This international cultural experience tour in Oxford is the most wonderful trip I have ever experienced. The course on language and presentation skills was very fulfilling and intriguing as the way Ros, an experienced and motivational tutor, taught was effective. She preferred students to learn from mistakes, and gave me instant, constructive feedback. Another course on creative writing delivered by Noel, a hilarious tutor with thousands of jokes, was very pleasant. He suggested taking a lesson out of the classroom in order not to waste such a perfect sunny day. It was my first time having a lesson under the tree. Therefore, I would like to dedicate my gratitude to the CSAO and the Education Bureau for providing me this precious chance to learn in Oxford. Most importantly, thank you, Wendy and Joyce - our lecturers from HKCC and Gregory and Anastasia - Student Assistants from Oxford, for taking care of us in the whole trip! Much appreciated!
Studying at the Worcester College in Oxford has been one of the most enlightening experiences in my life. Unlike the school life in Hong Kong, I had a regular and disciplined college life there – breakfast at 8 a.m. and classes afterwards, and lateness requires a formal apology because manners matter.
I have learned a lot of linguistic knowledge from the classes - collocations, stress patterns, intelligibility (the measure of how comprehensible a speech is in a given context), fossilization (the preservation of ancient linguistic features), register (the difference between speaking and writing), etc. Learning these has helped me communicate in English more effectively. I have also had a deeper understanding of British English.
On weekends, my groupmates and I would visit some iconic landmarks to learn more about the country – Buckingham Palace where we saw the handover ceremony, the British Museum where we learned about both the English and Chinese history, etc.
The success of this international cultural experience study tour lies on great efforts made by Jane and other parties. Our English teacher, Jane, at University of Oxford, was a very impressive instructor who taught us presentation skills those days. She was not only imparted us the English knowledge, but also shared with us the culture of Oxford and the UK. She usually preferred us to play educational games and to discuss different topics, such as food culture, in order to train our speaking skills. That was, indeed, the best way for me to learn naturally. Apart from Jane, there are a lot of people I have to say thanks to. First, to our team handlers - Wendy, Joyce and KC. Thank you for arranging this trip and caring for us. Second, to the liasions from University of Oxford, thank you for guiding and preparing everything. Third, to my teacher – Jane, thank you for being enthusiastic to teach us English, especially preparing useful materials.
