Julia Hong - Primary school teacher

The Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Linguistically Diverse Learners programme has helped me in my current role to reflect on my practice and allow me to understand my students’ learning gaps and needs.

Key Facts

Career: Primary school teacher

Programme: Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Linguistically Diverse Learners

Campus: Epsom

"I completed my Bachelor of Arts majoring in Education and Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology and then went on to complete my Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary).

"I found the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Linguistically Diverse Learners programme through the principal at the school I am currently working at. He had great things to say about the University’s TESOL programme, so when a funding opportunity from the Ministry of Education came about for teachers wanting to do postgraduate study I decided to apply.

"As most of the students at my school are ESOL and the school does not yet have an ESOL classroom, I wanted to learn more about how I could best support these students as I know how it feels to be an ESOL student myself. I thought by professionally learning how to support these linguistically diverse learners, I could provide and pass on the positive learning experiences that I had to the students.

"What I have enjoyed most about the programme is the readings and the discussions we had in class. Lots of the things we learn and do in the class really spoke to me very personally. I love diving deeper into understanding students' experiences and learning more about what I need to do as a teacher to support my ESOL students.

"This programme has helped me in my current role to reflect on my practice by allowing me to understand my students’ learning gaps and needs. The programme has helped me to understand there are differences in learning phonetic knowledge and pronunciation based on their culture. By understanding the cultural differences, I was able to think about different ways to support them. After completing the programme, I hope to become a teacher who is flexible and provides the best possible learning opportunities so students do not feel discouraged just because they have another language as their mother tongue.

"I would recommend this programme as it allows teachers and educators to get insight to English language learners. As New Zealand continues to become more of a multicultural and multilingual country, it is important for us as teachers and educators to understand our ESOL students and provide them with the best learning opportunities."