Statement of Purpose scholarship application

Statement of Purpose Scholarship Application

For me , words are a form of action , capable of influencing change Ingrid Bengis (2003

Russian author Ingrid Bengis struggled to find her true identity as she grew up . A Russian living in America , Ingrid had to determine whether she was an American or if despite her upbringing she could be considered truly Russian . Ingrid Bengis definitely showed a love of the Russian language and Russian literature , but in many ways her memoirs (Metro stop Dostoesvsky Travels in Russian Time , 2003 ) showed that the inner turmoil

she was going through could be mirrored by the many changes that her home country was undergoing at the same time . The quote from Ingrid Bengis above is significant to me because I believe so strongly in the power of words , and in the fact that this power can influence change on a personal , national and even international level

It is because of the power I perceive in words that I want to continue my studies through a fellowship for graduate students in Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS . Already a native speaker of Russian I am keen to complete further studies in Ukrainian literature and language . Although I consider myself to be at an intermediate /advanced level in regards to Ukrainian study , I also believe that with a further year of focused study I will be closer to my goal , which is to teach Slavic language and literature at a university level . My recently completed year teaching an entry level Russian language course at UCLA has helped me understand the depth of knowledge I would require in to pass on to students the complexities behind language studies , and I believe that by combining literature and language studies in Ukrainian I will be better equipped to teach these subjects with a passion and the expertise required

Language is not only a force behind change it can also be a colorful method of teaching others about a foreign culture . During my time as an instructor of Language at Lufthansa German Airlines in Moscow I was able to introduce Lufthansa employers to the customs and ideals from my homeland and I came to realize how the power of language could influence others in their perceptions of a different culture to their own . This feeling was further supported during my time as a training instructor at AIG SunAmerica where I came to understand how increased knowledge for my students was a way of facilitating change in their own individual lives This duel experience in teaching language and ideas helped clarify the need in me to facilitate change for others through increased knowledge and cultural understanding

My previous studies in Russian literature have been focused on the correlations between power and language . In 2004 I completed a History in the Mirror of Literature ' which analyzed power distribution in Lermontov 's The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov Prior to this I had completed undergraduate studies in German and English languages at Moscow...