A Student of the International Foundation Course - Essay Example

A Student of the International Foundation Course Being a student of the International Foundation Course, I have found the semester two to be both interesting and disappointing in some ways. It has been a great experience and I have realized that every experience has something to teach us. Initially we were asked to prepare the Independent learning portfolio. This assesses the quality of student learning and is a reflection in itself. I felt this was a useless exercise as I already know how to make a portfolio. Nevertheless, I had to comply with the requirements and I did make an effort. I was extremely disheartened because despite my best efforts I managed only a pass in this module. What was even more disturbing was that students who copied the module from the book got percentage as high as seventy. The aim of preparing a portfolio is to provide a framework for independent work especially as now there is reduced class contact time. Students are grouped according to their ability and hence such a portfolio enables a student to understand his own level. Besides, what I understand is that preparing such a module empowers a student to have control over his learning. It may also demonstrate the employability skills in undergraduates. If these be the aims of an independent learning portfolio, how is it justified that a student who worked independently to prepare the portfolio is granted just a pass percentage while others who copied it from the book, receive over seventy percent? The very purpose is defeated as the marks are not fairly awarded. Besides, most students keep away from such lessons. I feel this should be discontinued from the next session as it really does not benefit anyone. In another module we had to write an essay on fast food. This is something interesting and I enjoyed working on it. We were required to write more than 500 words and I was excited as I scored the highest in the group which was 63%. I like writing and I truly look forward to this module although I must admit I do not like to work on projects. I have also been wondering whether I liked the essay writing because I scored the highest and dislike the independent learning portfolio because I just managed a forty percent. Deep introspection revealed that it is in fact the other way round. I got good scores in essay writing because I love writing and I can put my heart into it. When we like something, we enjoy doing it and put our best efforts into it. Maybe my mind did not accept the idea of preparing an independent portfolio as I found no benefits out of it. The mental barrier or non-acceptance did not allow me to give it my best shot perhaps. Added to this was the unfair granting of marks. I detest working on projects and we had a lesson on projects later in the second semester. The teacher helped us to correct the grammatical mistakes which were beneficial to the international students like me. What I did not like about the project lesson was the teacher’s instructions to read and summarize the book in just two hours. I felt we could utilize the time in school or something better. This is something which can be done at home also. We need not come to school a couple of hours early to read and summarize a book and that too on project! Semester two has been pretty boring for a number of reasons. I hated preparing the independent learning portfolio, I disliked coming early to school to read and summarize the book and most importantly what increased the boredom was the fact that we were less than five students in the class. Class should be full of life and fun and when the number of students is high, interactions are more. We learn a lot through peer interactions and conflicts. We learn through each others’ experiences; we learn through sharing but all of this we are missing in this semester. At the same time, I have come to know my subjects for the next semester after the foundation course. The subject lecture was nice and interesting. I enjoyed it thoroughly so I guess I should not really be complaining. The lecture was not just enjoyable but helpful and thought provoking. Hence this semester has been one of mixed emotions. This is exactly what life is about. We can never get all that we desire. We get something what we like and mostly what we do not like. I happened to read a few words which give me inspiration each time that I start to complain – when we have not what we like, we must like what we have. I have thus decided not to complain any more about the boredom and lack of company in class. Happiness and pleasure lies not in the external object but in our perception. Reflection has now made me understand and accept that preparing the Independent learning portfolio was not a useless exercise after all. I thought I knew how to prepare it and perhaps complacency set in. I realize that if we do something without interest and involvement, we certainly find it boring. Whatever we do in life should be with involvement which ensures the best efforts. Similarly, I did not like the idea of coming to school two hours in advance just to read and summarize. Perhaps the teacher has a message for us; perhaps we would not sincerely devote two hours to it at home despite all that we say. It is to make us fully committed to what we do, to enable us to devote uninterrupted two hours that our teacher insisted on this method. We as students tend to think that we know it all. We forget that our teacher knows us better and we would not be students if we knew how to handle our work and schedules. I have learnt so much in this semester that I feel I am already a bachelor student!! Read More