First Weeks of Classes

One of the biggest differences than I'm noticing between England and the US is the University System.

In the US we take around 5-6 classes, 2 or 3 days a week, and are graded on participation, quizzes/tests, essays, and final exams.

In England, they take 2-3 classes once a week for lecture and once a week for seminar (some only just for lecture) and are graded on PERHAPS a few essays throughout the semester but in some cases just a final essay.

There is also less structured, assigned reading. Students are expected to keep up with core reading and do as much secondary reading as possible. In many classes, a book a week is read. With so much free time students are expected to use it wisely.

My schedule is English Literature, Language Acquistion (how children learn first and second languages), and Narrative and Culture (how British Culture has an influence on narrative and vice versa). I have no class Monday. No class Tuesday untill my English Lit. lecture at 5. No class Wednesday. Language Acquistion lecture 9-10 and Narrative and Culture Lecture 2-4 on Thursday. 9-11 English Lit. Seminar and 3-4 Language Acquisiton Seminar.

I am very happy with it because it means I have a long weekend for travel. But it also means that I must PUSH MYSELF ALOT, to keep up with the work.

In my first week of classes, I could understand what words my professors were saying, but I couldnt always understand the meanings in them. They also used words in different contexts than I am used to so that threw me off.

After week one, I survived and took alot of what I learned into this week of classes. I have learned to listen for things I understand, and that which I dont understand, its ok because I probably dont need it anyway. Its alot of work but Im loving it.


-Cam

"England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
~George Bernard Shaw