Study Hard and Study Wise

Peter Ning
Manager, EduGlobal Learning

“Are you guys ready to study overseas?” is the question I always ask my students when I have a pre-departure chat with them, and they look at me beaming with confidence, rattling Visa and Master cards in one hand and a passport in the other and say, “of course.” I tell them “You are 100 percent ok with an overseas holiday, but not with your future study”.

I guess I am not a welcomed messenger for these international students because I am always trying to startle them with the realities of studying overseas and that some Chinese students constantly fail at academic study, and end up being kicked out. This, I warn them, is a possibility if they are not accurately prepared.

However the common response from students is that “oh that won’t happen to me I study everyday”. Well, the hours alone do not necessarily mean a student will thrive in university academic study. To study wise is one of the essential elements for successful study in my opinion.

To study wise includes many aspects of academic study, such as time management, how to use library resources, efficiently, how to give a strong presentation, how to work in a group, how to get along with your classmates. These are challenging tasks for any student let along a Chinese student in a foreign country where language and cultural barriers are obstacles.

After EduGlobal Learning was established last year, I have been thinking about how to deliver a course or training program for these students so that they know what realities they may face when they arrive in an unfamiliar country what their options are. EduGlobal Learning is working on a pathway program which is composed of both language preparation and academic survival skills which target such concerned students by providing them simple rules and tips. I hope to be able to share the details of this pathway program in my next blog entry.