Hi everybody! My name is Alba and I am from Santander, a little city located in the north of Spain. The government of my country gave me a grant to study English in Oxford for three weeks. I am very glad to be here.
I arrived in Oxford last Sunday. I have been in the UK many times studying English, so I haven't experienced culture shock so far. However, I admit that British culture is very different from mine and very special, so if you didn't travel to the UK before I advise you to read information about English traditions and rules. For example, English people love qeueing, which is very surprising for Spanish people!
I am very happy in the British Study Centre in Oxford. I feel I have made a good choice. The School is enormous and all people working here are very nice and helpful. For my accommodation, I am staying in a student house, not so far from the city centre, and I really like it because I live with young people from different countries and it is very funny. Besides, we are always speaking in English, so we practise the language outside the school too.
When the lessons finish at school, we usually meet to make different plans: sighseeing, drinking a beer, going out at night or just lying down in the park. The only thing that I don't really like is the English climate because it is a bit cold and rain a lot. Although this is a disadvantage, I am sure that if you come to Oxford to study English you will have a wonderful experience!
Hi, my name is Mine. I'm from Istanbul, Turkey. It's the second time that I have came to England. I've been staying here for 7 weeks and after this week I have 6 more weeks. I think it's a long time. I came here to improve my English. In my first two weeks I was in an Intermediate class, but I think it is hard to remember words and to speak in English. And another reason is to achieve IELTS. I'm going to study 3 weeks for IELTS preparation in Kings College. At the end of General English course in BSC I hope to get an Advanced certificate. My first accommodation was Clive Booth Postgraduate Centre on Marston Road. It's quite far from city centre, but it is a comfortable place. You can take the bus or walk for 35 minutes to go to city centre. I stayed there for 6 weeks and then I moved to a student house in another location in Oxford. It's just 20 minutes far from city centre by walking. I think they are similar to each other. If you like walking or jogging on street or cycling , it's one of the best place to live or study. It takes short time to arrive where you want to go. It seems different from my country to get used to live here but I've never had culture shock when I came, because I like to live like an English person. There are also some negative things. For example; rainy weather. You have to carry umbrella or jacket all the time. I hope my advise is good for you. Enjoy your time in Oxford.
Hello. This is M.K. from South Korea(Ulsan). I've been staying here for 5 months, but my skill is not good so I always worry about it.
So far, I've experienced good things for instance people who have nice manner, atmosphere,historical universities...except British weather and food, because It is my first time to travel abroad so everything seems to be strange and beautiful. From now I'm going to tell you my list of activities in Oxford. If you come here, you should go punting with others, which must be unusual for foreign people, and have beer. Also, you'd better try to eat fish&chips you won't be disappointed, trust me. There are many kinds of beautiful universities in Oxford whenever you go you can visit them from Friday to Monday. I like this city because it has three or four big parks which I've never seen in my country.
You should ride a bicycle in Oxford which is comfortable place for riding it.When you want to come here, please, bring your umbrella or raincoat. It is really important for you. If you can't see good weather, It's fine. It is also part of the UK so enjoy it whatever happening to you. You don't need to concentrate on watching everything. You just need feeling this city. And I'll give a piece of advice to you - don't stay so long time. I think 3~4 days are enough to look around.
Hi, my name is Hiro. I come from Kobe,Japan. I've been here for 5 months and I'm fed up with my stay actually.
I've been leaning all of my stay in BSC Oxford. when I arrived at here, everything was absolutely awesome. I used to live with host family in Abingdon,which is a small town near Oxford, and used to come to school by bus. it took 30 minutes, also the bus was often delayed,which I can hardly experience in my country.It was so annoying for me that I moved to the city centre of Oxford. The culture shock I've experienced is definitely food and weather. I think it depends on how long you are going to stay,but if it's long,you will be depressed by the food three times every day. Plus, the weather always changes.It's impossible to predict the weather.
To avoid feeling like this,I'd like to advise you to cook by yourself as often as possible. And it might be a good idea to try to think in a positive way.Enjoy rainy days! There are a lot of friendly people here,though. And also there are lots of positive things such as beautiful parks, historical architectures and a great language school BSC. Furthermore, there are lots of pubs and night clubs in Oxford,so you will be satisfied with the night life. If you can be familiar with these things, you can enjoy all your stay even if it's very long.
Hello, I am Yeji from South Korea. I've been studying English for 6 months in Oxford . You might think that it's a very long time and actually it is true! But, I feel like 6 months are 6 weeks. Time goes so fast, which means I've been really enjoying Oxford.
