The Truth about Successful English Study-abroad A study-abroad Guidebook By Dan & Yoshimi Fujikawa-Greig Published by KIWI@HOME Education Services Ltd at Smashwords Copyright 2012 KIWI@HOME Education Services ltd Smashwords Edition, License Notes Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support Table of contents Introduction Chapter 1 - Studying English as a Second Language Chapter2 - About Study-abroad Chapter 3 - Working Holidays Chapter 4 - High School study in New Zealand Chapter 5 - Parent and child Study-abroad Chapter 6 - Choosing your English school Chapter 7 - Choosing your Agent Chapter 8 - Homestay and flatting Last word About KIWI@HOME About the Authors Introduction This e-book is intended as a guide for all students of English as a second language (ESOL) or people who want to travel abroad to study English, on a working holiday, as a high school or university student, as an adult student or to come together with your children while they go to school. We are based in Christchurch, New Zealand, but you will find that many aspects of the advice in this book will apply to all English speaking, Western counties. KIWI@HOME is an Education Support Service. We are a very popular company with a reputation for making sure students reach their goals. Located in Christchurch, New Zealand, KIWI@HOME is in the cleanest, safest, cheapest English speaking country and city in the world. We are specialists in the total care and co-ordination for students of English to reach their goals, and we are qualified and experienced English teachers. This book is based on our years of experience and the results of our personal research. We hope this e-book will be useful for everyone who wants an efficient and real study and study abroad experience. If you’d like to talk to the authors, send us an e-mail. Our contact details are at the back. Good luck! Dan & Yoshimi Fujikawa-Greig Back to the table of contents ***** Chapter 1 - Studying English as second language English is the most wide spread language in the world, it is also one of the more difficult languages to learn for most students. When studying English, there are some important points to remember. We’d like you to keep these things in mind to make your study much more effective. English is a language, not a subject There should be no status or coolness for those who can speak English well, after all English is just a tool for communication, the same as your own language. When people start putting status on being able to speak English, their pride and embarrassment gets in the way of learning. Embarrassment is important because it helps you to be motivated not to make the same mistake again, and it makes your mistake, and the correct language, easier to remember Students who think of English as a subject more than a language are also much less focussed on what they should be learning and will spend a lot of effort learning useless things. Some students spend time learning ridiculously difficult words that most native speakers even don’t know, and certainly don’t use. But at the same time, these students can’t use everyday simple words effectively. If you think of a certain grammar pattern as advanced level, university or high school level, etc., it gives you a mental block which prevents you becoming fluent. If you insist on learning “high level” English because it is cool, then you will most likely never become fluent in the English language. “I’m too old to learn English” No one is ever too old to learn English, but you will need to do things a little differently depending on your age. Young children are naturally fast at picking up language, but they also have the added pressure of other children teasing them for their mistakes. Adults are generally kinder, and this makes less pressure to improve. Adults, however have more experience, have a better grasp of their native language and are better at thinking logically. This all helps adults to realise patterns that children do not. A very common problem with children learning English overseas is that they pick up what sounds right, and mimic the sounds of English with less understanding of structure and nuance. This becomes a problem when speaking formally and also especially in writing. So even though you may feel that the children around you are learning English so fast, and you are so slow, as an adult, focus more on accuracy, correct nuance and so on, and do what you can do. Don’t expect to be able to pick up language like children, but use your abilities to your advantage. Different ages have different advantages and disadvantages; you just need to adjust yourself to them. Don’t look for short-cuts As the saying goes, “short-cuts make long delays”. There are no short-cuts to becoming fluent, but there are more efficient ways of studying. The most important thing to realise is that you need to put in the work, yourself, if you are to succeed. Any secret method or device which promises you native-like fluency just by listening to tapes in your sleep, or in unbelievably short time periods, are always fake. It is the same with devices to change your pronunciation, they don’t work, you need to make the effort yourself. You need to make an effort, yourself If the person who is going to be speaking like a native English speaker is you, then you need to be the one who makes every possible effort in study. In exactly the same way as with any athlete’s training, the coach or teacher doesn’t do all the work. Many students rely on the teacher, rely on the class and no preparation or self-study at all. I always wonder how these students expect to be able to speak English fluently without making any effort. While a good teacher will be able to help you more than a bad teacher, a good teacher mainly makes their students work harder, and I think that even a bad teacher could be used more effectively by a good student. If your English isn’t improving as fast as you expect, look at yourself first. In most cases there are 3 likely causes: 1.You are not making enough effort in your study. Ask yourself, “Am I using English as much as possible?” If you are, you will likely have many questions that need to be solved. If you don’t have any questions about language or culture, then you are not trying hard enough. 2.Your expectations are too high. Do you expect to be fluent in a few weeks? Many people expect to be able to speak fluently in a very short time if they go overseas. This is not realistic, but many agents advertise this to be true, and many people write their blogs in ways which implies it to be true. Just remember, learning English takes a lot of time and effort. 3.You have been deceived by marketing and sales. If you are in an English speaking country to learn English, there are more and less efficient ways to go about it. Spending 8 hours a day in a language school is not efficient. Agents recommend it because they get lots of commission from it, not because it is good for the student. Whatever you do though, you must take responsibility for your own learning yourself. Don’t rely on other people to force you to study, or give you homework and so on. A passive attitude to study will make your progress much slower. The students that succeed are students who actively look for new things to learn. Culture is as important as language You need to make an effort to learn culture as well as learning language. Culture and language as different representations of the same thing and are very closely interrelated. For your fluency, understanding the culture means that you will be able to use words and grammar accurately and appropriately, you will be able to know when to use formal or casual language, and basically you will be able to communicate properly. If you are to go overseas to study English, understanding about culture will make your life much easier and more comfortable. There are many things which are different; you don’t have to do