By Dr. Vincent Pak

Why did you choose the MAES programme for graduate school? How did your experience at the School of English compare to your expectations when you first started?

My undergraduate academic focus was language pedagogy, but upon graduation, I realised that I lacked knowledge of how language is used and perceived by society worldwide, an important knowledge set for a language educator. I found that the MAES programme provides systematic training in sociolinguistics, which is exactly what I need, so I came here.

I could not have imagined that the instructors here are this caring and energetic. The programme has lots of activities and events to enrich our study and ensure the teaching quality. For example, we have a student committee with student representatives to conduct biweekly reports of students’ concerns to the programme directors. We have reading group events to engage with scholars from different fields in sociolinguistics. We even have funding for students to attend off-campus academic activities, such as international conferences, art shows, performances, teacher-student gatherings, etc. These activities enrich both our study and leisure life.

You’re about to graduate from the MAES programme, and you have accomplished quite a lot in your time here. Could you share more about some of your proudest achievements?

We have a fantastic opportunity to conduct our capstone research project. I constructed the research idea and practised a pilot study during the last semester, and now that the data has been collected, I’m now working on the analysis. My topic is multimodality and its application in English language learning short video making. I will present my accomplishments at the 2025 Chinese American Educational Research & Development Association (CAERDA) International Conference, together with my other project, to be presented at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting, both in late April this year. I was also supported for a presentation at another conference last December, the 14th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Applied Linguistics and Applied Professional Practice (ALAPP) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Moreover, with the affiliation of our School of English, I managed to publish two papers last semester, and one more forthcoming article in a top ranking journal. Another one of my proudest achievements is my honour of taking the responsibility of being the Coordinator of the MAES reading group event throughout this academic year. Together with Dr. Otto Heim, Dr. Agnes Kang, and one of my classmates, Sirui Wang, we coordinated nine sessions of group meetings with professors in or out of our school. One of our guest speakers is Prof. Tong King Lee, with whom I am now working with as a Research Assistant. 

Overall, the programme has provided us with many chances to challenge ourselves, and I have tried to make the best of it. I believe different students have different study foci and benefit in different ways, but for everyone, the programme is always available as a rich resource.

How has being at HKU helped you with achieving some of your goals, including publishing your work in academic journals and attending international conferences?

Without being a master’s student at HKU’s School of English, my academic capabilities wouldn’t have been acknowledged by others. For example, I tried applying for a Ph.D. position at Hong Kong Polytechnic University recently, and the professors thought quite favourably of me, especially when they knew I was studying for my Master’s degree at HKU. They said that with the degree here, together with my other achievements, I stand a good chance of getting admitted this December for Spring 2026. They claimed that a Master’s degree from HKU is a big bonus to my application background. This is in addition to the other evidence of the value of an MAES degree, and I am very appreciative of my chance to study here.

In terms of the conference that I will attend soon, my presentation is about my capstone project. Dr. Agnes Kang and Dr. May Wong have provided me with inspiring advice on my analytical methodology, and the programme is willing to reimburse my registration fee. This academic and financial support greatly encourages me to improve my work. After listening to the lectures by Dr. Kang, I realised how I needed to revise my data collection methodology and scope of research. Dr. Wong’s course on Cultural Semiotics also introduced the foundational visual grammar theory of my project, based on which I made three short videos to evaluate the practical implications of the theory. The videos will be played at the Local Focal festival on May 13, an activity organised by HKU across different Master’s programs. I invite you to come and have fun watching my videos there, alongside the other projects.

Has your time in the MAES programme been fruitful apart from your academic work? What are some interesting experiences you’ve had with your peers?

Regardless of the academic workload, life here is, of course, full of great fun and excitement. The programme has provided us with various opportunities to enjoy the local arts and social events. For instance, the programme has provided us with many opportunities to attend social art performances. We also get to meet with our classmates and professors to socialise and catch up. During the reading week, the professors even proposed a hiking trip with us. We also had the chance to make our own artwork pieces with the programme’s encouragement in the form of a creative project, in which the students will either perform a play, take some local Hong Kong photos, film videos, or create other forms of artwork. This project adds so much fun to our study and prompts us to rethink how the theories we learned can be practised in our daily lives.

I have a special personal experience while living here this year. On the Chinese New Year’s Eve (除夕), three of my MAES classmates and I gathered in one of our apartments and had a fantastic hot pot meal. We went to the market together to buy food and used our own pots to cook. We chatted about our studies, our previous experiences, our plans after graduation, and some gossip! After dinner, we went to the Chi Wah Learning Commons to play table games and celebrate the new year. Friendship is a big gift and gain from the our time here, besides academic progress. We are so happy to make many new friends here with similar academic and life interests.

What are some of your goals for the future after MAES, and do you think the programme has prepared you well for them?

Since January this year, I have been working for Prof. Tong King Lee as a Research Assistant, which will last until the end of the summer vacation. From May this year, I will start working as a Research Assistant for the professor with whom I will be studying under for the Ph.D. This job may last until this winter, when I probably could be enrolled as a Ph.D. student. The MAES has prepared me well for my plans because my target Ph.D. institution is the Department of English and Communication (DEC) at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a teaching group with many scholars in sociolinguistics, which is exactly what I have been trained in during my time in the MAES programme. Last December, when I attended the ALAPP conference held at PolyU, I realised that the theories that the researchers used are mostly the topics that we have been discussing in class throughout this year. Since my previous study for the bachelor’s degree focused mostly on education instead of sociolinguistics, the training at the MAES programme is crucial for me to join the field of linguistics.

Do you have any parting advice for aspiring MAES students who are looking to make the best of their time at HKU?

As an almost graduate, I would suggest that the incoming aspiring MAES students can make the best of their time at HKU by clarifying their future goals as early as possible, whether you hope to keep studying for higher degrees later, to seek a job in Hong Kong, or to go back to their home country. If you hope to apply for another degree-oriented study, such as a Ph.D., you should pay more attention to your academic work. There are many academic activities within our School of English, or in other departments at HKU. In our School, we have reading group meetings where scholars are invited to give talks on their research topics; we have School seminars where higher-level and more formal lectures are given; we also have the Capstone course in which we are encouraged to conduct independent research in sociolinguistics or literature. For those who hope to get a job in HK, you may keep an eye on the daily emails from the HKU Careers and CEDARS. They always share the latest news about job hunting in HK. If you wish to work in the mainland, you need to plan whether you are going to take the national exams for official work positions or to join private companies. You need to determine your graduation time to be either in July or November of the year you finish your studies, so that you will be classified as a “fresh graduate (应届生)” at the time you need. Overall, as adults, we need to plan and act for our future as early as we can, and I believe our School, as well as the resources offered by HKU, will bring you much more than expected. Get your best here!