Greetings from the department & staff

Greetings from the department & staff Dear first-year students, Welcome to the Department of English! This is the time to embark on a new scholarly quest: to learn about English, about the world, and, perhaps, about yourself. Embrace the opportunity to consider familiar things from different angles and to gain new theoretical and practical skills. Things you thought you knew might prove to be more complex, but you might also find that you are brilliant at something you have never tried before. Strive to work throughout the year, not just before the exam season. Schedule your work and meet deadlines. Attend lectures, ask questions, discuss things that are interesting or difficult or unexpected. Be an intrepid seeker of knowledge. In the beginning of a new quest, not knowing everything is absolutely fine. Studying English at the university is rather different from studying English at school, and the first few weeks may feel overwhelming. However, by the end of the autumn term you will be well-versed in the ways of our department. Here, you can focus on what you find most fascinating about English – whether it be linguistics, literature, or translation studies. You might explore topics such as the history of English, language learning, Canadian literature, machine translation, spoken English, language contact, internet English, book history... the list goes on. By choosing minor subjects, you can shape your degree to suit your interests and your future career. You might become a teacher, a translator, a researcher, a language specialist – or something entirely different. You are not alone on this quest. Alongside your tutors and fellow students, the staff members will be there to guide you. You will have an academic advisor to help you plan your studies. Every staff member also has a weekly office hour. This is a time slot dedicated to meeting you, which means you can pop in without an appointment. You can also send us an email or come talk to us when you see us around. The intranet contains a wealth of information on all matters study-related. For more light-hearted content, follow the Department of English on social media! We are delighted to welcome you to our community, and we hope that you are as excited about language as we are. We wish you an excellent first year at the department, and the best of luck with your quest!

On behalf of the staff, Mari-Liisa Varila (University Teacher)

Intranet: https://intranet.utu.fi/fi/yksikot/hum/yksikot/kkl/oppiaineet/englanti/Sivut/ home.aspx Website: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/faculty-of-humanities/english Blog: https://blogit.utu.fi/englishturku Facebook: Department of English - University of Turku