I'm a 62 year old man going back to school to take a degree in linguistics. I'm financially stable, and it has always been my passion to teach. Anything I should consider before going on this journey?

Hi there!

Fate brought me to your question as I have a linguistics degree from NUS and have been working as an English teacher ever since after graduation.

Hope you're doing well in your educational journey!

I think having a background in linguistics can only help you as a teacher as you can see how words and sentences are put together and embedded with meaning through modules like morphology, semantics and syntax. I particularly enjoyed learning how new words are coined - it goes to show how language is a dynamic living organism.

One thing that was hard for me to come to terms with (and might apply to your case too) is that some modules, particularly the sociolinguistics ones, favored a non-prescriptive view of language. So I learnt about non-standard varieties and new varieties of English and admired all their charming quirks. But in a mainstream classroom, I got to teach grammar rules. Teaching necessitates you to take on a prescriptive role in the classroom. Just to give you a small example, I teach that color/center are acceptable spellings of the American variety but "because we are sitting for GCE O levels, please kindly stick to the British spelling"

Ya, it took a while to recalibrate my feelings. heh.

Hope you are having fun!

That is AWESOME. I admire you for taking this leap of faith. You are a good learning example.

Since you are financially stable and kids are independent, it is really a great time for you to do something you are interested in. It is time to live your own life and pursue what you have been missing.

Things to consider - Manage your expenses and change your current lifstyle if you spend alot since you will be getting a huge pay cut.