In the Spring of 2014, English 1003 and 1004 students held a symposium on the role of the humanities in their university educations. The majority of the students were in STEM fields or in business, but not all of them. They exchanged information on their educational goals and objectives, and then they went out and interviewed other students, then collaborated on group presentations reporting the results of their research. All of the groups reported a broad spectrum of responses to their questions about the importance of humanities and general education requirements. Continue reading
Language
Student Journals on Language and Adjustment
1. The First Impression of Uconn and The Voices in My Life
I still clearly remember that special moment when I first arrived at Uconn-I was roaming about the campus and looking for my dormitory, worryingly with three heavy suitcases. The sky was getting dark but I still felt lost and had no idea about where to go. Fortunately, I suddenly heard a warm voice behind me, asking softly “Hi you look like getting lost and what can I help?” Continue reading
Student Journals on Language and Listening
Language is so ubiquitous that we experience it as we make jokes with friends, understand lectures professors speeched and read original novels everyday. I wandered through Homer Babbidge Library, touching books, hoping, more than one time, that anyone watching me might think I was a native speaker. However, from the last two weeks in the US, I can tell a different language is not so quickly perfected, since there are so many differences between Mandarin, my mother language, and English.
First of all, it’s about the grammar. Continue reading
Fall 2011: International students write about their experiences at UCONN
International Student Challenges: The following are excerpted from a report compiled by the students of English 1003, Fall 2011
The biggest challenges
• Language
• Culture Shock (food!)
• Loneliness and homesickness
• Forming friendships
• Adjusting to the Classroom
Adaptation
I remember in the first day here I went to the gym to play basketball. When those guys said “Let’s shoot for team,” and stood in line waiting to make free throw, I just held the ball next to them and had no idea what they were doing. I think I was just like an idiot. Then I realized that even the basketball rule is different from my homeland, and I would have a lot to learn besides the courses. It would be a long way to go. Continue reading