Sharing what you have learned

Now that you have defined some of the key terms and methods of teaching used in UK universities, it is time to think about how to share what you have learned.

In this section, you are going to explore some features of language that will help you to share what you have learnt. First, we will see how Omar gives advice to his sister, Farah. Then you will practise writing some advice yourself. You will also have the opportunity to take part in a peer review activity, where you give feedback to a fellow learner about their writing and receive feedback about your own work. This is a fantastic way to learn from others.

An example

Read Farah’s email to Omar, asking him about university in the UK:

Dear Omar,

How are you? I’m so happy that you like the dictionary, I hope it will help you be successful in your studies.

So, I am thinking about studying an online degree from a UK university but I’m not sure what it will be like. I think I will make a great experience but I have never studied in the UK before so I don’t know what universities there are like. Will I have to work difficult every day? Is it the same as studying in our country? Also, do you know anything about studying online? I think this might be the best way for me because it will be difficult for me to move to the UK and I am worried about the weather, I hear that there is thick rain every day! If you have any advice for me I would be really grateful!

Thanks,

Farah.

Now read Omar’s reply:

Dear Farah,

I think studying an online degree is a great idea and I’m sure you will have a great experience. I thought studying in the UK would be the same as studying at home but it is really different. For example, at home, we used to sit in the lectures and listen but in Coventry, we have to answer questions and sometimes people even disagree with the lecturer! The most important thing about lectures is the ideas that the lecturer gives us. We have to go away and learn independently by reading lots about the ideas and usually we have to prepare a presentation about what we’ve discovered for our seminar.

You will definitely have to work hard if you study at a UK university. If you want to be successful at a UK university you really have to engage with your tutors and your peers and be an active learner. That means you have to work independently outside of the classroom and plan all of your time carefully so you can finish all of the work before the deadline. When I studied before, I used to enjoy working alone but now I have to work in groups a lot. Group work can be really difficult because you have to think about all of the people you are working with, not just yourself. However, I really enjoy working in a group now because I realise that I learn a lot from my peers and it helps me understand more about the subject.

I studied online for one of my modules and I really enjoyed it. It is really important to engage with your peers by writing lots in the discussion forums and reading what other people have written. I interacted with my tutor using video chats and sometimes they would give us the answers or some advice in the discussion forums, so I had to read them regularly. I think studying online was great for me because I could choose when I wanted to study and I could easily review all of the material. Anyway, I hope this advice was useful, let me know what you decide.

P.S. You shouldn’t worry about the weather here, they have heavy rain sometimes but I prefer it to being too hot at home!

Yours,

Omar.

Your task

Read Omar’s and Farah’s emails again. Do you notice any differences in the language Omar used, compared to Farah?