Makiko Nukaga, MSc TESOL

What is the best thing about your progamme?

My best experience is the interaction with great teachers and tutors. They always stimulate us with their specialty and are on hand to give advice. I can proudly say that they are some of the greatest teachers in the world, and the experience with those who I truly respect as teachers and people will become my lifelong asset.

What has been challenging about taking a degree in 2020-21? How have you overcome those challenges?

Although there are many challenges for me to study in this unusual year, online learning has been the hardest part of my study. I had experience of online lectures in the past, but this was my first experience of collaborative classes with somebody I didn’t and couldn’t meet. I struggled so much but teachers always tried to support me and various support from the University was available. It was quite a tough experience, but I hope I can utilize the online learning experience in my future teaching.

What are you enjoying about your studies?

I’m currently working as a high school teacher in my country and studying at the University whilst taking special leave to study abroad. It enables me to see every experience from both a student’s and teacher’s perspective which broadens my horizon. As a teacher, learning teaching techniques and knowledge is very interesting and practical, but it is also very important to understand the students’ point of view. Including the interaction with teachers outside class or lectures, all my experience as a student enriched my view as an English teacher. 

How will this programme help with your career prospects?

Needless to say, the learning experience, knowledge, and skills which I gained here will be practically utilized in my teaching profession, and a higher degree will open up career opportunities. However, what I gain is more than that.

Before I came here, I just planned to study here and gain some specialty, that’s all I expected. Yet, during this one year, I noticed my hidden passion about my job, I found a new topic which I can be enthusiastic about and I discovered new ideas and fields of English teaching which I have never known previously.

Moreover, everybody who I met here including teachers and classmates with various backgrounds showed me broader possibilities in the future. Now the scenery of the future is completely different from what I saw before I joined this programme.

What advice would you give to someone considering studying at Moray House? 

Don’t be scared, just be prepared! If you are confident enough, that’s great. If you are not confident, or hesitate to start new adventures, just give it a shot! Maybe there are many challenges, but I’m sure that it will be definitely worth your time.

Sufficient preparations such as learning basic English, studying skills for grad school or planning your year in terms of time and cost are VERY important so that you can overcome those challenges and make your adventure easier, especially if you are from different country or culture. However, nobody can be prepared perfectly, and nobody knows exactly what will happen, so don’t be scared, be prepared, and just jump into your new adventure!     

How would you describe your experience in three words?

Unpredictable mind-blowing adventure!