I've wrote the ten top mistakes that i've made as a fresher in Brunel. Don't do the same I did!
1 - Buy a Railcard, not a student Oyster.
If you study in Brunel, live on campus and don´t take public transport every day, what you do need is a Railcard. It gives you 1/3 discount on tube fares and daily cap. Oyster, on the other hand, only gives you discount on weekly and monthly travelcards. I've never need one!
2 - Learn how to use trains and buses.
Underground is amazing, but sometimes using trains is much more effective, not to mention that there are some planned engineering works running on weekends that can leave you without Metropolitan and Picadilly lines sometimes. That´s the hell! Buses, differently, are very nice to go through the city, because it allows you to see where you are goind.
3 - Create opportunities to speak English.
Notice that I´m not telling you to find opportunities. You have to create them. Mainly if you live with many people from your own country around. Do something that they don´t do. Travel by yourself. Go shopping. Join a society. Attend meetup groups. Go couchsurfing. Don´t sit on your kitchen waiting someone to come and speak in English with you.
4 - Walk.
You´ll have a completely different impression of the city when you walk London. The city is not that big as you imagine. The nicest things are between a tube station and an other and you´ll never discover them if you don´t walk. if you really like walking, I recommend you to follow some routes from the website www.walklondon.org.uk They have a lot of marked trails everywhere in the city. I wish I had discovered it earlier!
5 - Find a hobby.
Photography ( <3 ), music, language, sports. After, search a society in Brunel, a course, or a meetup group, and practise it! It´s the easiest way of finding native friends.
6 - Make a list of places you want to visit when you arrive, not when you are going home.
It´s so simple, don´t let for tomorrow. Try to visit this places as soon as you can. Leave the touristic places to when you receive some friend or relatives. enjoy your last days, visiting again the places you liked more, not trying to go to every single place you haven´t time.
7 - Read and summarise academic content throughout the year.
Follow the reading list your lecturers recommend and start to read from the beginning of the term. If you make a good summary, your exam review would be much easier!
8 - Go out every week.
Time runs and you won´t notice. There are a lot to see, London is amazing. It will be difficult to go out on winter, so enjoy the other seasons.
9 - Look up information about a city before booking tickets.
This is absolutely important. NEVER buy a ticket (mainly Ryanair) without check where the airport is, whether it's possible or not to take public transportation to the city centre when you arrive and if the airport is open during the evening if you intend to sleep there. Some airports simple put you out. Also, check the prices in the city (hostels, food) and if it's possible to visit what you want in the period you intend to visit. Some attractions close in some months of the year.
10 - Don´t buy books.
I LOVE books and I usually buy a lot of them, but they will be a headache when you are going back to your country. They are heavy and will take a great space in your luggage. Seriously, don´t do that. If you want to buy some book for studying while you are there, buy an old (and cheap) one. Then, you can donate it after for someone who needs. By the way, I found on Brunel library all books I needed, and if you read throughout the year, you won´t have to compete for them when the exams arrive. If you want to read novel, fiction, or want travel guides, buy a e-reader (Kindle or Kobo). They are light and it's definitely worth the investment.
Good luck!
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts
Friday, 4 October 2013
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Improving English and making international friends with Meetup
A challenge that many people - like me - face when they come to an English-speaking country is to adapt to the language. Of course, to be accepted in a university in the UK I've done a proficiency test, but I was still struggling with the language after around 9 months living here.
I have been doing all that things that everybody says to you to avoid when you go study in another country: make only friends from the same country which you come from, continue listening musics from your country and reading books in your language. The result was that I was deeply upset with myself about not having achieved the level of English I expected when I came here.
Everything changed the day I discovered Meetup.com . The website's purpose is to connect people with the same interests within an area. For example, you can search for people who like board games, in your neighbourhood or city. Or photography. Or... languages, of course! Then, you can enter as many groups you want and go to the meetings organised by them. Many of them are free, other charge a nominal fee to attend. I had never heard about it, but since that day when a friend of mine told me about the website, my life here totally changed.
I can't count how many meetings I've been so far, but the experiences I had were all fantastic. I've experienced both free and paid events and they worth it. Personally, the groups I like more are The London English conversation group ( paid English lessons with a native and amazing teacher), Babble Exchange (meeting in a pub, you can improve any language you want), Ken's London Walks (£2 per a guided walk in different places in London) and London Let's Click (free and paid workshops).
The advice I can give you is not to look only for those groups related to language, even if your main purpose is to improve your language skills. The problem with language groups is that most of people who attend them probably are not native speakers as well. I know you can learn with people from other country as well, but - for me - it's so much funnier to practice my English with British people, while we go on a stroll in a park or in a photography tour around London.
Give it a try!
I have been doing all that things that everybody says to you to avoid when you go study in another country: make only friends from the same country which you come from, continue listening musics from your country and reading books in your language. The result was that I was deeply upset with myself about not having achieved the level of English I expected when I came here.
Everything changed the day I discovered Meetup.com . The website's purpose is to connect people with the same interests within an area. For example, you can search for people who like board games, in your neighbourhood or city. Or photography. Or... languages, of course! Then, you can enter as many groups you want and go to the meetings organised by them. Many of them are free, other charge a nominal fee to attend. I had never heard about it, but since that day when a friend of mine told me about the website, my life here totally changed.
I can't count how many meetings I've been so far, but the experiences I had were all fantastic. I've experienced both free and paid events and they worth it. Personally, the groups I like more are The London English conversation group ( paid English lessons with a native and amazing teacher), Babble Exchange (meeting in a pub, you can improve any language you want), Ken's London Walks (£2 per a guided walk in different places in London) and London Let's Click (free and paid workshops).
The advice I can give you is not to look only for those groups related to language, even if your main purpose is to improve your language skills. The problem with language groups is that most of people who attend them probably are not native speakers as well. I know you can learn with people from other country as well, but - for me - it's so much funnier to practice my English with British people, while we go on a stroll in a park or in a photography tour around London.
Give it a try!
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Amazing English Lecture
I've just found the English course that I needed. The first Academic Discussion Skills class was brilliant. Friendly lecturer and good methods which make me leave my comfort zone and start to talk, and talk, and talk (my friends know how it is unlikely).
My classmates, Victoria (from Taiwan) and Leilei (from China), and me got plenty of tips about how to take part in an academic discussion, from verbal to body language.
How would be nice if more teacher were able to percept students feelings and give them what they need exactly like Professor Deborah did. I'm almost sure that my classmates would say "I totally agree with you, Renata" (using the expression like we've been taught in the lesson).
I'm already waiting for the next class!
My classmates, Victoria (from Taiwan) and Leilei (from China), and me got plenty of tips about how to take part in an academic discussion, from verbal to body language.
How would be nice if more teacher were able to percept students feelings and give them what they need exactly like Professor Deborah did. I'm almost sure that my classmates would say "I totally agree with you, Renata" (using the expression like we've been taught in the lesson).
I'm already waiting for the next class!
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
In-sessional English @ Brunel
I've just returned from my first English class on Term 2 and decided to write about In-sessional English at Brunel while my clothes are at the laundry (this makes me write more objectively :). In-sessional courses run every term and are free of charge for all students whose first language isn't English.
I can't say about all of them, but those which I've attended are a mix of lecture and group discussions or activities. Classes are mostly very interactive and have a friendly environment. I've met very nice people through them!
I can't say about all of them, but those which I've attended are a mix of lecture and group discussions or activities. Classes are mostly very interactive and have a friendly environment. I've met very nice people through them!
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