I am writing this essay in order to formally announce my desire to join your Master of Arts in English Studies program. As a non-native speaker of the language, I have always been fascinated by English and its place in world culture. I have worked hard to learn the ins and outs of the language itself – how to use it, how to speak it, and so on. However, now that I have a firm grasp of English, my next step is to learn more about English literature, using this newfound knowledge of the language to find new contexts and discover its significance when it comes to other uses.
As of this writing, I am currently an English teacher in a secondary school, teaching children about the language and how it works. If I were to benefit from the knowledge that such a comprehensive and detailed path such as your MA English Studies program could provide me, I would have many more tools by which to educate my students, giving them the proper context by which to use this language that I am teaching them.
After looking around for the Master’s program that would suit me the most, I found the English Studies MA program at the University of Hong Kong, which features a great emphasis on cultural theory and Orientalism, something which I feel I can provide to my students, particularly viewing English literature through an Orientalist perspective. This can open up the eyes of both my students and myself to new ways of looking at classic literature of the English language.
