Linguistics - Personal Statement Global Korean Scholarship

I have written this as my personal statement. I would love to have some reviews to improve it. Thanks ><!

linguistics and computer science converge in a perfect dose

I have always loved languages. My first interest was to learn English because I understood from a very young age that it is a skill that would allow me to know the world. My passion for languages and their learning led me to consider studying English, however, in my last year at school, I began to wonder the learning and teaching of my own language: Spanish. The communication skills have been very significant in my life because it helped me to leave negative experiences away related to the lack of communication with my peers and with my family. For that reason, I started to study Literature and Hispanic Linguistics in the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where I leaned towards the applied linguistics on which I did my thesis. During studying, I also took a minor in Asian Studies, and I had my first approaches with the Korean and Chinese languages. I worked as a research assistant about points in common and in divergence between Korean and Chilean greetings. I participated as an assistant in the organization of the International Seminar on Korean Studies in 2012 at my university, where I was also awarded the fourth place in an essay contest in which I wrote about the reciprocal relations between Korean and Chilean Spanish, and later it was publish in a book. When I learned "Hangeul" and its linguistic peculiarities, I started working during the weekends, in parallel with my studies, to be able to finance a study trip in Korea. At the end of November 2013, I went to study Korean level 1 at the language institute of Seoul University and returned in February 2014 just in time to return to university. The return was not easy because I was delighted with Korea and I just wanted to return there, and when I managed to recover my spirits I suffered a vehicular accident in my way home after work. During my recovery, I started my thesis about the use of articles in Spanish and how not native speakers use them. This topic led me to present it in two different conferences in Chile and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I also re-wrote it as an article with my guide professor and right now is under revisión waiting to be accepted and published. In 2015 I finished my career and I made a specialization in teaching Spanish as a foreign language with an assistant scholarship. Thanks to a government scholarship program, in 2016 I studied an education program and I got my second degree to be a Spanish Teacher in the Secondary Education. I studied all of that at the same University. After finishing my degree, I applied for a job grant to be a language assistant at a college in the United States. This experience was very enriching because in addition to give Spanish classes, I had to take classes. I took and audited classes related to Asian studies, and I got the chance to learn Chinese for a year (Korean did not exist as an option). Within the compulsory course as an assistant, I was able to deepen my knowledge in the use of technologies for teaching in its various facets, as creating multimedia resources, apps, quizzes, and others. This generated that my desires to deepen in the field of linguistics, data processing and analysis of speech and language processing were strengthened. In the meantime, I am working as a Spanish teacher with Japanese students where I have continued to consolidate my knowledge, and studying autonomously. I would like to be able to analyze and develop tools that are of benefit to language learners like me. I still think of Korea because is a leader in both technological and social advances. As an example, at present, the customs of the Incheon Airport is able to speak the language of the people depending on the nationality expressed in the passport. This type of examples shows us the importance of languages and informatics are correlated. That is why I believe that Yonsei University, as a leading university in Korea, has a very complete program where linguistics and computer science converge in a perfect dose.

Paulina, as an educator, you should know that proper formatting for a presentation can help increase the potential of a paper in terms of grading and consideration. This format is horrible. You need to break the essay up into topic paragraphs, each paragraph dealing with a specific point of reference from the given list of discussion prompts. I found it extremely difficult to read this and even harder to follow because you did not even bother to try to present the paper in a readable format. If you present your paper in this format, there is a high likelihood the screener will not finish reading your application.

Try to use a more recent reference in your motivational response. Saying that you "understood from a very young age" does not tell the reviewer anything. Instead, describe how your love for languages developed from a specific point in time. For example, when the time came for you to choose your college major, what did you opt to study "English"? After you explain that, you can connect the explanation to your reasons for higher study or reasons for your interest in studying in Korea.

Your academic background needs to have a more specific discussion. While the focus on your scholarships, grants, and work experience abroad is notable, you also need to indicate any strengths you had as an undergraduate in terms of academic excellence to help explain why you were such a success in terms of seeking sponsorships for advanced studies. The fact that you were published strengthens your ability to research and complete advanced studies. However, you need to mention the title of the article, publication type, name of publication, and the publication series in the paragraph so that the information can be double checked by the screener. I suggest that you write that information as a separate paragraph to help highlight its importance and also make it easier for the reader to refer to when necessary.

Your reasons for studying in Korea are sound and comes across as notable since you already spent some time in Korea as a student. That will certainly be of note and of high consideration later on with regards to your application. Try to make that a stand alone paragraph as well and expand the discussion to help support your reasons for wishing to study in Korea and the motivation for your desire to study another advanced degree, this time in Korea.

The main problem with your essay is formatting. The paragraph is your friend, use it to separate and highlight your assets and skills as a student. Make sure the essay is easy to read. It is a must when writing so much information in one essay that has multiple prompts.

In your last statement, you mentioned about how Yonsei University is a good school. However, you fail to mention why you are good for the University. Apart from having proper paragragh, you might want to consider this too. Hope it helps!