From Hatred To Love For English
Dina Radifiyah hated English when she was in high school back in Indonesia. But her family helped her find a job as an English teacher in a local medical college after she graduated.
Her first class changed her perspective about English, she said. She recalled that she saw the light in her students’ eyes when she began to lecture in English. English was one of most significant tools for those children to connect to the outside world. She understood how eager they were to learn something new and reach out further.
Radifiyah has been teaching English since 2004. Still holding the belief that the best way to learn English was to be immersed in the environment, she decided to come to Penn State as a graduate student in Workforce Education & Development to advance her knowledge in teaching English. The language barrier became more evident especially when it came to academic readings and journals. Radifiyah often found herself struggling with grammar and vocabulary.
With 10-years experience teaching English and her personal experience at Penn State, Radifiyah believes that English is essential for advanced knowledge because the majority of academic journals are written in English. Being proficient in English also allows you more valuable opportunities in education, research and employment. She said mastering English could truly change one’s life.
