

singers meant but I would often attempt to “phonetically” write them out to sing along. When

time came for me to decide what career path I should follow, I had a clear image of myself in

a classroom teaching English. After accumulating over 11 years of extensive practical

experience, I find myself prepared to pursue a master’s degree. The expertise provided by

Penn State’s faculty, especially in the area of L2 Teacher Education, will present me with

many opportunities to grow both professionally and personally.

At the age of 19, I had my first experience in the classroom. As part of an extension project at

university, I taught a large group of students who were learning the language to better

navigate academic reading in English. As my first class ended, I had an epiphanies moment

when I realized I had made the right choice. The joy I felt on that first day has accompanied

me ever since. After volunteering for three semesters at the project, I sought out further

opportunities to mature scholarly, which led me to participating in research projects in the

areas of sociolinguistics, L2 reading and vocabulary, and materials development. During this

time, I gained a great amount of knowledge and expertise in these fields, and began to

contemplate a career as a scholar.

As an undergraduate, I kept a high level of commitment. While working full time as a teacher

at a language school, I managed to keep excellent grades and graduated first in my class.

Teaching gave me plenty of opportunities to translate the skills I had acquired at university

into action. Eventually, I took on the role of Teacher Supervisor. As a supervisor, I assisted
both seasoned and novice teachers. By means of self-reflection, critical analysis, and class

assessment, I discussed with the teachers areas for improvement, and developed short and

long-term goals. However, despite the more theoretical parts of the training, one of my

biggest challenges was keeping the teachers motivated. Long working hours combined with

limited resources can affect one’s overall performance. Therefore, I made it a priority to

kindle interest in our team by demonstrating enthusiasm with their classes, acknowledging

creativity, and rewarding their commitment with positive feedback. I encouraged cooperation

amongst teachers and stimulated the exchange of ideas and peer observations. This invaluable

experience allowed me to grow exponentially and sparked my interest in the field of second

language teacher education and development.

While open and enthusiastic about several avenues in applied linguistics, I am specifically

interested in the discursive practices that form the identity and self-perception of teachers of

English, especially nonnative ones. Nonnative teachers frequently deal with issues related to

confidence at the beginning of their careers. This is often due to not only the notion that the

native speaker is the ideal teacher, but also to low levels of proficiency. I remember the self-

doubt that tormented my peers and me at the beginning of our classroom practice, which

made us uncertain of our own teaching capacity. By virtue of this personal experience, I

would like to investigate how nonnative teachers perceive themselves and how the deep-

rooted assumptions that make up their view of what teaching English entails might influence

their work. This kind of research can generate valuable data to contribute to the development

of reflective activities within teacher education programs. Such reflection can ultimately

promote a reconceptualization of teachers’ sets of values and beliefs, resulting in better

teaching. Penn State’s Department of Applied Linguistics has a strong, well-rounded faculty

whose diversified research and areas of specialization are in alignment with my interests. I

have confidence that professors such as Dr. Karen E. Johnson, Dr. Sharon Childs, Dr. Deryn

P. Verity, or Dr. Suresh Canagarajah would be excellent course advisors and help me

integrate the knowledge acquired with practical experiences.

I would be honored to be a student of the MA TESL (Campus Pathway) at Penn State. The

program offers comprehensive and high-quality courses that would most certainly refine my

practice in the classroom and enhance my intellectual and professional understandings of the

field. Likewise, it would help me advance in my career and aid me in reaching my full

potential as a scholar, ultimately paving the way to my lifelong goal of becoming a university

professor.

Sample-II (1st language of the writer: Arabic)

Statement of Purpose

My name is #####. I am from Saudi Arabia. I am extremely interested in studying the Master

of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language program – Campus pathway- in your

esteemed university. I think our previous experiences lead us to find our life goals and teach

us more about ourselves. They help us in building our coming future strongly and be fully

prepared for it. Thus, I believe that my undergraduate experience and working as an

English instructor prepared me academically and professionally for higher studies in general,

and for this master program in Pennsylvania State University specifically.

I am an Applied Linguistics bachelor graduate. I graduated from Yanbu University College in

2012 with first class honors degree. I studied Applied Linguistics with the focus on teaching
English as a foreign language. I was introduced to the concept of TESL starting from my

junior year in different courses such as, TEFL Methodology, Second Language Acquisition,

Syllabus Design and Language testing. I also studied Research Methods and conducted a

research in my senior year concerning the TEFL field, “Using Authentic Materials in

Teaching Vocabulary for Foreign Language Learners”. Interestingly, this research was

awarded the first place in the Fourth Scientific Conference for Saudi Students of Higher

Education. In addition, in my senior year, I went through a practical experience regarding

language teaching when I practiced teaching for the first time in a Saudi intermediate school

as a teacher trainee for three months where I was able to see and experience real life EFL

classroom environment. After graduation in February 2013, I began my teaching career by

working at Yanbu English Language Institution as an English instructor. In the institution, we

teach the foundation English program to first year college students to prepare them for

undergraduate study where the medium of instruction is English. In addition, in 2015, I was

assigned to be a course coordinator. As a course coordinator I had to prepare the course

pacing schedule, write or participate in writing tests and exams, monitor marking exams

procedure, make sure that the course goals are fulfilled, and make sure that teachers and

students are in the right track. This new task added a lot to my experience, and it had a strong

impact on my knowledge and raised my professional level to a higher one.

