In order to stimulate the learning motivation of international students and help them grow and progress better, the ISU Academic Development Department successfully held the "Experience Sharing Meeting for Top Students" on October 23rd.

    This event features four top students, TRAN TRA MY, TANG KHAI CHUNG, KYEI-NUAMAH DAVID, and RAHMAN MD ARIFUR, sharing their valuable experiences in the learning process.

    Tran Tra My is studing teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages. She mainly shared how to efficiently take classroom notes, and also shared with her classmates the most commonly used software when taking notes. Considering the different demands of each student, she provided a detailed introduction to the software, including its features and usage. She also showed her classmates the entire process of taking notes on site, and shared with them how she balances learning and extracurricular activities. She sets a time plan every day, so that while completing learning tasks, she can also have extra time to participate in various school activities. Here, she encourages her classmates to actively participate in activities, face challenges, maintain confidence, and not leave regrets for their college life. Finally, under the enthusiastic questioning of her classmates, she also carefully explained to them the good ways to participate in extracurricular activities and concentrate during the learning process.  

    Tang Khai Chung is a Master student of Chinese langauge and literature. He shared with the students about how to select courses, how to learn effectively, and how to make the best use of holidays. While sharing learning methods, he also put forward the viewpoint of "one chapter equals one page", suggesting that everyone organize the classroom content into a mind map, and it is best to only use one page to organize the content of each chapter, which can provide great convenience for subsequent review. He also shared his path of using holidays to preview courses in advance. First, he found reference books from public databases, and then made reasonable arrangements for learning content based on holiday time. He resolutely executed his plan, repeating the cycle without interruption. Finally, he had a conversation with his first-year undergraduate classmates about making plans to graduate within 3 years. After listening to his sharing, many first-year undergraduate students have new plans for their future. Tang Khai Chung set an example and proved to everyone through his actions that it is possible to graduate in three years of undergraduate studies!

    Mr. Arifur, who is still in Malta, took valuable time out of his busy schedule to share his personal experience with his classmates online. He told his classmates about his experience of attending lectures and conferences around the world during his doctoral studies in the past two years. He gave a detailed introduction on how to apply for a visa, how to choose partners, and how to set goals. For graduate students, the door to a new world has been opened.

    Mr. David shared his experience in academic writing and paper publishing, and proposed that writing a good paper requires extensive reading in the early stages. He also listed the books he often reads for everyone and suggested that when reading, write down your own opinions and excerpts of good words and phrases, which can provide a lot of material for subsequent academic writing. He also suggests that when writing initially, people should not pay too much attention to whether the grammar is correct. When inspiration arises, they should immediately record it and make changes to the grammar later. In addition, Mr. David also encourages everyone to maintain independent thinking when reading academic papers and literature. If you have different ideas, you can contact the author by email. Mr. David is delighted to say that, including himself, the authors warmly welcome readers to engage in academic exchanges with him. Finally, Mr. David suggested that students should read papers in a gradual manner, and not necessarily fast is good. Mr. David also comforted the students by allowing himself to take a short break and continuing to work hard after adjusting.

Q&A

Q: How to take notes while listening to the teacher's lecture? 

A: If you can understand, you can quickly jot down the important content without worrying about whether the handwriting is good or not. For the convenience of post class review, you can mark the order on your notes and organize them when you go home. 

Q: How do I know about the activities in the second classroom? 

A: Each grade will have different training programs, you can take the initiative to check your training program. There will be some activities on it that you need to register for. In addition, you can follow the official account of schools, colleges and global education center, and those official account will release notices about various activities. Everyone can choose to register and participate in activities that interest them. 

Q: How to concentrate? Many times I plan to study at a certain point but find it difficult to do so.

A: Mobile phones are distractions. You can try eliminating your phone in your own learning space. You can use the common area of the dormitory, where you can leave your phone in the dormitory during self-study, or keep it away from your seat. In addition, when you know you have no motivation to study, you can use the 5-minute method. This method is that if you work hard for 5 minutes, you will have the motivation to continue. Of course, you need to make sure to concentrate during those 5 minutes and not read while looking at your phone. At the same time, you can keep a blank sheet of paper on your desk. Whenever you want to play with your phone or think of other entertainment activities, you can write down those distracting thoughts on the blank sheet of paper.

    The event has come to a successful conclusion, and we sincerely thank all the participants for their enthusiastic support and dedication. Through this activity, students have also gained a lot of knowledge and experience. 'Exploration is endless, learning never stops'. We look forward to your presence of the next 'Top Student Sharing Conference'.