I go to BSC Oxford everyday except for the weekends. I've done General English course that consists of a morning class, a speaking & listening class and a grammar & wring class. All the classes are useful to improve my English skills and I've got a lot of chances to make foreign friends and meet nice teachers. Oxford is an academic and multinational city, so you can try many kinds of cuisine such as English, Turkish, Spanish, Japanese, Italian and Thai cuisine with your friends. At the first time that you come here, you could feel confused or isolated like me. But Don't worry! After a few days, you will feel like Oxford is the best city to study and a friendly city.
Finally, I would like you to come to Oxford to study if you want to improve your English. If you come to Oxford to study, I would recommend you to go punting, visit famous places in Oxford and travel to some cities near Oxford like London, Bristol, Bath and Stonehenge as much as you can. It must be good experiences and also I think it is important as studying. I hope it will be good advice to you!
Hello, my name is Jiyoung and I'm from Busan, South Korea. I've been learning English at the BSC for 7 months and I'm quite satisfied with this school and the life in Oxford. So I've extended my course at BSC. At first, I was pre-intermediate in speaking and listening class and intermediate in general class but now I'm upper-intermediate in both classes. I had been struggled with speaking in English and asked teachers how can I improve it. They gave me an advice that I can use iPlayer in BBC and listen and dictate to improve my English. And I had to use English as well as I can. For example, I talk with my friends in English even at the outside of school. I think I don't have much culture shock and easily get used to. But if you were Asian, you're really going to miss national cuisine. There are 4 Asian markets in Oxford. So I recommend you to go there or there are many Chinese, Thai, Indian and Japanese restaurants. I think the most delicious restaurant called "Edamame", which is tiny, complicated timetable like a lunch only or dinner only so on and it has limited menus but the food is splendid ! So I strongly recommend it.
Hi, my name is Robin, I'm going to stay in Oxford for 1 month.
I come from Paris, I study economics in University, and I need to pass the Toeic exam with the best possible score. This exam is very important to continue my studies.
That's why I decided to follow the BSC lessons in Oxford. I am satisfied about that but I think it's not enough. I must work by my own too.
I live in really nice student house, with very friendly guys. They come from different parts of the world. Atmosphere is amazing. To my mind, it's the best way to improve your English.
Oxford is very beautiful but it's a small city so after 1 week you need to see other thinks. Last week, I decided to go to London with my friends. I have ever been in London so I know the best areas to go. We were in Camden, my god ! it was raining to much! AH!AH! typical British weather but I like that !
So, finally , If you are going to Oxford, I recommend you to come with a lot of money (expensive life...), and to go in a student house. Also you can do the city tour by bus, it's not bad because you will see all the city with the explanations of the guide. Architecture is really wonderful.
Hi! My name is Ira. This is my 5th and last week in Oxford. In fact this is my 2nd time in Oxford and 5th time in England, so I haven't had any culture shock, dispite the fact that I'm from Russia which is a totally different country! The first point I'd like to mention is that when you arrive in a foreing country you feel like: "OMG! This city/town/country is realy great! I love it so much". Later lots of people get disappointed with a place or people in that country, but as for me I've never felt like that, because I have no time for it! I'm realy in LOVE with Oxfort with its small streets and beautiful buildings. Also I like everyone in BSC - teachers, reseption personnal - everyone is so kind and helpful! So they never live you on your own. I had a great time studeing English, and I think it helped me to improve my English a lot. To say more you can have a great fun here, aspesualy I liked Thorpe park (Adventure Theme Park) which is absolutely fantastic! Aspesialy The Saw Ride! Thats terrifing ride based on the horror movie "Saw". As well you can go to some good excursions, but I didn't realy enjoyed them. As for me, the best way is to spend time with new friends, which is much more funny and helpful for improveing your language skils. In conclusion I'd like to say, that you can have fun and avoid colture shock if you don't stay home alone. Try to find new friends and soshialise with them - that's the best thing to do! And, of course, DO NOT FORGET - your aim is to study English - don't miss your lessons!
