Monthly Archives: June 2017

Overcoming challenge

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by Shentao (Student Blogger: BA English Language and Linguistics)

Last term I was nearly overwhelmed by my ‘mountainous’ academic workload. Anxiety was haunting me so much that I finally turned to our university’s mental health service and NHS health centre both at campus and in town. I also talked to teaching staff in my department. Thanks to the consultation and teaching staff’s efforts to comfort me, I started to calm down. I redesigned my learning strategies, went to the gym more frequently than before to release academic stress by building my body and I also joined a mock business negotiation society to make friends with my peers.

Redesigning learning strategies

I believe for most international students in the UK, the priority is that they have to adjust themselves to the English speaking environment with which they might possibly lack familiarity. Particularly, as a student in the Department of English Language and Linguistics, it is a necessity for me to master the language skills in academic communication (e.g. consultation with the teaching staff) and production (e.g. essay writing) given that I have to use a second language to carry out these tasks whose requirements on language skills are significantly higher than those of daily lives.

The onset of my learning experiences here has witnessed multiple problems related to the English language skills. For example, there are some sentences in my essay that do not look very ‘natural’ from the perspective of a native speaker of English, which was pointed out by one of my tutors in Year One. My old habit of referring to English dictionaries when I compose English articles has been meaningful in many occasions but it is not the ultimate solution because English (even academic English) is a ‘live’ language that has always been undergoing changes. It is not a bunch of words hidden in those huge heavy volumes. That is, the English language is always ahead of the dictionaries. Therefore, in order to master the most practical language that is employed in academics by native speakers of English, I contacted the native speakers of English around me and asked them for help when proof reading. They pointed out some sentences and/or phrases whose wording looked ‘unnatural’ or even ungrammatical to them and gave suggestions on how to improve or correct them. Modification would be added by me if, after consulting more professional people such as the teaching staff, I was confirmed that mistakes arose in those parts.

Doing more exercise

The benefits of doing physical exercises go beyond keeping myself physically healthy. It is also a great way to release one from academic pressure. As a member of the university sports centre I go to the gym as a matter of routine. I received professional training of badminton and used to play for the school badminton team when I was in China. Here in Lancaster University I prefer to run on the treadmill because I can start it anytime I want without inviting a partner. If my memory serves me correctly, I have run over a hundred kilometres on the treadmill since I gained the membership of the sports centre here. From my sporting experiences I can say that the speeding blood flow and modification of inspiration and expiration greatly relax both my body and mind. Besides, after doing such exercises I can have a nice sleep which is really an asset to academic tasks.

Joining a society

I chose to step out of my comfort zone and I decided to learn how to communicate with people in a more efficient way. To do this I joined a model business negotiation society in which communication skills do matter. In the society I made friends and learned how to express my feelings and ideas while absorbing others’. This has proven to be a great start for me to interact with others in order to exchange information. For now, my marks on coursework have been significantly improved and I am much more open to interact with people all around the world not only to learn from them but also present myself to them.

With all these efforts my anxiety was fading away and my brain started to function more efficiently than before. Ultimately, I successfully finished all the academic tasks of the last term.

 

Finding your formula

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by Nevena (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Business Studies (Industry))

“First year doesn’t count!” “Aren’t you going out today?” “I can’t bother going to a 9 am.”

Do these phrases ring a bell when you think of your first year in university? I bet this is the case.

Let’s face it, all of us (or nearly all) underestimate the importance and seriousness of our first year. We go out every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, can’t skip ‘Sugar,’ right? We are excited by the sudden and yet powerful feeling of freedom we are experiencing. Feeling of freedom which gives us momentum to keep socialising with others and practically do whatever we decide without having our parents tell us what we can and can’t do, what we should and shouldn’t do. We skip a lecture from time to time, (we don’t really manage to catch up…just because we were too busy with other things), we go to all the societies we signed up for (after reducing the list of 10 during freshers’ week to 3 at the most for the period after), we search for events or just chill with our flatmates all day long.