everything, but it is important to understand the differences. Some proportion of prejudice can also be started from cultural misunderstanding. Many students misinterpret certain words or actions as prejudice, and sometimes the culturally ignorant behaviour of students themselves makes people angry, resulting in negative experiences. Also be aware that not all English speaking countries share the same culture. There are many things which are similar, and we all share England and the United Kingdom as the root of our culture, but there are differences. These differences are quite important to us, as you will find out if you try to compare us to America... Be flexible English has a lot of flexibility compared to some languages. We have a lot of “spare words”, and different people use different words, as well the same person might also use different words at different times. There are words that are good to know, and words that you need to use. Pronunciation also has some flexibility, especially in the vowel sounds. As long as the difference is consistent, we are not too worried about it. This is what makes an accent, and because the differences are consistent, it is not difficult to understand other native English speakers with an accent. The consonant sounds must be the same however. These make a big difference, every time. Choosing a particular country’s English Some people feel it is important to choose a particular country’s English, such as British English, American English and so on. Apart from just what you like the sound of, or if you are planning to live in that country; there is no particular value in choosing one country’s English over any other. (Except for the general case that American English is slightly less comprehensive and has differences in spelling and grammar to every single other English speaking country in the world, so is therefore less standard.) Every English speaking country, except America, uses standard British spellings and grammar. However, these differences do not make any difficulty in communication between native speakers, and as an ESOL learner, you won’t be able to pick up these differences until your English is of a reasonably high level. So in short, don’t worry about it and go with what you like. American vs British English Many people worry about the differences of American English and British English. My students always ask me about this, and worry about which is which, or which is better. My advice is basically don’t worry about it. Yes there are differences, but they are minor if your English is good. There are far less differences in the English of all the English first language countries in the world, than in the dialects of some languages. American English is a sub-set of English, all the words in American English exist in English, it is just that we don’t choose to use the same words all the time. This is also common with people from the same country. Because English has lots of “spare words”, not everyone uses the same words all the time. Spare words are words that we all know, but don’t always use, or words that we use at different times in our lives and not in others. But (educated) native speakers will generally know all the common words anyway, so there are seldom problems. New Zealand English is British English, but we often use words common in American English as well. Learning vs Memorising Language is much too complex to be able to memorise and the patterns are too flexible to just use a series of memorised phrases. You need to learn language, if you learn it you will not forget it and you will be able to speak naturally. Learning involves doing and repeating. You need to actually use the language in real situations and use it regularly. If you can do this, you will learn the language, and you will learn it naturally. Textbook learning is generally not so effective because the situation in the book is more often than not very contrived, but also it is only one possible scenario, and in real life you will usually encounter something different. I get my students to practice in real life and make sure they understand all the variations. Back to the table of Contents ***** Chapter 2 - About study Abroad Going to an English speaking country to study English is the absolute best way to improve your English properly, enough to be useful for communication. While it is possible to improve your English to some extent in your own country, it is much faster, easier and more fun to do it in an English speaking country. The most important thing to understand however, is that just by being in an all English environment, you will not become fluent without effort. You will have many more chances to learn, and the all English environment will help you, but you need to work hard if you want to become fluent. Some people make the impression in their blogs that they became fluent in English in just a few weeks of arriving in New Zealand, this is fake. They write this to make themselves feel better, but if you believe it, you will feel worse, because it is not possible. Many students feel that they are losers because they “are the only ones who haven’t mastered English in 2 weeks” This problem is caused by other students who do not give a real impression of their hardships they experienced and the help they received for their success When in Rome... When in Rome, do as Romans do. This tells you all you need to know about success in your study abroad, in one phrase. Obviously there will be parts of any culture that you find strange or difficult, and you will not have to do everything 100% exactly the same, but you do need to understand why people from that country do it. However, if you do try to do things as much as possible like the people from the country you are in, you will have a much better time, you will be able to make friends, and you will have a more successful study abroad. If you can fit in well with the people of the country you are visiting, they will be much happier to be with you, you will meet less potential prejudice and you will have less worries and problems, so you can spend more time and effort on studying English. Be active. Have a hobby In New Zealand there is not much entertainment like shopping or amusement parks. The reason being is that New Zealand people like to have a hobby, and do DIY or anything ourselves. When I moved back to New Zealand with my family from living in Japan, the first thing I did was to buy things so I could enjoy my spare time. We bought mountain bikes, a boat, tools for making things, and so on. Now when I have spare time I always have something to do, and I really look forward to having spare time to do these things. If you have a hobby, you can make friends, you will never be bored and you will enjoy your stay that much more. We encourage our students to join clubs, be involved in volunteering, and just doing many things to be able to make friends. Being active in your life here is directly linked to how much your English will improve while you are here. Having that active attitude, you will naturally meet new people, make new friends and be curious about the new things you see around you. Being curious allows you to ask questions about what is around you, and these are all good learning opportunities. Being aware of learning opportunities is very important if you wish to improve your English quickly. If you are not aware and awake, you will miss out on chances to find out new English and new culture. We call this idea “gathering” it is where students gather lots of new things, which are reviewed and practiced in class. Avoid making friends from your own country As much as possible students should avoid making friends with people from their own country. Obviously creating an English environment is the main reason for this, but there are many benefits of not having friends from your own country and culture. A very common problem I have seen often is that once