Studying at Glamorgan University

It is a novel experience to study at the University of Glamorgan. There are some sides that had affected my quality of life. This blog will address the aspects that have changed my life style such as the town, food, the studying style.

The area that I study at affected my lifestyle. Trefforest, where the main campus of Glamorgan University is located, looks like countryside. There are not many interesting activities that students can do. For example, there are no shopping centres or entertainment areas that had made it a bit isolated. Moreover, it is half an hour far from Cardiff city centre. This is the reason beyond my visit to Cardiff every weekend.

 

Accordingly, food had affected me as well. The distant shops and supermarkets made it difficult for me to buy stuff for cooking. Therefore, I refuged to order online from Asda and takeaways. The only good thing was that there were restaurants at the university campus, so I could have my lunch and sometime dinner from.

The studying style was interesting. Lectures, labs, classes were all new to me. This had changed my view to the education in the UK. I took advantage of the learning resources centre to develop my knowledge and my English language as well.

In conclusion, it was a good experience to study at Glamorgan University, and I hope the other students enjoy their courses there.

Giving a Presentation

Ramos (2012)

Giving a presentation is an important skill not only in the academic life but also in the future career. Today it was the first time for me to give a presentation in English. I had to stand in front of me colleagues to explain my chosen degree to them. In this blog I am going to write what I think about my performance at my presentation.

Before starting my presentation I prepared my speech and my slides. This made me confident towards what I am going to talk about even though I felt a bit nervous. However, the full attention of my colleagues was encouraging and prompts me to face my fears.

At the beginning, I introduced myself and the subject I was going to talk about. This was a good start as my tutor said the limitation of the time I put to my topic is an excellent technique. My speech was clear and fluent with a usage of extensive vocabulary. The University of Kent (2013) suggested that the lecturer should speak clearly with confidence as this makes them sound in control. Also, my use of referenced material, rhetorical questions and eye contact made my presentations looks professional.

On the other side, I think I made some mistakes as well. I was speaking a bit fast when I should speak slowly so that I finished earlier than the appointed time. Newcastle University suggested that “Don't rush, or talk deliberately slowly. Be natural - although not conversational”. Using notes helps remembering the main points but I think I read much than necessary. Hence, I have to correct my mistakes next time when giving a presentation.

At the end, although it was a new experience to me, I think I have done so well, and as long as I have experience of how giving a presentation feels like I will not be nervous again. preparing the lecture and the good use of all the above tips will made the presentation even better.

Bibliography

Newcastle University (2009) Communication Skills – making oral presentations. Available at: http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/dept/Tips/present/comms.htm (Accessed: 7 March 2013).


Ramos, M. (2012) Admitting you're scared ... and other presentation mistakes to avoid [Online]. Available at: http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/careers/2012/03/admitting-youre-scared-and-other-presentation-mistakes-to-avoid.html (Accessed: 7 March 2013).

University of Kent (2013) Tips on Making Presentation. Available at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/presentationskills.htm (Accessed: 7 March 2013).

Academic Culture in the UK

Culture Shock, (College Express, 2013)

The academic culture is the way that student study, behave in their academic life. It is varied from country to another, and it is strongly depends on the education in system in this particular country. In this blog I am going to recount new things I faced, and explain what is meant by culture shock.

When I began studying at the University of Glamorgan I noticed strange ways of studying. Ways that are not familiar to my academic culture in my country of Bahrain. For example, some assignments of my course will be an open-book exam which is like cheating in my country. However, it is not a strange thing to home students.

Many of what I have experienced has not caused me a real culture shock. My previous acquaintance and preparation before I came to the UK gave me a prior general idea of what I may encounter in the British universities. Therefore, almost everything I knew about it and got used to it.

International student are very likely to have experienced a culture shock. According to the UK Council for International students Affairs (2012), it is described as the influence of being in a totally different country where there are many traditions not familiar to their own culture, and this includes encountering new people, new environment, new language and so on. Also Monash University (2012) suggests that “Moving away from home and adjusting to a new culture can be difficult. Feeling anxious or worried about coping is part of settling in. This is culture shock.” Basically, culture shock can be depicted as the effects of being in a new country.

In conclusion, culture shock can affect the ones that have no background and expectation of what they may face in that new country. So, students are highly advised by their universities to read about the British culture and the city there are going to live in.  

Bibliography

College Express (2013) Culture Shock [Online]. Available at: http://www.collegexpress.com/interests/international-students/articles/campus-life-culture-shock/culture-shock/(Accessed: 1 March 2013).

Monash University (2012) Culture Shock. Available at: http://www.monash.edu.au/counselling/self-help/culture-shock.html(Accessed: 1 March 2013).
 

UKCISA (2012) International students and culture shock. Available at: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/info_sheets/culture_shock.php (Accessed: 1 March 2013).