Student Exchange Sharing by KWOK Yi Yung

Transcription

1 Student Exchange Sharing by KWOK Yi Yung Exchange study in University of Warwick, UK, in Semester A, ILOs - Action Plan (before commencement) DEC-ILOs for POL outbound exchange students: Not Very important important 1 To discover the cultural characteristics of my host community 2. To illustrate and explain the cultural diversities between my host community and home community 3. To discover the latest developments in my host community 4. To explain the latest developments in my host community and make suggestions for my home community 5. To discover new knowledge related to my area of study 6. To apply discovered new knowledge to analyze and alleviate problems in my home community 7. To discover new approaches to learning 8. To apply discovered new approaches in learning 9. To discover the learning attitudes and methods of students in my host institution 10. To illustrate and explain the performance and learning achievements of students in my host institution 11. To demonstrate and enhance my language skills to communicate with people effectively in an interactional setting 12. To demonstrate and enhance my social skills to collaborate and work with people of different cultures and nationalities 13. To enhance my personal flexibility and independence in a new and changing environment 14. To enhance my problem solving skills in different situations 15. To develop a critical and analytical mindset 16. To discover new insights and inputs for my career plan(s) 17. To discover new insights and inputs for my life-long goals 18. To enhance my whole-person development in the three aspects of attitude, ability, and achievement Actions to be taken: Join the outdoor music festivals: In foreign countries, they support music not only by buying discs in CD shops or itunes, but also attend music festivals frequently to support their idols in person. There are similar music festivals in Hong Kong, however, not many people prefer 1

2 going or their responses are not enthusiastic as in the West. In view of this phenomenon, I eager to join those festivals in the United Kingdom in order to find out the sources of attractiveness and how the audience engaged themselves in the events. Tasks to be performed: Speak at least once in class discussion: Hong Kong students are usually being recognized as shy in classes while those from the West always raise questions or give own opinions publicly, especially for my major. I hope I can be more confidant to ask or response during discussions so as to train my English oratory and critical thinking. Sharing about cultural policy: As I plan to join the Arts Administration industry after graduation, I would like to understand more about the relationship and development between cultural policy and arts administration because the European countries do a lot better than Hong Kong in this curriculum. I would also like to know how people see the balance between heritage conservation and urban development, and collective memory, as those are the greatest concern to Hong Kong. Activities to be completed: Halloween parties held by the Student Union: As Halloween is one of the most important festival to students from the West, the Student Union of the host institution will hold a series of large-scale celebration parties not only for fun, but also cultural exchanges for people from all parts of the world. Therefore, participating these kinds of campus activities provide me chances to make more friends, as well as figure out why western people regard Ghost festival differently from the Asians. Reflective Journal 1 (after the first week of class) Finally I can have a chance to study in my dream university The University of Warwick. I am so excited to embrace this opportunity to develop myself comprehensively. Cultural Discovery 1 Time management During the first week in Warwick, I could already feel the courses here are very demanding. Students are required to do a lot of readings, which are two times more than that in CityU. At the beginning, I thought no one will have enough time to complete all every week but then I was wrong. They kept on quoting the readings content when we were having discussion in seminars, which I should definitely learn from. However, meanwhile, students have parties almost every night in halls for entertainment. I really wondered how they could manage their time so well as to balance work and play. In Hong Kong, many students, 2

3 including me, are deadline fighters of assignments. We are used to spending our time on social media platforms or hanging out with friends. Therefore when the due dates are approaching, we will probably work around the clocks in order to meet the deadlines. Time management is a lesson about how to optimize the productivity within a certain timeframe for me to learn. Cultural Discover 2 Drinking culture Before coming to the United Kingdom, I have never been to any nightclubs and bars in Hong Kong as I thought they are not normal social venues. Yet, the astonishing thing is that there is a bar at the main building in Warwick. When I firstly saw this bar, one question comes into my mind is that why does school encourage alcohol? It is known that drinking culture is a popular social activity in the UK, but as an academic institution, having bars on campus may pose threats on the safety of students once they got drunk, not to say destroy the learning atmosphere. However, I have talked about this with a local student, he thought that drinking is too normal for British, just as Chinese go to Yum chai on Sundays and we actually have one in CityU as well. They regard the bars and clubs are crucial places for networking and sustaining friendships. He gave sharp advice for me to wake up from my traditionally bounded values towards drinking. I should appreciate this Western style of Yum Chai instead. Reflective Journal 2 (after the first month of class) Class Activities The style of lectures in Warwick is similar to that of CityU, whereas the seminars are totally different. Firstly, students are required to form a circle in order to facilitate discussion that is quite rare in CityU. During the class, the tutor is responsible for kicking off the discussion by asking some questions only, then the students start exchanging ideas or opinions of the topic on their own. In the first two weeks, I could not adapt to such an interactive learning atmosphere because I was too shy. But then I forced myself to speak up more even sometimes I could just give few words. Students here do a lot of preparation before attending the seminars, they complete both the essential and suggested readings in a bid to support their points, which I must learn from to enrich my content when I deliver my speech. Cultural discovery religious facilities in campus Warwick is a very international university that enrolls outstanding students all over the world. Some of them are so-called ethnic minority in Hong Kong who are Islam, but in fact they occupy quite a large portion of students here. Therefore, there is a Islamic Prayer Hall in campus for facilitating their daily religious activities. Such a facility and arrangement by the school enable to 3