students group together with friends from their own country, the quality of the information about New Zealand and English they get decreases a lot. People start believing stereotypes and rumour instead of truth, and this makes their life in New Zealand that much harder. In general, people who are in a bit of a negative frame of mind will be more likely to look for friends of their own country than people who are enjoying life and improving their English. Such friends feel more comforted when they drag other people down to their own way of thinking, and it makes them feel that maybe their life choices and study choices weren’t so bad after all. But if you are not ready to give up quite yet, it is better not to be involved with such things. Especially if you are the type of person who believes that anyone who has been in New Zealand longer than you automatically knows more, then it will be very dangerous for you to start off by making friends with people from your own country. If you are the type of person who likes to find out things for yourself, then it is less of a problem, but still not ideal as it lessens the chance of you being able to be among native friends, and speaking English more. When you get to the situation where you are confident and knowledgeable about New Zealand and English, or alternately if you are hopelessly homesick and need someone to talk to and hang out with, then this is a much better timing for making friends with people from your own country. Common cases of student’s progress in New Zealand Basically there are 3 common patterns of how students progress with their study-abroad in New Zealand. Everyone takes a slightly different route, and encounters different good and bad things. People also have different goals and have to study to reach those different goals differently. We have found that most students fit 1 or 3 patterns though. 1.The student gets good guidance and advice, studies effectively, learns English well and has a satisfying study-abroad experience where all their realistic goals are met and feels that the time and effort spent was well worth it. 2.The student doesn’t get good guidance, finishes their 1 month in a home-stay, 1 month in a language school, hasn’t improved their English or cultural awareness at all, is very disappointed and returns home early, so doesn’t waste more time and money. 3.The student doesn’t get good guidance, finishes their 1 month in a home-stay, 1 month in a language school, hasn’t improved their English or cultural awareness at all, but doesn’t care, finds a flat and job with people from the same country, has a good time, spends lots of money. But they return home ashamed because they have wasted a year’s worth of time and money. Making friends with people from your own country makes it much more likely that you will end up as either type 2 or 3. Whether you stay in New Zealand or not, situations 2 and 3 are students who have given up and their study-abroad is not a success. Learn real culture not stereotypes All too often students rely on stereotypes and misinformation from friends from their own country or guidebooks, or outdated information on websites for information on New Zealand., and although information from these sources can be useful, there as many cases where the information is useless and problematic. New Zealand is a country where things change quite easily. We are a culture of people who don’t like to be left behind just because we are geographically so far away from the rest of the world. Because of this, we adapt and adopt new ideas and policies quite flexibly. This is probably a good thing overall, but in terms of getting information, you need to be very careful about your source. What was possible 10 years ago in New Zealand is often not possible at all now. Many students like to rely on information from their fellow students or people from their own country that have been here before. This is not always bad, but there are plenty of opportunities for misinformation and misunderstanding. Having even a quick look through a popular Japanese information site for example, shows up 2 or 3 mistakes and misinformation in this short time. Depending on the type of person, it is possible to live in New Zealand for years without knowing anything about our culture. New Zealand is a culture which really dislikes people interfering. So many people who immigrate to New Zealand live here exactly like they do in their home country because no-one tells them not to. These people are often very naive to New Zealand culture and society and are a huge source of stereotypes and misinformation. The best way to learn about real culture and real language and about the best way to live in New Zealand is through native speakers. Believing in stereotypes will make you miss many opportunities, make it harder to make Kiwi friends and make your whole study abroad less fun. Some basic New Zealand culture tips 1. Kiwi people seem easy going and a little bit like we don’t care about things too much, but this is our outside face. Inside we expect people to be polite and considerate. 2. Kiwi people are careful with things. We like to treat things gently so we don’t slam car doors, slam house doors or cupboard doors. We think that if we treat things nicely now, we don’t have to fix it later, and we can sell it for a higher price when we want to get rid of it. 3 .Recycling and re-using things is very common. We are happy to get a bargain and buy things second hand. If you have something you don’t want, the chances of selling it to someone who does want it are high. Because of this, we take care of things and less things are thrown away. 4. Being flexible and forgiving is a nice personality for yourself, but expecting it of others is bad. A good example of this is that when people are late, we seem to be OK with it, we don’t complain or tell the person off (so much). But, if you show people that you don’t care about being on time, and don’t think that it is a problem, it is not so good. 5. We are brought up to try our best not to cause other people problems. This means that we are careful about where we walk, we don’t talk loudly in restaurants and children are taught to do the same. 6. You need to take responsibility for yourself. You need to be concerned with your own safety, the safety of your belongings and the results of your own actions. New Zealand is very safe if you take care, but we don’t like to rely on other people too much. 7. Being natural is best. If you want to make friends, be yourself and be involved. If you can be involved in something, then there is now something in common. If you go up to someone and say “please be my friend”, you will be laughed at, but if you join in with their team or group, you will be welcomed in. 8. Casual is friendly. We like to change from formal language to casual language as soon as possible. 9. We say what we mean. Without being blunt of course, but when a Kiwi person says it is OK or something, you can usually take those words at face value. 10. Men and Women are socially equal. Kiwi men help with the cooking and cleaning, and this is quite normal for us. Of course there are badly brought up people in New Zealand too, but good people generally follow these ideas. Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 3 - Working Holidays Many countries have a Working Holiday Visa agreement with New Zealand. Each country’s agreement is a little different, so you will need to check immigration New Zealand’s website for up to date information first. The site is http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/ Immigration New Zealand updates and changes their policies quite often, so it pays to check their site regularly. A Working Holiday Visa is basically a type of Visa where you can spend some time studying, some time working and some time travelling in New Zealand. It is a very good way to learn English because you get a chance to meet real people, you don’t have to be inside a school all day and you can work to support yourself, so you don’t have to have as much money as a Student Visa holder. How to study Contrary to popular belief, a language school is not the best way to study for practical, usable English. Because part of a working holiday is to actually work, you will need the ability to communicate with customers who are native English speakers reasonably well. Depending on your original English level, you may need to spend a lot of time studying to be able to work in an English environment, and working in an English environment is much better. As a rough guide for those who would make their best effort, even our lowest level students are able to function in English in 4~6 months of private lessons if they study properly, following our instruction. These students start with very little English and finish with quite fluent English. Our study method has been made to help particularly those students who need to improve a lot in a short time on a tight budget. It is focussed on getting students to be able to actually use English in communication. This is not such a common idea in language schools, and that is why we have developed it. To be able to actually use English, you need to try to use it, and get professional feedback on your mistakes and successes. From starting in a home-stay, you will be encouraged to communicate with your host family. This is the best way to start improving because it gives you lots of opportunities to find where you need to improve. By talking with other people (native speakers), you will find a need for certain words and certain grammar. Once you have a need for it, it is easy to remember and use. Other ways you can find sources of English that you need is to talk to anyone you can; shopkeepers, people on the bus, other customers in the shop, and so on. It is unrealistic to expect to be able to improve enough to be able to work in an English environment by sitting passively in a group lesson with 15 other students for a month. This way is aimed at increasing the profits of the agent who recommends and the language school who provides it only. It is not for the benefit of the students, it is just better than nothing. Working in an English environment The difference of working in an English environment and one where your native language is spoken is quite significant. Naturally the more you are able to interact with native English speakers, the better it is for your continued study of English. Study should not stop just because you are working, in-fact the need for continued study increases as you need accurate English and good communication to do well in your job. Also some types of job will pay you more if you can communicate in English well, so it is always worth trying to keep improving your English. It may also be the difference of being offered a work permit or not! Because your work mates are often likely to become your friends, it makes sense to try to work with other Kiwis if you can. You get a lot of information from your workmates, by spending a lot of time with them and talking in between serving customers or whatever, so if you’re working with Kiwis, you can be more sure that the information you get is true and accurate. We often see students who come to class with wildly inaccurate views on New Zealand that they learned from their workmates in their Japanese restaurant. One particular student, even though one of their workmates was born in New Zealand, their whole upbringing and range of friends were all Japanese, so their view of New Zealand was not accurate. Even this person’s English had mistakes that a native speaker wouldn’t make. These kind of people often seem to end up working in restaurants and other service or tourist jobs. The other important thing with not working with people from your own country is that in this stage of their working holiday, many people have already given up on English and making kiwi friends and so on, and are just now killing time until they have to go home. Most agents do not, or cannot give proper support to their students, so many students were never taught how to make the most of their working holiday. These students still want to enjoy life of course and often party together, travel together and generally spend a lot of money together. If you’re into this, fine, but if you still have goals of making kiwi friends and improving your English, these are not the best type of friends to have. Find out about your rights and obligations It is likely that your working rights and obligations in New Zealand will be different than in your home country. If you are working in an English environment, the chances are that your rights will be protected. But if you must work with people from your own country, or other international visitors, then there is some chance that your rights are not being protected. It is reasonably common knowledge that people of the same culture seem to treat each other the worst. It is very unusual to hear of a New Zealand run shop taking advantage of its employees, but it is common to hear of Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, etc. run shops flouting employment law and taking advantage of naive employees. This is the same for when you go flatting. There are certain rights and obligations that are given by law. Again, it is unusual for a kiwi flat or landlord to take advantage of their tenants, but it is not unusual for flats run by people from your own country, or “international flats” to not act fairly. There is a lot of information available, and we always include this type of information in our lessons and orientation. Remember if you want accurate information, it needs to come from Native New Zealanders, not from your friends. Tenancy Tribunal. http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-tribunal Employee rights. http://www.dol.govt.nz/infozone/myfirstjob/employees/during/rights.asp Free Legal help. http://www.communitylaw.org.nz/ Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 4 - High school Study in New Zealand New Zealand is a very popular destination for students to come to study in high school then go on to University. The easiest way to gain entry to a New Zealand University is to pass the high school exams here. New Zealand high schools have special programs for international students. There are basically 2 streams, mainstream and ESOL stream. Most international students will start off in the ESOL stream because their English won’t be good enough to keep up with the pace of the kiwi students. Once your English is deemed good enough (and it is quite a low requirement), then you can move into the mainstream. How much you need to study depends on your goals and the requirements of your own country regarding university entry and so on. Will you suit studying overseas? Schools and agents will accept almost any student for their study abroad programs. The main requirements being good attendance at your current school, and average grades. There are even some schools which will accept students with bad attendance and bad grades in special programs. However, being eligible to study in New Zealand doesn’t always mean that it is the best thing for you. Our main requirement at KIWI@HOME, for accepting a student is motivation. We ask these questions to prospective students: Do you, yourself (not just your parents) actually want to come to New Zealand and study? Are you interested in English and Western culture? Do you want to make Kiwi friends? Are you willing to try your best, even though it may be difficult? If you can answer a definite “Yes” to all of these questions, then you will do well here with the right guidance. If you answered “No” to more than one of these questions, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your decision to go overseas to study. Have clear goals Having clear goals is very important. In New