{"id":132919,"date":"2022-12-12T11:43:44","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T16:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=132919"},"modified":"2025-05-12T13:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T17:18:08","slug":"doctoral-fulbright-scholar-mothers-research-will-help-english-teachers-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/doctoral-fulbright-scholar-mothers-research-will-help-english-teachers-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctoral Fulbright Scholar, Mother\u2019s Research Will Help English Teachers Worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

When learning English as a second language, Boniesta Melani recalls hearing her friend say, \u201cI have a lot on my plate,\u201d to which Melani replied, \u201cyou shouldn\u2019t eat too much.\u201d While she understood the literal meaning of each word, the figurative phrase was lost in translation \u2014 an issue faced by many nonnative English speakers.<\/p>\n

Graduating this semester with a doctoral degree in education with a teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) track<\/a>, Melani hopes to make conversational and idiomatic phrases more widely taught to students learning English.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my research, I would like to challenge people’s opinions about what constitutes an idiom,\u201d says Melani. \u201cMany everyday phrases like \u2018go on\u2019 or \u2018in order to,\u2019 are actually idioms because the literal meaning of the words doesn\u2019t match the intended meaning. Idioms can be very difficult for second language learners like me to learn but are often neglected when teaching English vocabulary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s world, knowing English means having access to knowledge. … I\u2019m hoping that by teaching people English, I can help them gain access to the world\u2019s knowledge.\u201d \u2014 Boniesta Melani, UCF student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To her, teaching English means creating opportunities for people in her native Lombok, Indonesia, where she will return after graduating from UCF to continue her role as assistant professor at the University of Mataram. There, she will help other TESOL teachers revolutionize the school\u2019s curriculum by opening more idiomatic conversations in the classroom \u2014 and better connecting students to the international community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s world, knowing English means having access to knowledge,\u201d says Melani. \u201cMost of the information on the internet, on television, or other media, is most likely written in English, and if you don\u2019t speak a widely distributed language, then all that information is not available to you. I\u2019m hoping that by teaching people English, I can help them gain access to the world\u2019s knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motivation Through Motherhood<\/h2>\n

For Melani, earning her doctoral degree means achieving a dream she never thought was possible. In the area she grew up in, most women did not have access to higher education. Now a mother of three boys balancing full-time graduate coursework for the past four years, she continues to redefine what is possible for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Indonesia, there aren\u2019t many women with access to education, especially on the island where I\u2019m from,\u201d says Melani. \u201cGrowing up, I assumed I would be like other women in my area, and not obtain a higher education. I never thought I could pursue more and get my master\u2019s and then even a Ph.D. For me, being able to do this is really something huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a first-generation student, obtaining the highest degree of education available has another dimension of meaning for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to prove to myself that being a married woman with the responsibilities of being a mother shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dream. And this degree has proven to me that it\u2019s possible.\u201d \u2014 Boniesta Melani, UCF student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI have a very strong connection with my mom. One day, I asked her why she never got a university degree, because I know that she really, really wanted her children to pursue a higher education,\u201d says Melani. \u201cShe said that she quit in the final semester of her bachelor’s degree because she couldn\u2019t keep up with managing both school and household tasks. … I wanted to prove to myself that being a married woman with the responsibilities of being a mother shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dream. And this degree has proven to me that it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melani already beat the odds when she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of Mataram in 2003. After working in the English department for several years, she decided to continue her education with a master\u2019s degree in TESOL from the University of Queensland in Australia. But the tug to continue learning would never leave her \u2014 and she made up her mind to pursue a doctoral degree.<\/p>\n

Taking a Chance<\/h2>\n

Limited funding and high competition for Ph.D. programs made applying to schools in Australia and Japan out of the question. Melani turned her focus toward the Fulbright Scholars program \u2014 one of the largest and most prestigious educational exchange programs worldwide. The program, administered by the U.S. Department of State and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, awards around 8,000 grants each year for students to continue their development through research and study in a foreign country. At the time, Melani had no idea she would be moving to the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States and Indonesia are on exactly opposite ends of the globe,\u201d says Melani. \u201cIt felt like I would be going to a whole different world, and I was scared at the time. But the Ph.D. programs offered were really what attracted me the most, so I decided I had to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fulbright\u2019s rigorous selection process had Melani completing multiple examinations, proposals and interviews. When she was finally selected, the Institute of International Education chose five universities she could apply to receive full funding \u2014 one of which was UCF. The university also provided a waiver of tuition for international students, further encouraging her decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I did more research, I found that UCF\u2019s TESOL program perfectly fit my research proposal,\u201d she say. \u201cBut what really made me choose UCF was Dr. Keith Folse, he’s a famous researcher in the topic of English second language vocabulary, and I thought, \u2018He can help me with my research interest. \u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n