Graduate Profile

Rebecca Palmer
BA – Chinese
MA (Hons) – Chinese
Cert. TESOL.

I started my undergraduate degree at Otago in 1995. I actually intended to major in English and Psychology, and took the introductory paper in Chinese just for the novelty of it. But I enjoyed the paper so much that I decided to enrol for the second semester as well, and at the end of my first year I decided to major in Chinese.

Studying Chinese at Otago was immensely satisfying on both an intellectual and personal level. Probably the most significant thing is that it opened up my view of the world. It was also very exciting to discover that you can make some sense out of what initially appeared to be squiggles! Language learners are generally open-minded and interested in other people and I made some great friends – I can honestly say that I looked forward to going to class almost every day of my three years of study at Otago!

After I finished my degree, I completed a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Otago Polytechnic. I then completed a Master of Arts at the University of Auckland, partially funded by tutoring English as a Second Language to Chinese teenagers. In 2001 I was appointed as a Teaching Fellow in Chinese at the University of Otago.

Studying a language at university level develops your speaking, writing, analytical and research skills in a way that nothing else quite does. I think the people who end up speaking the best Chinese may be those who combine their university studies with some time spent in China. The exchange opportunities offered by the University of Otago are an excellent way to do that, and I wish they’d been available when I was a student. Having said that, there were still plenty of Chinese students around for me to communicate with. I finally made it to China myself in 2001 and somehow it didn’t feel that foreign at all.

I don’t want to get locked into one job for the rest of my life, and I love the fact that my study of Chinese can take me in all sorts of interesting directions. I’m considering a number of options for my future, including a PhD in Chinese film, and possibly a year studying journalism. I’d love to be in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.