Contributing to lessons, listening attentively, revising your notes… It all seems like good study practice so why do so many students start to feel a little overwhelmed and, well, lost during their course?
It’s perfectly normal for students to slightly lose sight of the outside world when deadlines are calling and exams are looming. While many students get into the bad habit of ‘cramming’ at the last minute, international students learning a new language often need more time to become accustomed to new ways of learning.
Often the pressure of studying leads students to actually be counter-productive in their independent learning. All too often students will take a relaxed approach at the beginning of their course and then panic and work non stop before an assignment hand in or exam!
Obviously too little, too late is a poor way to prepare for assessments, but we do understand that difficult topics can creep up on students and leave them feeling they can’t possibly have enough time to prepare.
Establishing good study skills early on in your course is, therefore, a really effective way to keep on top of your work. We’ve taken some tips from real students and universities all over the country to find what really helps students get results. Some of them we’re sure you’re familiar with, but other ways of learning may be different to how you study back home.
Creating a revision timetable is an organisational method practised from secondary school to postgraduate level for its universal ability to really break down what can seem an impossible workload. Creating a timetable at the start of your course can help you allocate specific times to dedicate to each individual subject. This has multiple benefits of keeping you up to date with your work and allowing you to have a great social life outside your hard work!
A study plan can be tailored to each individual’s way of working, but creating a plan that allows you to read over and practice what you’ve learnt that day is a great way to keep the new information fresh. As you near assessment periods, creating a plan more focused on practising exam questions may be more effective for you.
Creating a plan is also a great way to tackle any difficult topics early on, identifying topics you struggle with can give you plenty of time to contact your tutor for extra help, teaching staff generally don’t appreciate being emailed 3 hours before your assignment is due in! Prioritising subjects you find more of a challenge is important for achieving all-around success on your course. It’s always very tempting to focus on topics you enjoy and find easy, but the trickier topics will benefit much more from your extra attention.
Opening a textbook and sitting in a quiet library is a rather outdated view of studying now, there are so many ways you can engage with your subjects! While pouring over textbooks in silence may work well for you, for students who prefer a more interactive method of learning there are many other study options.
Some students find they take information in much better when it’s clearly displayed in a visual diagram. Mind maps containing concise information that indicate how they link to relevant arguments, facts and answers can be highly useful for visual learners.
Some students find that group study sessions are helpful as they allow different perspectives on topics from each member of the group. Studying with other people is also useful as you can review each other’s work, ask for help, or practice your conversational English. Studying with your peers is generally a more pleasant experience too as you can arrange regular short breaks together. Make sure you do concentrate though and stick to a schedule!
Writing essential notes on cue cards allows you to access your notes on the move and even when you find yourself getting completely fed up with a topic, reading, reading and reading some more can really help a subject stick in your head! Practising exam questions, especially essay questions can also work wonders, especially for students writing in their second language. Ask your tutor for examples of exam papers from previous years, or even make up your own questions based on topics which are likely to come up.
Preparing for your least favourite topic or an area you find difficult is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for any thorny questions you may be dreading!
Don’t forget, if you’re finding your course difficult, your tutors will be more than happy to help, our New College Manchester tutors are widely praised by our former students for their helpfulness. For more information about English courses and Graduate, courses get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
