大三出國、全英語課程 - 國際視野 : 淡江大學大三出國通報及學分採認系統

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2019大三出國輔導通報系統 - 留學心得報告[編輯]

政經 406820307 　吳芳諭　　留學學校：加州州立大學長堤分校

(一)基本資料

California State University, Long Beach. (CSULB) Long Beach, CA 2019/08/04-2020/05/31 KOR 101 Sec 01 8666 Fundamentals of Korean SPAN 100 Sec 03 7257 Fundamentals of Spanish KIN 149A Sec 09 7903 Self Defense I KIN 198J Sec 01 3880 Mat Pilates Level I(33字)

(二)課程學習

【照片說明：My Spanish class.】

Study Abroad @CSULB In the past year, I was in the ALI program in the first semester and entered the university courses in the second semester. In this year, each course can achieve my favorite one. It because all the courses were what I need or I am interested in. ALI helped me adapt to the American way of learning and had a more precise learning direction for English then promoted my IELTS score. The second semester of university courses allowed me to experience different learning environments and the courses that I didn't have the chance to take in general. I regard the year of study abroad as a year of expansion and relaxation. Therefore, before choosing courses when I entered the university courses, I decided my own selection criteria. First, I could get credits. Second, there are no these courses in Lanyang campus. About the courses what I choose, I chose four courses in total. Two foreign languages, Spanish and Korean. I have been learned Spanish during my high school optional class. I thought it won’t be too hard to learn for me. But this is not the truth. Since Spanish is the second language of Americans, and there are a lots of Mexicans in California. Almost all students in the class have basic knowledge of the Spanish. Compared my experience in high school, American students spent four years of high school compulsory courses to study Spanish. Therefore, the teaching speed of Spanish is very fast. The Spanish is absolutely the most difficult class in my last semester, but it is also a very fulfilling class. Another foreign language, Korean, is not that hard. It's because like other American students, almost all of the Korean we know are come from Korean dramas. we have same level and knowledge of Korean. When everyone is novice, the teaching speed is relatively slow. The content of learning is more simple. Compared with the large amount of grammar in Spanish, the content of Korean more focused on the sentences of daily life and some grammar. The pace of learning is similar to my classmates, so there is no much pressure. For the other two classes, I chose self-defense and Pilates. Because I have to complete 12 credits for maintain my visa, and Spanish and Korean occupy 6 and 4 credits respectively. I chose to fill up the other 2 credits with these two PE classes. Self-defense is recommended by other students who have completed in first semester. The teacher is a Brazilian and the class is very interesting. It's arguably the most anticipated course for me in every week. The content of the class is not only includes physical self-defense skills but also theoretical self-defense common sense. The teacher will also lead us through some actions to understand our physical limits and overcome our fears. The other PE class is Pilates, which is a popular sport recently. Compared with yoga and other aerobic exercises, Pilates focuses on abdominal core training. In the process, it does not sweat a lot. It train our bodies in gradual. Compared to other sports, the burden of Pilates is not so grand. These two PE classes helped me establish regular exercise habits in disguised forms, so it can be regarded as my unexpected gain. These are my elective courses in CSULB. (550字)

(三)生活環境

【照片說明：My apartment.】

About living in California, I chose to rent a house outside rather than live in dormitory. In contrast to the United States and Taiwan, the dormitory is more expensive than renting outside. There are different room types in dormitory. The cheapest for two-person rooms is about 700 to 1200 US dollars a month. The price difference varies according to the location of the dormitory. But my rent for sharing is roughly about $ 630 a month. The benefits of finding a house by yourself are not only cheaper, but also you can choose the roommate. The disadvantage is that finding a house is actually not very convenient for international students. Because some houses need SSN to apply for renting, many renting opportunities have been reduced. But actually, there are some places you can use F1 visa to apply. In these times in California, excluding arrived the first residence, I moved twice in total. At first, me and my friend wanted to take over the house where the seniors had lived. However, due to contract issues, we withdrew and chose to rent another place. Before came to the US, we refer to the renting website and the CSULB roommates finder facebook page. It's completely via the Internet to find a house. Everything for us just the pictures on the websites and our imaginations. Therefore, we were dissatisfied with the first place. No matter the distance to the school, the interaction with roommates or our rent, we cannot accept it. As a result of this situation, we decided to move. We still used the rental website to check the renting information, but this time we can make an appointment and go to take a look the house. In that period, we were very anxious and worried. Fortunately we found the next residence in few days. But then for some reasons, 3 months later I moved again. This time I separated from my friend, I found a new place on the roommates finder facebook page. This is my second time moving. I shared an unit(2b2b) with 3 other CSULB students. The interactions with each other and the rent are in my acceptable range. The traffic and function of living are very convenient. There are several different supermarkets, banks and buses of different routes near the house. Moving out helps me reduce relying on my friends and increase the chance of meeting new people. (396字)

(四)自我成長

【照片說明：Halloween parade in West Hollywood.】

In fact, I have been accustomed to the all English teaching for the first two years in Lanyang. When I came to the United States, I just extended the whole English speaking to the daily life. So there is no difficult in communication. For me, the only difficulty I encountered during study abroad were my living issue. The other things were not too difficult to solve. As long as you want to solve the problem, there is nothing that can't be solved. When your family is not around, you have to find a way by yourself or seek help from your friends. Furthermore, you can also consult the CSULB International Student Office. About the culture shock, I remembered there's one time when I went to the amusement park, I heard a conversation. After a little girl said that she would not play a certain amusement facility, her dad explained to her that the facility was safe and told her to trust the engineer ’s design. The dad tried to persuade his daughter to try that facility with him. I think this is what surprised me the most. If this situation is placed in a Taiwanese family or any asian, there's very few parents will try to persuade their children. Most Asians only ignore the voice of rejection. Even less it’s just a topic of whether to take amusement rides. I think this is the reason why most Asian students lack the confidence and fear for trying new things. Another cultural shock is that Americans really take each festival seriously. During this year I experienced Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every festival is almost start a month ahead of time. In addition to decorating your home, there will be various parades, festive feasts and shopping discount. Spending different festivals grandly is one of the reasons I like here. (307字)

(五)大三出國建議

Regarding the suggestion of study abroad, I think you should choose a country and school that you really like. Learn more about the school before choosing, and clearly know what course you want to take. Give yourself clear goals. Don't make one concession after another. In fact, it's not difficult to transfer the ALI Program to the formal (university) course. I'm really recommended to take a look at the courses offered by the school during the application period, whether you are a student of the ALI Program or a formal course. Another suggestion for IELTS score of the application. If your IELTS score is not satisfactory, you can choose to retake the test after going to the United States. In English-speaking countries, the score is more generous. You can a get higher score in one time. In the section of getting an accommodation, I'm recommended that you can take over the house which senior lived. Although the contract is signed for a lease (whole year), you may need to pay 2 to 3 months rent before you arrive. (EX: the contract start at May but I arrived at August.). But in this way there's no big problem at the houses which lived in previous sessions(seniors). Relative to anxiety of looking for new place by yourself, taking over the house can save a lot of unnecessary problems.(225字)

(六)其他

I think study abroad is an opportunity to more expand yourself. Compared to traveling abroad, what you have to learn in this year is not limited on the textbooks. How to live(organize your life) is also an important part. Cuz as a college student you should study hard, play hard.(51字)

補充照片

【照片說明：The view when we took the four-people small plane.】

【照片說明：House party for ALI Japanese friends.】

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資料更新時間：05月06日 02:23

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