Zealand you can choose many of your own school subjects, so you need to choose subjects that are somehow related to you desired career path, or that are related to the requirements of the University or Polytechnic you wish to go to. Having clear goals also helps you to stay focussed on your study and focussed on why you are here. You may need to have an English test result as well, so if you have clear goals you can know this far in advance and prepare for it. There are some international students already in New Zealand that would have replied “NO” to all the questions above had they been asked at the start by their agents. These are students who should be avoided as much as possible. Having your own clear goals will keep you from joining them in failure How to study New Zealand schools are not as high pressure as schools in many Asian countries for example. Even serious students will have time to relax and enjoy life as well as study, but it is important to work consistently throughout the year. New Zealand has a high school qualification system called NCEA, this is for the last 3 years of high school, and it is in 3 levels: level 1 in year 11, level 2 in year 12 and level 3 in year 13. If you are able to achieve level 3 NCEA, with a few requirements, this will give you eligibility for entry to any New Zealand University. NCEA is a standards based assessment. This means that throughout the year you show how well you can do certain aspects of your school work, which all counts towards your final result. So at the end of the year, the exams are much fewer and more specific than with other systems. This makes it easier to do well overall, but you can miss out on relatively easy marks if you don’t study consistently. NCEA has 4 grades: Not Achieved (fail), Achieved (pass), Merit (good pass) and Excellence (excellent pass). These do not have any percentage values, it depends on how thoroughly you answer the questions. The way to study for NCEA is very specific, so it is useful to listen to the people who know about it well. When you come to New Zealand to study, the most important thing is to improve your English. If you can do this preparation before you come, it is even better. Once you have good English, everything else is not so difficult. A good memory is no substitute for having good English. Many students try to memorise anything, this does not work because you are often asked for your thoughts or interpretation on new ideas, so good English is always very important. New Zealand’s education system rewards understanding, not memorising ability. You are often given important equations or other information in the exams anyway, and are asked to interpret it or solve a new problem which tests your understanding. The higher you go in New Zealand education, the more this becomes important. Real world examples are commonly used, and they are usually presented in the format of a word problem. So using a simple mathematics problem for example; in many countries, you often get problems based on generic triangles and you have to solve the problem. e.g. find the maximum area of triangle PQR if the total of the sides equals 125 In New Zealand, the same problem would be “ A farmer has a roll of wire 125m long, and he wants to make a fence, but he only has 3 posts. Calculate and describe the maximum area his paddock can be” This problem needs to be solved mathematically and described in English. You need to show your understanding of the mathematical process and be able to apply it to real-world problems. We still have the generic PQR triangle problems as well, but word problems are very common. Other subjects are the same. In History for example you don’t just have to remember facts and figures; On March 12th 1954, something happened... You need to show your understanding. For example, a student recently was studying about the battle of Dien Bien Phu, in Vietnam, her assessment was to write a diary given a choice of possible characters, French officers, Viet Minh soldiers, peasants, etc. She had to include realistic detail as well as specific dates, events and places. All this showed how much she understood: what actually happened, how people felt, when and where certain events took place, how things were done (everyday life) and so on. Research is also a big factor in New Zealand education. Students are taught how to find accurate and factual information for themselves, instead of memorising what the teacher says. Your own opinion and interpretation are valued and required. The ability to research means that you will be able to tell which information is true and which is false. This ability also helps you greatly in later life. Communication It is very important that you communicate with the people who are there to help you. Schools have an international dean, and other people in the international department who are there to help you when you need it. Also if your agent is good, they should be able to help you as well. But as almost all agents are not Kiwis, their own understanding on many cultural issues is often not that good either, so go to your school’s international department first. Being a high school student in New Zealand is different than being an adult studying English here. There are many more chances of interacting with Kiwi people every day, so the chances for cultural misunderstandings and so on, also increase. There are also different kinds of stress that high school students everywhere experience. If you don’t deal with your stress properly and clearly then it would get worse. The best way to deal with stress that comes from being in New Zealand or not understanding New Zealanders is to talk to other New Zealanders who want to help you. Which school to choose? There is not a lot of difference between schools in New Zealand, so it is not so difficult to choose. New Zealand has very few private schools, and even then they are not really thought to be any better or worse than public schools. All New Zealand schools are regularly audited by the Education Review Office (ERO) for the quality of teachers, teaching, environment, results, and so on, so there shouldn’t be any “bad schools”. There is no status value in going to any particular school or university in New Zealand at all. Every school and university has the same entrance requirements, and overall it is easy to go to the school or university you want to. But in the case of university especially, you must work hard to be able to graduate. When you choose a school, you need to think more about the area you want to live in as the main factor. Different areas of the city are safer than others and the socio-economic status of the residents of certain areas will be different also. We have noticed that a lot of agents simply send students to the school which gives them the largest commission, regardless of what area of the city they are in. Although it is also likely that, as these agents are not native New Zealanders, they may not know which areas of the city are better or worse. The second factor for choosing a school is whether their international department is capable of looking after you properly. Do they have dedicated staff, an international dean, a home-stay co-ordinator, and so on? Does the ESOL course of the school provide opportunity to join in with other parts of school life? Having no ESOL program is a very bad sign, but having an ESOL program that you are stuck in for the whole time is also a bad sign. Apart from these 2 things, the quality of education you receive should not be any different, and the chances of getting into any particular New Zealand University will not be different. This is true of pretty much all schools from Kindergartens, Primary schools, Intermediate schools, High schools and Universities. Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 5 - Parent and Child Study-abroad New Zealand is naturally a very popular place for parents to want their young children to go to school, but there are practical as well as immigration problems with sending a very young child to a different country to study English, so many parents choose to come here together with their child or children. New Zealand immigration has a special visa for parents called a guardian visa. This is available for 1 parent, and it enables the parent to stay in New Zealand as long as your child is studying full time. Conditions of the visa change from time to time, but at the moment, parents on a guardian visa are also allowed to work and study a little. For more information on guardian visas, visit Immigration New Zealand. www.immigration.govt.nz The usual Parent-child Study-abroad Usually this type of study abroad is for parents with children aged between 5 and 12. From 13 years old children are able to stay in New Zealand without a parent accompanying them. Sometimes parents will bring very young children with them and put them into day-care. This is also normal and New Zealand has many excellent day-care centres, and you also get the first 20 hours free! Usually you will be renting a house as this is normal in New Zealand. Staying in a house with just you and your children allows you the space you need to relax, keep up the normality of family life with your children, and it also gives you independence. While your children go to school, you are free to do what you like. School goes from about 9:00am to 3:00pm, so during this time many parents study English, go shopping, talk with their friends and so on. New Zealand school is quite relaxed and parents don’t have to spend much time preparing their children for the next day of school, or attending school events. How to succeed All the points mentioned before about other types of study-abroad are of course applicable, but there are some extra things which you can do as well. It is very important that the parent also learns English, as well as the child. Children will learn (spoken) English very quickly, and it is common for children to be the translators for their parents. This is not a good situation, and many teachers do not find this ideal as well. Being able to function in English will naturally make your stay much more comfortable and your stress much less, but it also helps you to make friends with other parents, learn about culture easier, keep track of your children’s school work and make sure that they are doing what they are supposed be doing. Children are great at trying to get out of doing work, but as a parent, if you can communicate well with your child’s teachers, or friend’s parents, then you will be able to easily keep your children on the right path. On a guardian visa you are able to study part time, during the hours that your children are in school. Making friends When you are with your children, there are so many opportunities to make friends yourself. Parents of other children are usually very friendly, and when they see your children playing with theirs, they will naturally include you in this circle of friendship as well. After school or in the park, are all good places to make new friends. If your child is interested in some sport, join a club or a team, these are also good places to make new friends with parents who are bringing their children to the club. You need to be active and do things outside of the house. New Zealand has many parks where children can play, and it is safe and clean. New Zealand parents encourage their children to go out and play in the park or somewhere rather than being inside playing video games or watching TV. Children will find it easy to make friends themselves, as long as they are given the chance to interact with other children. If your child is shy and tends to want to be with other children of your culture, then encourage them not to. Once children can begin to speak English better they will find it easier to be with Kiwi children. But if they can’t speak English well, they may be too shy or embarrassed to try. Relax, it is a cultural difference Relax. In New Zealand being relaxed is a very good thing. New Zealand is generally very safe and very clean. There are almost no poisonous or dangerous animals that you need to be careful of, and Kiwi children often run around in bare feet. There is very little dangerous bacteria, so when we drop food on the floor, it is not unusual for children to eat it (if it is not muddy of course) and parents not to worry about it. This may be a bit gross, but it is not dangerous. The relationships between people are also more relaxed. There are very few things that you “have to” do in New Zealand, though there are of course reasonably strict social norms and etiquette that should be followed. We may not always talk with our neighbours so much, but they are usually still there to help when we need it. Friends understand when you disagree or don’t want to join them sometimes and formal social structures are avoided as much as possible. At school also, teachers and the school may be more relaxed than you are used to. New Zealand schools like children to learn and experience things for themselves. If they make mistakes, that is OK. If they hurt themselves a little, that is part of growing up. As long as children learn from their experience and do it safely without causing harm to others. At primary school level, students are encouraged to be creative and curious, rather them memorising huge amounts of information, or being able to do mathematics calculations very quickly. This relaxed approach to learning gives children the skills they need to do well in high school and university, and in many cases in life as well. We don’t expect young children to do hours of homework, but we do expect children to be creative and curious about the world around them, and importantly, to behave appropriately in society. School is ideally the model for how to behave in society. You can be very casual and friendly when talking to teachers, but you must also be 100% aware of the fact that the teacher is to be respected and listened to, not to be argued with. Children in New Zealand Children in New Zealand may be treated quite differently to children in your country. In New Zealand, children are not little princes and princesses. Children are taught to do what they are told and to behave appropriately in public and in private. For example children are taught to speak quietly and not to run when inside buildings. We say things like “use your inside voice”, which means speak quietly when you are inside a house, a shop, school, the car, anywhere. Naturally there are bad children, who haven’t been disciplined so well, but when we see these children yelling and running in the mall or supermarket, we wonder what kind of bad parent doesn’t care enough to teach their children how to behave properly... Adults usually think that it is natural for children to be told off for the bad things they do, and it is natural for children to play rough and get hurt sometimes. Because of this way of thinking, small incidents will be forgotten and teachers won’t tell you of every tiny little thing your child did at school. Often Asian parents are surprised that their child fell down and scraped their knee, but the teacher didn’t say anything. We are surprised to hear that the parent is surprised Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 6 - Choosing your English school Deciding where to study is of course very important. However, your visa will most likely limit your choice somewhat. To get a student visa you will most likely need to be studying full time in a school or language school. As an English School, we would naturally recommend coming to Christchurch and studying with us, but if you are not planning to come to Christchurch, try to find a school as much like us as possible. For serious students we do not recommend language schools if possible. If you are on a working holiday or visitor’s visa of some type then