"To teach is to learn twice" - Joseph Joubert. This quote has led me somehow to the

profession I found myself in long time ago because it told me that teaching is the way I can

reach my two main goals in life: unstoppable giving and learning. Thus, I believe that having

the opportunity to study the Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language
program at Pennsylvania State University is the best chance I can have to improve the

profession I chose for myself since it is the best place where my teaching will definitely

blossom and my teaching skills will be honed. In addition, this program will help me in

achieving two of my academic professional goals. First, it will develop my attained skills

from studying Applied Linguistics and help me to continue the path I started in learning about

teaching and education in an advanced and professional way. Second, after working in the

field of language teaching at Yanbu English Language Institution, I realized that I need to

develop myself more to reach my ambition in being a respectable educator equipped with

brand-new knowledge to address the local needs.

This master program will prepare me professionally to continue my education abroad and

finish PHD degree. Likewise, it will help me to achieve my dream in working as a lecturer in

the academic institution I work in. Finally, the gained knowledge from this master program

will not only help me in developing myself in the professional field but it will also develop

me on the personal level by enhancing my personal skills and expanding my educational

experience to better serve my community.

Sample-III (1st language of the writer: Russian)

Statement of Purpose

As it is described in “The Element” book by Ken Robinson, the Element is the

meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion, or saying more simply, it is the

place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together. On this

basis, I consider that I have found my Element since teaching English is the area which I am
passionate about and at the same time quite good at. Sharing knowledge with kids and

guiding them through learning gives me a great joy and the thought that my effort may make

even a little contribution in their becoming a better person overwhelms me with a sense of

satisfaction. However, in our daily world, it is difficult to keep up with constantly renewing

teaching content, rapidly developing technology and also preferences and expectations of

present students which are noticeably different from the ones that the people of my age had.

That is why I suppose that a competent teacher should catch up with the pace or he/she will

have to leave the race.

Not to be left out of “successful teachers’ competition” and to develop professionally,

I decided to apply for Master’s degree in TESL. I was carefully selecting an appropriate

program for my intended study and I chose Pennsylvania State University for a couple

reasons. But prior to that, it is worth pointing out that the choice of America at the first place

was made owing to my previous one-semester experience of being an exchange student at

Pittsburg, Kansas, USA. I liked how I planned my study personally through selecting the

courses with the assistance of my advisor, the friendly relationship I had with the students

and the teaching of well-qualified professors. Going back to the reasons, Penn State is the

most popular university in the United States with over a hundred thousand students applying

each year and it is ranked in the top 100 universities in the world. Moreover, the university

has highly regarded professors and clubs and organizations ranging from A to Z all of which

will allow developing in both educational and extracurricular ways. In addition, I can make

the most of diversity of international students in this university by getting to know their

cultures, exchanging knowledge and teaching experience, and forming new friendship bonds.
If to be more specific about MA in TESL of Penn State, it is highly recognized due to close

interaction of mentors with students, not overloaded curriculum of approximately 12 credits

per semester, and different pedagogical approaches combined with practical application.

Another aspect that amazed me was that the program assigns three advisors, a course

selection advisor and two faculty advisors to work on capstone projects. It is shown that

enough attention and supervision will be offered for grad students.

Apart from my aim of being competitive among other English teachers, there is

another key reason for me to study MA TESL exactly at Penn State. My home country

Kazakhstan is planning to transfer to trilingual education with English as one of the

components in the near future. This reform requires a considerable improvement of English

level of students and teachers as well, but the concern of preparing teachers for the needed

level is put at the first place now. So the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan does all it takes

to implement it. As a result of that, I was honored with our state scholarship called

“Bolashak” which is going to cover the entire expenditure of my two-year presence in USA.

Since MA TESL of Penn State is aimed at teaching adult learners, I consider it to be a unique

opportunity that will work out the best for me. Having graduated my master’s degree there, I

strongly hope that I will contribute to preparation of qualified professional community by

applying all skills that I have learned in your university. Out of regular teaching, I am

thinking of organizing pen-friend communication between my friends, colleagues from Penn

State and my local students, by which I mean teachers, to make them practice more.

Arranging some online workshops being done by Penn State professors can also be an option

for engaging my students to enrich their knowledge of English.

 All in all, finding my element is a huge step in my professional career, but keeping it

stable might be difficult unless it is refined by a proper development in this field. I believe

Pennsylvania State University is the right university offering a right program to meet my

expectations. I assure you that I will make a responsible and promising candidate for your

program. Furthermore, I suppose more diversity will be added to your university by my

international background.