Suddenly, the end of first term comes and everyone starts panicking about submitting their first assignments. However, this is not the only problem… the most worrying issue is that you don’t really know how to do it and how it will be marked. “There’s still time,” you tell yourself; “It shouldn’t take me that long,” – your inner voice keeps whispering. There are still a few days left and you realise that leaving an essay for the very last minute wasn’t really the smartest decision and you try to mobilise yourself and still finish it on time. You press the button “Submit assignment,” it is 23:59, you realise you have a minute left (but let’s think of it as 60 seconds because it looks more), your heartbeat fastens… and you see the window on your screen “Successful submission”; and BOOM – everything is finished (you were lucky this time)! You go home for a whole month around Christmas, enjoy your time with friends and family and come fresh for the second portion of uni – the Lent term. But trust me, it is not until the summer term when you start feeling concerned about the 5 exams (at least) that are on your exam timetable. The material is so much that you spend a whole week trying to get back in the studying routine after the second looooong break, and then suddenly you have a few weeks left to the Great Battle… Panic. Panic. Panic!

 

Wait! Stop for a minute. Breathe in. Breathe out. And don’t let yourself press the panic button. You are capable of getting the grades you want (and need) at those exams. Gather yourself, talk to second year students from your course, ask them for advice, make a revision plan and start. Focus and find what studying strategy works best for you. Trust in yourself and work hard for your goal. The results will come soon if you give all you can from yourself.

 

Now, I’ll ask you to do something. Close your eyes and try to visualise the challenging situation as an equation with several unknowns. Remind yourself that you have taken some basic Math lessons in your past and know how to find the result of 2+2. I bet you can calculate an even more complicated problem as 2×22. It’s the same here. Start with small steps. Go through the addition process: revise lecture notes as well as your notes and try to synthesize them in points you can easily remember. Link topics, use arrows, draw mind maps and you will save some extra work. Divide large topics in smaller chunks of nuclei and find associations or real-life examples, so you can relate to theories more easily. Finally, change the way in which you revise – don’t let revision become stagnant. Study on your own, practice past papers with friends, discuss potential exam questions, criticize objectively the theories and concepts. Then, when you sit on the chair behind the desk on your exam date be focused, stay on topic, and think positively. By that time, you will have found out the unknowns of the equation, and your X, Y, and Z will give you the result that you want.

 

We all make mistakes. However, it is important to acknowledge them and learn from them. Look at what you experienced throughout the year and how you approached what happened to you. Draw the conclusions from that and incorporate the lessons next year. You have the ability to find the right formula for yourself. There’s little time left and you can do it!

A helping hand

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by Catherine (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Computer Science)

I suffer from anxiety which means I worry about most parts of everyday life, from taking a bus to going to the shops; the example I frequently use is that anxiety is when you’re more nervous about travelling to an exam and being in a crowded room than the actual content of the exam, to the point where you feel knots in your stomach and may suffer a panic attack.

 

During my first year, I was studying a module which had workshops, which are essentially classroom environments structured around working through example questions provided by lecturers. These workshops were based on each week’s lecture material, with the lecturer or teaching assistant running the workshop providing appropriate answers at the end of the class. Despite the workshops being held at 1pm on a Friday just a 2-minute walk from my accommodation, I often felt too anxious to attend; this led to me working through the questions alone from home.

 

Overall this method was beneficial to me as it provided me the resources to study in a structured manner. I attended all my lectures and studied in my spare time so felt relatively confident however, as the answers to workshop questions were not posted to Moodle, I had no way to ensure I was understanding lecture content. My friends did not attend the workshops either, meaning I had no way of accessing the answers.

 

I decided to email my lecturer describing my situation, explaining honestly why I do not attend their workshops; they arranged a time for me to meet with them. When I arrived, I was nervous, as I felt awkward and embarrassed that I had to admit how poor my attendance was, however my lecturer was very understanding and supportive. She had prepared some materials for me to outline the answers that were provided in the workshops as well as some other important information to remember around the question topics. She also discussed my anxiety with me and reassured me that if I ever need to talk about anything or I need any additional help with the module to let her know. I thanked her for her help, and left feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

 

I spent the rest of the day reading through the materials she had offered me, comparing my answers to hers. This allowed me to not only review the content of my answers and highlight differences, but to also reflect on my sentence structure and writing style. I began to take more pleasure in the module and gained a much clearer understanding. This was represented in my end of year grades, as I finished the Module with 71.9%, which equates to a first.

 

I am glad that when I needed help I contacted my lecturer as I had a very positive experience. Even if you only need the answer to a couple of simple questions, I suggest meeting your lecturer rather than simply asking in an email, as they are likely to offer in-depth solutions which will solidify your understanding, and building good rapport is important.

 

It is also important to attend lectures and other classes wherever you can, catching up on any missed work in your spare time. Lecturers can offer support and clarification to those who need it, but you need to have spent time trying to understand the material beforehand. It is also best to contact your college’s welfare team if you need support outside of your course.