you can study privately, and this is what we do. In our case, we are a bit special because we are both school and agent so we recommend what is best for each student. Most agents have no idea about learning and teaching English, so they will recommend the language school that gives them the most commission. Most language schools are pretty much the same, and will often use the same teachers as each other. I have worked at 5 different language schools in Christchurch and I often met teachers that I had met at other schools before. The quality of the teaching is usually not a problem if the teachers are qualified, and they generally are in schools. We have set up a very different teaching and learning model, because we are personally aware that language schools are not the best way to learn English. Given this, it is difficult to give advice about which school to choose. If you have to choose a language school because of your Visa OK, so you have no choice but to be in a language school. How do you choose a good one? I am assuming that if you are a student, reading this guide, then you are keen to improve your English when I give this advice. If you just want to hang out with people from your own country and kill time in the classroom, then any school is OK and just choose the cheapest and most fun looking. 1. Price is not necessarily and indicator of quality. All schools pay their teachers about the same rate, and all schools will generally insist on qualified teachers. There is some difference between the quality of teachers, but it generally averages out. So don’t choose the school based on price. 2. Size is also not necessarily an indicator of quality. Big schools have many agents sending many students. This is a business relationship, not an education relationship. There are big schools which are good, and bad. Small schools are often more “boutique” and will have some particular policy of the owner. If the owner is a teacher, this is often quite a good thing. 3. Be wary of schools which emphasise to you how much fun students are having going rafting, playing soccer in the park, bungy jumping, and so on. To me this looks like a school that has such boring and ineffective lessons that they keep their students by offering fun things to do outside of school. 4. Small class size is always better than big classes. As a teacher, I know that learning in a large class is not effective. You get less attention from the teacher, and the level of the class is averaged between all the students. The actual usefulness of the lesson is much less. 5. A good school should be able to put you in a class that suits your level and suits your purpose of study. The school should be flexible enough that you can ask questions and ask to be taught specific things that you want to be taught to some extent. If you can choose to study where you want to If you do not need to go to a language school, then don’t. On a different type of visa than a Student Visa, you will be able to freely choose how you study English. If you are in this situation there will be many more options available to you, but identifying the best for you may be a little more difficult. 1. Private lessons are the best and most efficient way to learn English if you use them properly. Just passively taking private lessons doesn’t guarantee that you will improve faster, but if you put in effort, yourself, then the teacher will be able to guide you and help you more. 2. Be wary of notices around town advertising cheap private lessons from private tutors. Some of these people are very good, professional and qualified, many are not. If the rate seems much cheaper than everyone else, then you need to ask yourself why. 3. Choose a qualified teacher. Qualified and experienced English teachers are able to teach and help you much more effectively than unqualified people who have spent a year teaching English in Japan or Korea, etc. It is very easy to get a job in a big language school overseas, you only need to be a native English speaker with a university degree. Many people come back to New Zealand after their Overseas Experience and advertise for students like this. 4. You need to realise that you must put in the work if your own English is to improve. Ideally if you are studying properly, you will have lots of questions to ask. Find a school or a teacher who is happy to spend time answering questions, and is experienced enough to be able to answer your questions accurately, quickly and in a way that is easy to understand. 5. Try combinations. If you have a specific study purpose in mind, like an English test or a qualification course, you might go to a school part time and use a private teacher to help you with the parts that you don’t understand. The school part gives you specific focus for your study, but the private teacher will help you understand the school study fully. Most students waste their money at a language school because they don’t understand the classes and are not able to keep up, but if you are able to keep up and understand fully, it is much better. (we call these re-cap lessons) There are many different ways to study, but in general any way that you are actively participating, actively practicing and actively making mistakes is good. However, it is only good if you are getting proper guidance. Doing a lot of practice without knowing if your practice is good or bad is not the most efficient way to improve. You must get feedback. Check through the first chapter on studying English as a second language. You need to ask yourself, can your school or private tutor help you do and understand all of these points? When we hire and train new teachers, one of the hardest things for us to get them to do is to guide the students on how to study properly. Many ESOL teachers are so used to working in language schools where students are so passive and scared of making mistakes that they start to believe that students cannot work independently and push themselves. The other side of this problem is that some teachers get so annoyed by students who are too passive that they quite strongly and aggressively force students to study in a certain way without understanding of each student’s personal situation and abilities, level and so on. The main reason why KIWI@HOME is so successful at teaching English is that we teach students what they need to know right now, and what they are able to understand right now. This is a direct result of our teaching method, we aim for 100% understanding and we aim to only teach what students don’t understand now. We don’t waste time and money on just going through the text book, and you should be questioning any school or teacher that does. Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 7 - Choosing your Agent Having a good agent to support your study abroad can make the difference between success and failure, and will definitely decide how enjoyable your stay will be. But how do you decide which agent is good and which ones to avoid. Obviously as an agent ourselves, writing this book, we would say to choose us. However, if you are not coming to Christchurch, or even to New Zealand, then you either need to change your plans so that you do, or you should choose someone like us as much as possible. In general when choosing your agent, talk to them to see if you get on or not. You will be relying on your agent to help you with many things during your stay, so they should be someone who are easy to talk to, treats you like a person and is genuinely interested in helping you reach your goals, rather than just someone who sees you as a source of income. Signs of a bad agent Here is a list of things which should make you suspicious and be warning signs not use this particular agent. 