• Name: Janaína

• University: Mary Immaculate College

• Current course: MA Applied Linguistics

• Previous course:  Graduate Diploma - Mentoring and Leadership (Education)

• What last made you laugh? “I laugh all the time - I don’t need a reason! There’s no need for something unique to make me laugh - I make myself laugh!”

By Lauren Valentine

Last time we chatted to Janaína, she was completing a Graduate Diploma in Mentoring and Leadership at MIC, Limerick, and sharing stories of umbrella turmoil with some rough Irish weather! We caught up with her two years on to find out where life has taken her. 

Let’s catch up… 

“Last time we spoke I was finishing one Graduate Diploma, and now I’m finishing a Master’s, but this time in Applied Linguistics! I returned to Brazil in 2020, but then wanted to come back to Ireland, so I applied for a Government of Ireland scholarship and returned to do my current degree. I’ve now nearly finished my MA in Applied Linguistics. 

The course is related to languages, since I’m an English teacher back in my country. I work in a public school in Brazil, so I wanted to think about something that could be useful for my students. In general, we see that students in public schools don’t learn much English, so I’m trying to design some materials that combine motivation and methodology to make a difference to these students. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out, but I’ll give it a go!”

Is flexible study the future?  

“This degree is really different in terms of the content and delivery. It’s also fully online, which is a contrast to in-person learning. I’ve had to adapt to this new style of classes. It turns out I quite enjoy it, but would still choose in-person classes given the choice. The course first moved online due to covid, but this proved to be beneficial for people who lived in different countries! I have coursemates in Korea, Japan, Portugal and the UK. It’s great for them because they don’t have to move abroad. I’m also benefiting from the flexibility, since I’ll be back in Brazil at the end of August to do my research. Sometimes it takes something bad to find something good! 

I really feel the support in all aspects of university life in Ireland. In Brazil, there’s a different relationship between students and supervisors; whereas in Ireland we feel not only part of a classroom, but part of a community. Recently, there was an incident in Brazil where an undergraduate student received some awful feedback on their final thesis and the situation did not end well. I can’t imagine that ever happening here; I’m in a very safe environment where feedback is always constructive, and positives are always highlighted.”

Finding comfort in community

“We also have social interaction spaces in Limerick and, even with the course being online, we had meetings where we got to know each other personally as well as discussing the course content. It’s nice because we’re so far away from home and don’t always have people close to talk to. We’d even have lunch together sometimes (students and staff).

Before coming to university, I didn’t really know much about it as I didn’t know where to look for information. Looking back, I think it would have been helpful to know people before starting. The first time I came to Ireland, I already knew one of my coursemates, so I was really relying on her. Usually I like to know a bit about the professors as I’m more comfortable if I know who I’ll be interacting with.” 

Reflecting on her second experience in Limerick, Janaína recalls: “I didn’t know what to expect to be honest: different course, new people! At first I was a bit scared because I don’t always have confidence in my ability, but it was really nice. One of my first teachers had been our English teacher two years ago, so I instantly felt at home!”