Hi my name is Marco and I come from Italy. I've been in oxford for 6 weeks and this is my sixth week, so on saturday I have to leave this place and I feel so sad. This is my first experience of studying abroad in an english school and of course in an english city, but it's a very great experience. I chose the intensive course for a total amount of 25 hours of lessons for week and at the end of this course my english is improved so much, especially the speaking and grammar parts. I think it's also an important experience of life, because here I live in a student house with other eight students who come from different countries and we have to share some parts of the house, like the kitchen, the living room and also the bathroom, so I have to become able to share part of my things with theirs. You have to be a open minded person and easy going to live with the other students, but you can learn part of their culture and traditions. The teacher and the personal of the school are very qualified and friendly, they always help me when i need an hand, for all kind of things from the accomodations to the extra activity after school. I reccomend you to do the special extra activity, organized by the school, called Pub Tour, because it's very funny and you meet a lot of students from your school and of course if you like to drink beer, you can't miss it! I think the cuisine in england is not so bad, you can find a lot of type of cuisine, for example there are some turkish fast food near the market, there are some indian restaurants that are also take away in the city and you can also find some italian restaurants, but I don't know how are they, because i've never been there yet. Probably I'll go tomorrow, because it is my last evening in oxford. In the previous five weeks I could visit oxford very well and I recommend you to visit all the parks and all the college, also inside, because there are amazing with some little colourful garden. I love it! Be careful about the weather, especially the "crazy" english weather, you have to bring your wind jacket and un umbrella because the weather changes too quickly, one moment ago there was sun and now rains!! I think the weather is the only thing that I can complain about. I hope you can choose Oxford for your next english course! bye
My name is Paulina, I'm 22 years old and I'm from France. It's my second week in Oxford. I'm in a class with students coming from several countries, such as Japan, Russia, Italy, Spain or Switzerland. It's very interesting to meet so many people and to learn their culture. The school is very good located, in the city center, and all the people working here are so friendly. The first week, they said to us that the school is now our new home and that we have to feel here like at home. It's very encouraging! ;-) The only one bad point: the wireless doesn't work really good. Oxford is a really beautiful city: I love old monuments and there are a lot here, such as all the colleges (Trinity College, Jesus College,...). It's very nice to visit them. Sure, the weather isn't as good as in France, but the people are so nice and it's a perfect place to improve my english.My advice for new students? If you're cold, drink a tea! or go into a pub and meet some new friends! :-)
HELLO
ReplyDeleteHELLOOOO
DeleteHi everybody! My name is Alba and I am from Santander, a little city located in the north of Spain. The government of my country gave me a grant to study English in Oxford for three weeks. I am very glad to be here.
ReplyDeleteI arrived in Oxford last Sunday. I have been in the UK many times studying English, so I haven't experienced culture shock so far. However, I admit that British culture is very different from mine and very special, so if you didn't travel to the UK before I advise you to read information about English traditions and rules. For example, English people love qeueing, which is very surprising for Spanish people!
I am very happy in the British Study Centre in Oxford. I feel I have made a good choice. The School is enormous and all people working here are very nice and helpful. For my accommodation, I am staying in a student house, not so far from the city centre, and I really like it because I live with young people from different countries and it is very funny. Besides, we are always speaking in English, so we practise the language outside the school too.
When the lessons finish at school, we usually meet to make different plans: sighseeing, drinking a beer, going out at night or just lying down in the park. The only thing that I don't really like is the English climate because it is a bit cold and rain a lot. Although this is a disadvantage, I am sure that if you come to Oxford to study English you will have a wonderful experience!
Hi, my name is Mine. I'm from Istanbul, Turkey. It's the second time that I have came to England. I've been staying here for 7 weeks and after this week I have 6 more weeks. I think it's a long time.
ReplyDeleteI came here to improve my English. In my first two weeks I was in an Intermediate class, but I think it is hard to remember words and to speak in English. And another reason is to achieve IELTS. I'm going to study 3 weeks for IELTS preparation in Kings College. At the end of General English course in BSC I hope to get an Advanced certificate.
My first accommodation was Clive Booth Postgraduate Centre on Marston Road. It's quite far from city centre, but it is a comfortable place. You can take the bus or walk for 35 minutes to go to city centre. I stayed there for 6 weeks and then I moved to a student house in another location in Oxford. It's just 20 minutes far from city centre by walking. I think they are similar to each other. If you like walking or jogging on street or cycling , it's one of the best place to live or study. It takes short time to arrive where you want to go. It seems different from my country to get used to live here but I've never had culture shock when I came, because I like to live like an English person.
There are also some negative things. For example; rainy weather. You have to carry umbrella or jacket all the time.
I hope my advise is good for you.
Enjoy your time in Oxford.
