Jake Piper, 3rd year, English Language & Linguistics 2019
Being a part of this school has improved my confidence hugely – just a few of the opportunities I have had in my three years here in the School include; giving lectures at international conferences in Edinburgh and London, organising a fortnightly guest lecture series for staff, students and the public, and getting the chance to study truly unique and specialist modules such as Forensic Linguistics and Analysing Talk.
From being a shy, quiet and uninvolved first year in 2016 to becoming President of the Linguistic Society in 2018/19, it is fair to say that my time in the School of Languages and Linguistics (SoLL) has been fairly transformative! I can’t think of another time in my life where I have been given so many opportunities for self-development, leadership and teamwork.
I wouldn’t change anything about my time at York St John in the SoLL, other than I wish I did even more! The staff are all hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their respective areas of Linguistics and Language, and this is represented by the modules they deliver – it’s also very nice having a whole building (with chill and work areas) to ourselves!
I have just finished the CELTA course here at YSJ, giving me a Cambridge qualification that I can use to teach English anywhere in the world. I hope to use this to teach English in South-East Asia next year after getting some extra experience in the UK!
