Gwen's experience (Thursday 7 February)

Hi! I am Gwen Chan and I come from Hong Kong.

I am joining the JLC A-Level Taster Course for this week. This is my fourth day; I think I am definitely having a good time in college. :)

I join this course because I like the A-Level course in England, and I am thinking of quitting the HKDSE to continue study in England. Also, my cousin had recommended that JLC is a good school for international students. So when I was worried about how should I make a good decision, I heard about this taster course. Then I decided to have a try, and hoping to gain experience from here too.

My first impression of college is “Big”. I think the college is really big that I will not be able to get used to it! The college is like 5 times larger than my school in HK, and the facilities are very impressive, so are the students I met here, they are nice and friendly.

 
I think the JLC international centre is very helpful, and every staff in the office is being so friendly to me! When I was here on the first day, I was very nervous, the teachers in the centre helped me to calm down, and this gave me a brilliant impression of the college.

I am living in a host family now, and my host mother is a teacher of JLC. I feel warm living in a host family, as we can always have a chat with different things we have done during the day, and eat dinner together, etc. Personally, I prefer living in host family more than in the school dorm.

I have been to UK twice before, one is for a study tour and the other one is for sightseeing. However, after a few days of school life in JLC, I feel like I am a real UK student now, though the weather is a bit cold, I am still enjoying life here in UK.

I am studying Economics, Geography, Psychology, Sociology, Maths, and Chemistry in the Taster Course. The subject I like the most is Sociology and Economics. I have been learning about “Childhood” in Sociology, “Aggregate Demand & Supply” in Economics. I found it a little difficult, but very interesting! I really enjoyed the lessons. Therefore, I will continue with these 2 subjects in the future if I am coming again.

I have been learning by doing practical work, discussion and group work in the lessons,  I think a diversity in learning ways is important, as I can learn by myself and from others.

As I have mentioned, I am here for this taster course, and hoping to make the best decision after trying the A-Level course. I think the taster course has helped me a lot with my decision, I am now much more confident in making the decision that will affect my future life. 

Meeting the Principal

John Leggott College Principal David Vasse presents certificates of achievement to Jessica and Gwen as they near the end of their A-level Taster Course

My weekend by Jessica Li

Saturday

Today I was feeling very tired. In the afternoon I went with my host family to Scunthorpe. We went to the cinema to see Life of Pi [which I really enjoyed] and then went to a big supermarket called Asda.

Sunday

I went to Lincoln today. Lincoln  is an small peaceful lovely city, that contains lots of English culture. We went to Lincoln cathedral and then Lincoln castle, but it’s the old shops in the lanes that gave me the deepest impression.

There is a canal running through Lincoln which separate Lincoln shops into modern ones and old traditional ones. Standing  among the new modern shops make you feel no different  between the other big cities in the world.  So I think it is the old shops that make Lincoln different. There are sweet shop, clock shop, clothes shops, pot shop, old book shops and lots of tea rooms among the old streets.

I went to a fossil shop where is full of fossils that are all collected by the shopkeeper. It was amazing to look at different kinds of fossils, it seems like you are connected with the antiquity when you are observing the fossils. Then I went to a tea shop where sells different types of tea and tea cups. The shopkeeper collected all kinds of tea cups or pots which are from China, Japan, German, England and so on. I’m very interested in tea cup so it took me a long time to wondering in the shop.

There are not many tourists at the time I go, which made me feel great that escape from the crowded. Although the transport are not convenient in Lincoln, but it’s still worth to visit there.     

Welcome to Gwen!

 

Today we welcomed Gwen Chan to college. Gwen is from Hong Kong and has come to sample JLC lessons for a week. This is her very busy timetable!

Week 1: Chemistry, Maths and Physics lessons by Jessica Li

Chemistry

We are learning organic chemistry recently, which is quite different from what we have learnt in China. We had to do an experiment about the addition reactions of ethene, which helps us understand the reactions of alkenes. Then we learn about the addition of hydrogen bromide. The difference between here and China is that here we learn the chemistry knowledge more detailed.