Hello. This is M.K. from South Korea(Ulsan). I've been staying here for 5 months, but my skill is not good so I always worry about it.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I've experienced good things for instance people who have nice manner, atmosphere,historical universities...except British weather and food, because It is my first time to travel abroad so everything seems to be strange and beautiful. From now I'm going to tell you my list of activities in Oxford. If you come here, you should go punting with others, which must be unusual for foreign people, and have beer. Also, you'd better try to eat fish&chips you won't be disappointed, trust me. There are many kinds of beautiful universities in Oxford whenever you go you can visit them from Friday to Monday. I like this city because it has three or four big parks which I've never seen in my country.
You should ride a bicycle in Oxford which is comfortable place for riding it.When you want to come here, please, bring your umbrella or raincoat. It is really important for you. If you can't see good weather, It's fine. It is also part of the UK so enjoy it whatever happening to you. You don't need to concentrate on watching everything. You just need feeling this city. And I'll give a piece of advice to you - don't stay so long time. I think 3~4 days are enough to look around.
Hi, my name is Hiro. I come from Kobe,Japan.
ReplyDeleteI've been here for 5 months and I'm fed up with my stay actually.
I've been leaning all of my stay in BSC Oxford.
when I arrived at here, everything was absolutely awesome.
I used to live with host family in Abingdon,which is a small town near Oxford, and used to come to school by bus.
it took 30 minutes, also the bus was often delayed,which I can hardly experience in my country.It was so annoying for me that I moved to the city centre of Oxford.
The culture shock I've experienced is definitely food and weather.
I think it depends on how long you are going to stay,but if it's long,you will be depressed by the food three times every day.
Plus, the weather always changes.It's impossible to predict the weather.
To avoid feeling like this,I'd like to advise you to cook by yourself as often as possible.
And it might be a good idea to try to think in a positive way.Enjoy rainy days!
There are a lot of friendly people here,though.
And also there are lots of positive things such as beautiful parks, historical architectures and a great language school BSC.
Furthermore, there are lots of pubs and night clubs in Oxford,so you will be satisfied with the night life.
If you can be familiar with these things, you can enjoy all your stay even if it's very long.
Hello, I am Yeji from South Korea. I've been studying English for 6 months in Oxford . You might think that it's a very long time and actually it is true! But, I feel like 6 months are 6 weeks. Time goes so fast, which means I've been really enjoying Oxford.
ReplyDeleteI go to BSC Oxford everyday except for the weekends. I've done General English course that consists of a morning class, a speaking & listening class and a grammar & wring class. All the classes are useful to improve my English skills and I've got a lot of chances to make foreign friends and meet nice teachers. Oxford is an academic and multinational city, so you can try many kinds of cuisine such as English, Turkish, Spanish, Japanese, Italian and Thai cuisine with your friends. At the first time that you come here, you could feel confused or isolated like me. But Don't worry! After a few days, you will feel like Oxford is the best city to study and a friendly city.
Finally, I would like you to come to Oxford to study if you want to improve your English. If you come to Oxford to study, I would recommend you to go punting, visit famous places in Oxford and travel to some cities near Oxford like London, Bristol, Bath and Stonehenge as much as you can. It must be good experiences and also I think it is important as studying. I hope it will be good advice to you!
Hello, my name is Jiyoung and I'm from Busan, South Korea. I've been learning English at the BSC for 7 months and I'm quite satisfied with this school and the life in Oxford. So I've extended my course at BSC.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I was pre-intermediate in speaking and listening class and intermediate in general class but now I'm upper-intermediate in both classes. I had been struggled with speaking in English and asked teachers how can I improve it. They gave me an advice that I can use iPlayer in BBC and listen and dictate to improve my English. And I had to use English as well as I can. For example, I talk with my friends in English even at the outside of school.
I think I don't have much culture shock and easily get used to. But if you were Asian, you're really going to miss national cuisine. There are 4 Asian markets in Oxford. So I recommend you to go there or there are many Chinese, Thai, Indian and Japanese restaurants.
I think the most delicious restaurant called "Edamame", which is tiny, complicated timetable like a lunch only or dinner only so on and it has limited menus but the food is splendid ! So I strongly recommend it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Robin, I'm going to stay in Oxford for 1 month.
ReplyDeleteI come from Paris, I study economics in University, and I need to pass the Toeic exam with the best possible score. This exam is very important to continue my studies.
That's why I decided to follow the BSC lessons in Oxford. I am satisfied about that but I think it's not enough. I must work by my own too.
