Self Assessment

My one and half years of doctoral study in the LDT program have been a challenging but rewarding journey for me. I still can remember how excited and stressful I was at the very beginning of my study. Everything was new to me, and I was eager to find the “right” research topic even though I barely knew what research truly is in the LDT field. Now I am so glad that I finally determined the research area I am passionate about and have learned essential skills and knowledge in conducting research and teaching in higher education.

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I want to thank Dr. Hill, who led me into the gate of LDT, let me understand the history and foundation of this field, and facilitated me in shaping my initial research ideas and writing my first research proposal. I am also grateful for the help from my major professor, Dr. Knapp. I learned how to do a literature review from her, and her expertise and experience inspired my thoughts on motivation and language learning. She is always supportive even though I changed my research interest to student feedback and teaching evaluation and switched back to my initial research ideas several months later. After learning more about research design and methods, I can now constantly reflect on how to develop good research questions and think of the rationales behind the research questions, research design, and data collection methods. These are the competencies that I would not have without learning in our program and participating in academic activities in the LDT community.

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However, there are aspects that I did not do well. After reviewing many empirical studies on using VR in language education, I realize that I lack the knowledge and information on available funding opportunities, especially for doctoral students. As my research interest focuses on high immersive VR, the cost of VR headsets will limit my sample size and consequently influence my research findings. It is time for me to plan ahead and seek opportunities to get involved in a grant application process. In addition, I am struggling with choosing which subject to be my cognate area, language education or educational psychology. Personally, I am leaning towards language education because my goal is to improve foreign language learning outcomes and experience. The study of motivation is the starter point of my overall research agenda. However, there are few informative and conducive LLED courses I can choose as my cognate courses because I graduated from the World Language Education in the LLED department. Therefore, suggestions and recommendations from our faculty members will be beneficial and appreciated.

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Overall, I am satisfied with the progress I have made so far. Although I was distracted by another totally different research topic for a while, my takeaways on research design and methods are applicable to my current research agenda. I will continue to gain knowledge and skills specific to my research interest and make connections among the LDT community.