Kujifunza, kusikiliza kwa makini, kurekebisha maelezo yako... yote haya yanaonekana kama mazoezi mazuri ya masomo, kwa nini wanafunzi wengi wanaanza kujisikia kuwa wamejaa na kupoteza wakati wa kozi yao? Ni kawaida kabisa kwa wanafunzi kupoteza kidogo mtazamo wa ulimwengu wa nje wakati tarehe za mwisho zinapopiga simu na mitihani inakaribia. Wakati wanafunzi wengi kupata katika tabia mbaya ya 'cramming' katika dakika ya mwisho, wanafunzi wa kimataifa kujifunza lugha mpya mara nyingi wanahitaji muda zaidi ya kuwa na kawaida na njia mpya ya kujifunza. Mara nyingi shinikizo la kujifunza huwaongoza wanafunzi kuwa na matokeo mabaya katika kujifunza kwao kwa kujitegemea. Mara nyingi sana wanafunzi huchukua mbinu ya kupumzika mwanzoni mwa kozi yao na kisha kuogopa na kufanya kazi bila kukoma kabla ya utoaji wa mgawo au mtihani! Ni wazi kidogo sana, marehemu sana ni njia mbaya ya kujitayarisha kwa ajili ya tathmini, lakini sisi kuelewa kwamba mada ngumu inaweza creep juu ya wanafunzi na kuwaacha hisia hawawezi kuwa na muda wa kutosha kwa ajili ya maandalizi. Kuanzisha ujuzi mzuri wa kusoma mapema katika kozi yako ni njia bora ya kuendelea kufanya kazi yako. Tumechukua vidokezo kutoka kwa wanafunzi halisi na vyuo vikuu kote nchini kupata kile kinachosaidia wanafunzi kupata matokeo. Baadhi yao sisi ni uhakika wewe ni ukoo na, lakini njia nyingine ya kujifunza inaweza kuwa tofauti na jinsi wewe kujifunza nyuma nyumbani. Kuunda ratiba ya marekebisho ni mbinu ya shirika inayotumika kutoka shule ya sekondari hadi ngazi ya baada ya kuhitimu kwa uwezo wake wa ulimwengu wa kweli kuvunja kile kinachoweza kuonekana kuwa mzigo wa kazi usiowezekana. Kuandika ratiba ya masomo yako mapema inaweza kukusaidia kuamua wakati wa kujifunza kila somo. Hii ina faida nyingi za kukuweka hadi sasa na kazi yako na kuruhusu wewe kuwa na maisha ya kijamii kubwa nje ya kazi yako ngumu! Mpango wa masomo unaweza kubadilishwa kwa kila mtu kwa njia ya kufanya kazi, lakini kuunda mpango ambao unakuwezesha kusoma na kufanya mazoezi yale uliyojifunza siku hiyo ni njia nzuri ya kuweka habari mpya safi. Unapokaribia vipindi vya tathmini, kuunda mpango unaozingatia zaidi mazoezi ya maswali ya mtihani inaweza kuwa na ufanisi zaidi kwako. Kuunda mpango pia ni njia nzuri ya kukabiliana na mada yoyote ngumu mapema, kutambua mada wewe mapambano na inaweza kukupa muda mwingi wa kuwasiliana na mwalimu wako kwa msaada wa ziada, walimu kwa ujumla si kufahamu kuwa emailed saa 3 kabla ya kazi yako ni kutokana na! Kupangia masomo ambayo unaona ni changamoto zaidi ni muhimu kwa kufikia mafanikio ya jumla kwenye kozi yako. Ni daima kuvutia sana kuzingatia mada wewe kufurahia na kupata rahisi, lakini mada trickier itapata faida zaidi kutoka kwa tahadhari yako ya ziada. Kufungua kitabu cha masomo na kukaa katika maktaba ya utulivu ni mtazamo wa zamani wa kujifunza sasa, kuna njia nyingi sana unaweza kushiriki na masomo yako! Ingawa kusoma vitabu vya masomo kimya-kimya kunaweza kukusaidia, wanafunzi wanaopendelea njia ya kujifunza yenye kuingiliana zaidi wana njia nyingine nyingi za kujifunza. Baadhi ya wanafunzi kupata wao kuchukua habari katika bora zaidi wakati ni wazi kuonyeshwa katika mchoro wa kuona. Ramani za akili zenye habari fupi ambazo zinaonyesha jinsi zinavyounganisha hoja zinazohusiana, ukweli na majibu zinaweza kuwa muhimu sana kwa wanafunzi wa kuona. Wanafunzi wengine hupata kwamba vikao vya kujifunza vya kikundi ni vyenye kusaidia kwa kuwa huruhusu maoni tofauti juu ya mada kutoka kwa kila mshiriki wa kikundi. Kujifunza na watu wengine pia ni muhimu kama unaweza kupitia kazi ya kila mmoja, kuuliza msaada, au mazoezi ya mazungumzo yako ya Kiingereza. Kujifunza pamoja na wenzako kwa kawaida ni jambo lenye kupendeza zaidi pia kwa kuwa mnaweza kupanga mapumziko mafupi ya kawaida pamoja. Hata hivyo, hakikisha kwamba unakazia fikira na kushikamana na ratiba! Kuandika maelezo muhimu kwenye kadi za ishara hukuruhusu kupata maelezo yako ukiwa unasafiri na hata unapojikuta umechoka kabisa na mada, kusoma, kusoma na kusoma zaidi kunaweza kusaidia mada kubaki kichwani mwako! Kujifunza maswali ya mtihani, hasa maswali ya insha, pia inaweza kufanya maajabu, hasa kwa wanafunzi kuandika katika lugha yao ya pili. Mwulize mwalimu wako kwa mfano wa karatasi za mtihani kutoka miaka ya awali, au hata fanya maswali yako mwenyewe kulingana na mada ambazo zinaweza kutokea. Kujitayarisha kwa mada yako ya chini ya favorite au eneo wewe kupata vigumu ni moja ya njia bora ya kujiandaa kwa maswali yoyote thorny unaweza kuwa na hofu! Usisahau, kama wewe ni kupata kozi yako ngumu, walimu wako itakuwa zaidi ya furaha kusaidia, wetu New College Manchester walimu ni sana kusifiwa na wanafunzi wetu wa zamani kwa ajili ya msaada wao. Kwa habari zaidi kuhusu kozi za Kiingereza na Graduate, kozi kuwasiliana na sisi na sisi itakuwa furaha kusaidia.