I live in really nice student house, with very friendly guys. They come from different parts of the world. Atmosphere is amazing. To my mind, it's the best way to improve your English.
Oxford is very beautiful but it's a small city so after 1 week you need to see other thinks.
Last week, I decided to go to London with my friends. I have ever been in London so I know the best areas to go. We were in Camden, my god ! it was raining to much! AH!AH! typical British weather but I like that !
So, finally , If you are going to Oxford, I recommend you to come with a lot of money (expensive life...), and to go in a student house.
Also you can do the city tour by bus, it's not bad because you will see all the city with the explanations of the guide. Architecture is really wonderful.
Hi! My name is Ira. This is my 5th and last week in Oxford. In fact this is my 2nd time in Oxford and 5th time in England, so I haven't had any culture shock, dispite the fact that I'm from Russia which is a totally different country!
ReplyDeleteThe first point I'd like to mention is that when you arrive in a foreing country you feel like: "OMG! This city/town/country is realy great! I love it so much". Later lots of people get disappointed with a place or people in that country, but as for me I've never felt like that, because I have no time for it!
I'm realy in LOVE with Oxfort with its small streets and beautiful buildings. Also I like everyone in BSC - teachers, reseption personnal - everyone is so kind and helpful! So they never live you on your own. I had a great time studeing English, and I think it helped me to improve my English a lot.
To say more you can have a great fun here, aspesualy I liked Thorpe park (Adventure Theme Park) which is absolutely fantastic! Aspesialy The Saw Ride! Thats terrifing ride based on the horror movie "Saw". As well you can go to some good excursions, but I didn't realy enjoyed them. As for me, the best way is to spend time with new friends, which is much more funny and helpful for improveing your language skils.
In conclusion I'd like to say, that you can have fun and avoid colture shock if you don't stay home alone. Try to find new friends and soshialise with them - that's the best thing to do! And, of course, DO NOT FORGET - your aim is to study English - don't miss your lessons!
Hi my name is Marco and I come from Italy.
ReplyDeleteI've been in oxford for 6 weeks and this is my sixth week, so on saturday I have to leave this place and I feel so sad.
This is my first experience of studying abroad in an english school and of course in an english city, but it's a very great experience.
I chose the intensive course for a total amount of 25 hours of lessons for week and at the end of this course my english is improved so much, especially the speaking and grammar parts.
I think it's also an important experience of life, because here I live in a student house with other eight students who come from different countries and we have to share some parts of the house, like the kitchen, the living room and also the bathroom, so I have to become able to share part of my things with theirs. You have to be a open minded person and easy going to live with the other students, but you can learn part of their culture and traditions.
The teacher and the personal of the school are very qualified and friendly, they always help me when i need an hand, for all kind of things from the accomodations to the extra activity after school. I reccomend you to do the special extra activity, organized by the school, called Pub Tour, because it's very funny and you meet a lot of students from your school and of course if you like to drink beer, you can't miss it!
I think the cuisine in england is not so bad, you can find a lot of type of cuisine, for example there are some turkish fast food near the market, there are some indian restaurants that are also take away in the city and you can also find some italian restaurants, but I don't know how are they, because i've never been there yet. Probably I'll go tomorrow, because it is my last evening in oxford.
In the previous five weeks I could visit oxford very well and I recommend you to visit all the parks and all the college, also inside, because there are amazing with some little colourful garden. I love it!
Be careful about the weather, especially the "crazy" english weather, you have to bring your wind jacket and un umbrella because the weather changes too quickly, one moment ago there was sun and now rains!! I think the weather is the only thing that I can complain about.
I hope you can choose Oxford for your next english course!
bye
My name is Paulina, I'm 22 years old and I'm from France.
ReplyDeleteIt's my second week in Oxford. I'm in a class with students coming from several countries, such as Japan, Russia, Italy, Spain or Switzerland. It's very interesting to meet so many people and to learn their culture. The school is very good located, in the city center, and all the people working here are so friendly. The first week, they said to us that the school is now our new home and that we have to feel here like at home. It's very encouraging! ;-) The only one bad point: the wireless doesn't work really good.
Oxford is a really beautiful city: I love old monuments and there are a lot here, such as all the colleges (Trinity College, Jesus College,...). It's very nice to visit them. Sure, the weather isn't as good as in France, but the people are so nice and it's a perfect place to improve my english.My advice for new students? If you're cold, drink a tea! or go into a pub and meet some new friends! :-)