4 consider how important the religion is for Islam and also the pros and cons of theocracy in some religious countries. Hall life Warwick stresses heavily on relationship within a flat so we have flat gathering every week. Last week, they prepared a birthing celebration dinner for me and we had a good time. I did enjoy we all share our cultures, growth, interests with others. From their life experience, I can evaluate and improve myself in the future. My flat-mates and I do not smoke. However, we discovered many students smoke in campus, within the accommodation areas in particular. Therefore, we came up with an idea that we could stick Smoking kills these words on the glass so when people downstairs smoke, they can read our words and try to smoke less. I think this decoration not only special but also very meaningful. Before coming to Warwick, I have never had hall life in CityU. Therefore, in my mind, laundry is just a place for cloth washing. Yet, after living here for a month, I discovered that laundry itself is a perfect venue for networking. People start talking to others if they come across difficulties in handling the machines. In addition, as it takes at least 40 minutes to finish washing, some people will decide to stay in the laundry and social with others. That is why laundry is not merely an accommodation facility, but also a social place that allow residents to meet more friends. Reflective Journal 3 (after the last day of class) Gain in terms of personal growth and social poise Frankly speaking, I had not ever expected going for an exchange would bring me so much in personal growth. In the past, I was afraid of being alone, especially during holidays and festivals. I always needed accompaniment or else I would feel depressed or jealous of seeing others could hang out with friends but I could not. Yet, during these months, I had plenty of time being alone as I had my own room and I took fewer modules than my friends who are the undergraduates in Warwick. It was quite lonely at the beginning, but, gradually I enjoyed this kind of loneliness. I watched films in the cinema by myself merely, yet, I was more concentrated during the time. Apart from it, as a Chinese, being discriminated is not an uncommon phenomenon no matter in the university. I have heard of people calling me and my Chinese friends Chicken for many times. I had to admit that it was quite desperate because of my skin color every time I heard it. However, I told myself I should accept what I look like and not to stereotype all British. Practicing selfacceptance is a key to develop social poise and I think I accomplish it. 4

5 Saying goodbye is only painful when you don t know if there will ever be a hello again. Therefore I was so afraid of being forgotten by friends I have met, staying separately in different time zones, losing common topics, as we will no longer live together. However, ironically, learning to say goodbye is a must in life. I told my mum I had this feeling on the last week and she comforted me by saying I should think in a more positive way and should not be too care for how my friends will treat me after I left. Even if they cannot remember me one day, the most important thing is all of us had ever created many graceful memories that are deeply in my heart and brighten up my life. I am not sure if I can truly understand what my mother said, but I will try my best to learn to say goodbyes from a different perspective in next stages of my life. Post-Exchange Evaluation Report (after return from exchange) Part I: Achieved Learning Outcomes DEC-ILOs for POL outbound exchange students: Not Great at all deal 1 To discover the cultural characteristics of my host community 2. To illustrate and explain the cultural diversities between my host community and home community 3. To discover the latest developments in my host community 4. To explain the latest developments in my host community and make suggestions for my home community 5. To discover new knowledge related to my area of study 6. To apply discovered new knowledge to analyze and alleviate problems in my home community 7. To discover new approaches to learning 8. To apply discovered new approaches in learning 9. To discover the learning attitudes and methods of students in my host institution 10. To illustrate and explain the performance and learning achievements of students in my host institution 11. To demonstrate and enhance my language skills to communicate with people effectively in an interactional setting 12. To demonstrate and enhance my social skills to collaborate and work with people of different cultures and nationalities 13. To enhance my personal flexibility and independence in a new and changing environment 14. To enhance my problem solving skills in different situations 15. To develop a critical and analytical mindset 16. To discover new insights and inputs for my career plan(s) 17. To discover new insights and inputs for my life-long goals 5

6 18. To enhance my whole-person development in the three aspects of attitude, ability, and achievement Part II: Evaluation/Reflection/Discovery Strengthening independence Before going for an exchange, I admitted that my mother took care of every part of my life. Not until I was in UK, I would not learn cooking or else I have to eat out or buy take-away food everyday. Therefore, I spent plenty of time on reading recipes so now I am proud of making myself different good food. Apart from cooking, I can manage all my things on my own after staying alone abroad. Going for an exchange would train you to be more independent within a very short period of time. Enhancing language skills At first, I was afraid of speaking too slow and unclear which is quite bothering so I forced myself to watch to BBC news program everyday, providing me chances to discuss the news with my friends and hence train my oral English as well. I cannot say my oral English is excellent now but at least it has improved a lot after three-month training. Discovering cultural characteristics When I first came to the UK, I usually greet people by saying, How are you and thank by Thank you so much. However, the locals say, You re alright? and Cheers instead. At the beginning, I thought do I look tired or sick? Why they kept on asking me am I alright? Moreover, I was curious why there were no cups, why Cheers? Even though I could not get used to these words, getting the local language understood is essential in breaking the communication barriers with the locals. Changes in study attitudes I still remembered the first question of my module, Democracy, Fairness and Citizenship, Why do you study politics? while my answer was that is my interest and that s all. As I was the first one to answer the question, I had no ideas of how the other classmates would response. But then I was shocked by their goals of contributing to their home countries according to their professional knowledge, say being a councilor; politics discipline professor, or social welfare advocate. By comparison, my answer was so vague. I am sure I have strong interest in politics but I do not know how to develop my career based on it. Afterwards, I spent time to complete some career industry and personality tests online in order to uncover my strengths and weaknesses, and also think deeply how can I use my political knowledge to do good for Hong Kong. I should not treat my four year study in university is merely an interest but a tool to make Hong Kong a better place. 6