 
Maths and Further Maths and Scary Maths

Maths is always the classes that full of Chinese students. We learn about function in maths class and bubble, shuttle, quick, shell sort in further math. It’s not as hard as the other subjects. The teacher in further math really gave me a lot of help to help me understand the difference between bubble sort and shuttle sort. It’s different from China that we have lots of maths exercise to do, here they do have exercise but not that much. 

Physics

This is the hardest class I think. Because the AS class are having practical  experiment, so I was sent to A2 class  to study. We learn  about resonances for the first class which is quite difficult for me, I couldn’t understand a word in the class at all which made me felt quite sad. It didn’t become better even when it was the last class for the whole week. I think it may be better if I started with AS class.  

College newspaper

Jessica joins an enrichment class - the college newspaper - and plans her piece for the next issue

Student reporters Veronica and Alisa with college newspaper teacher Richard Beken [who teachers Sociology]

Week 1: English for IELTS lessons by Jessica Li

It’s a class for international students. I have had a class for vocabulary. It’s quite interesting because Clare told us lots of phrases, and how to use the words in the sentence. We learnt vocabulary by reading an article. In order to let us get familiar with the phrase, Clare divided us into groups (with students of different nationalities) to play a phrase match game.

Week 1: A-level Biology lessons by Jessica Li

For the first class we had a test about testing pulse rate. It really made me confused because I have never done this in China. The questions were practical. It needs you to think widely, guess reasonably and use your knowledge flexibly. It’s quite difficult to me, but the second lesson we began to learn meiosis. This is something that I have learnt in China, that made things easier, the only difficulty is vocabulary, lots of words that I don’t know. But after searching I could understand the teacher.

Jessica Li - first impressions

Why did you join the JLC A-Level Taster Course?

I am planning to study A-levels in the UK from September 2013 and wanted to get a taste of the A-level classes and the style of study in the UK. JLC was recommended by my agency as they know the college specialises in this type of course.



Welcome to Jessica!

What are your first impressions of college?

The college atmosphere is relaxed and happy and students appear to be enjoying their time. The buildings are modern and the campus large and it takes time to find the class rooms!

How are you finding A-level lessons? Which is your favourite subject so far?

I don’t really have a favourite so far but maybe after a week or so. Lessons are different from China – both content and teaching style. Biology is very different and difficult and I felt a little bit anxious before joining the class.

I have tried an A2 physics class and it’s really difficult. There are things that I’ve never studied before in China.



Jessica borrows library book to brush up on her biology

Are the teachers and what happens in lessons what you expected?

At JLC they are good and helpful and help you to understand. They are encouraging and try to help and reassure you that it’s ok and you can have a go at everything even if you’re not sure of the answer.
In China the teacher stands at the front of the room and teaches. Here the teacher gets close to the students and moves around. In China there is no opportunity to ask questions as there are too many students but sometimes teachers ask us though.

I wasn’t sure what to expect but the style of learning may suit some better than others, it depends on the student. I think you have to adapt.

How well have you got on with other students (UK and International)?

I have worked with other students in lessons – when you work on tasks in pairs. I have met other Chinese students but it is a bit tricky to enter a class as a new student as everyone else has known each other since September.

Gemma (from China) has taken good care of me at lunch time. She is a very enthusiastic student and knows everyone and has lots of friends.

What do you think of the JLC international centre?

It’s like a big family and anyone with any difficulties can come here. They help lots and solve problems.



Jessica's souvenir ID card

What are your first impressions of your host family / their home? What is it like living with a host family?

My family is very nice. This is my second visit to England and second host family experience but this is better than my than my previous homestay. The family has 3 children and they have taken good care of me and made me feel at home. It’s a nice old house, 100 years old, in the countryside. It’s really nice and quiet.

New student! Jessica Li

Yesterday we welcomed Li Zhe 'Jessica' from Guangzhou, China, to the college for a 2 week taster course. She is our first taster course student from China.

Jessica has been super busy since her arrival into the UK on Saturday so watch this space for updates and photographs - coming soon!