1. If you have to pay a large amount of money to the agent for services starting in the country, before you even arrive here. Paying a deposit is normal, but paying for school fees and homestays and anything else can be done once you are here if you want to. The exception to this is of course when you have to pay for school fees for your student visa. But if you pay for a year’s worth of English lessons or homestay, it restricts your freedom to change later. 2. If you have to sign up or pay before the agent will give you any initial advice or guidance, talk with you on Skype, etc. 3. Agents who are not in the country you are going to. If you are coming to New Zealand then your agent should also be in New Zealand if they are going to be able to help you properly. Agents who are not in the country you are going to will not know about the culture, will not know what is common sense and will not be able to be there for you when you need them. Many agents sub-contract out the role of looking after you to someone who is in the country, but make sure that the people you are paying your money to are the people who are looking after you. 4. Agents who have no direct personal relationship with native English speakers and people from the country they are in. Many agents in New Zealand live entirely within their own communities and have no experience about New Zealand. These people will not be very useful to give you guidance on how to learn English and fit in to life here. 5. Reputation. Look around on the internet, if you can find out something about the agent’s reputation it may be useful in helping you decide. 6. If it seems too good to be true, then it most likely is. Be very careful of agents promising unbelievably good things. If your English level is low beginner, then you are not going to be fluent in a few weeks of going to any language school. Even if the reality is not quite what you want to hear, it is better than such lies which only set you up for disappointment later. 7. Free things and overall pricing. Many agents advertise that they do this or that for free. If they are in business, then this is an obvious lie for most things. Agents make money from commissions on introducing students to language schools, tours, and so on. Some things are free, in general these are small things that agents can’t make money off and don’t cost them money to do. 8. If the agent’s prices seem very high, this is not a sign of quality. The amount of money paid to your school or to your homestay will be the same for an expensive agent and for a cheaper agent. The difference in cost is simply the agent’s profit. Because the school or host family are getting the same amount of money anyway, they will treat you the same, however much you pay the agent. One difficult thing with agents is language and culture. As most agents will be from your own culture, they should be able to understand your wishes and you problems well. However, they won’t be able to understand how you relate to your host family or school well. When you are having problems with various aspects of life in a foreign country, an agent who doesn’t understand this country’s culture and language well will not be able to give very useful advice. All things being equal, you will be looked after much better by a New Zealander who can speak your language than by a person from your country who can speak English. This is because for your comfort and success, culture becomes more important than language in many ways. Back to the Table of Contents ***** Chapter 8 - Homestay and flatting You spend a lot of your time with your host family, or flat mates, so it is important to make the most of it. Usually you will not be able to choose your homestay, but a good agent will listen to your preferences and try to match you the best they can. You can do some things to make your stay more comfortable as well. Some host families are very nice and really do want to treat you like a real part of their family. Some host families are not so nice and are just in it for the money. It is the job of a good agent to judge which type of host family they sign up, but not all agents care enough or are familiar with the local culture enough to be able to judge this. Signs of good and bad host families Good host families range from just very normal people to truly wonderful people with a pure volunteer spirit. We have all types of families in this range and they really are great. If your host family doesn’t have any of the qualities listed here, then you may want to change. Not all families will have all these qualities though. They will listen to you and make an effort to talk to you about anything. They will even make an effort to bring you out into the lounge when you are not really in the mood to talk. You will eat together and eat the same general food as each other. Sometimes there may be special dietary needs, but host families who eat delicious food while you are eating old bread are not nice people. They will respect your privacy and treat you like a true part of the family, rather than an outsider or an honoured guest. A good homestay will gently tell you off when necessary, they should take you out shopping, get you to help out around the house and so on. Your host family should give you reasonable attention, but don’t expect that they will be spending every minute of the day with you. If you are sharing the homestay with more than 1 other international student, this is not a good sign. We do not let our host families have any other international students staying at the same time as our students, but having 1 other student with you is sometimes good - as long as they not of the same nationality as you. You should not be expected to pay any extra money. Host families receive enough money to look after you well. If they are often asking you to pay for things, be suspicious and talk to your agent about it What you can do yourself While we all expect host families to do their part well, and create a warm, caring environment for students, there are many cases where student’s actions are causing otherwise good host families to give up and just stop caring. In-fact this is one of our major obstacles recently. Host families are so used to overly passive students that they give up on trying to do things together and go places together. We have often heard host families tell us of their experiences of talking students on special trips only for the student to sleep in the car the whole way or complain because there was something they wanted to watch on TV that day. 1. Even if you don’t understand your host family, make an effort and try to communicate. Don’t give up and don’t ignore them. Your family won’t expect you to understand everything they say, but they will expect you to try. 2. If they take you somewhere for a drive, do not sleep in the car! In New Zealand it is not normal for us to sleep on public transport, or even in the car, except on very long trips where you are going somewhere overnight. If you sleep, your host family will think that it is very rude, you don’t appreciate them and that you are bored. 3. If you have a problem, don’t want to do something or find something uncomfortable, then tell your host family honestly. In New Zealand we like to fix things before they become problems, not after. 4. If your host family asks if you would like something, like certain food for breakfast, etc, then tell them if you do. Many students will actually want something, but when asked by their host family, they’ll say no. (but then tell us that they want it...) This is very frustrating for your host family. 5. Don’t expect to be treated like you are guest at a 5 star hotel. Staying in someone’s home is a special thing, and a good host family will want you to be like part of the family. This means being involved and helping out as well. 6. Be together when you can. Even if your family aren’t paying attention to you directly, be in the lounge, watch TV together, read or study while everyone is watching TV or talking. Just be natural. 7. If you are always in your room with the door shut, your host family will feel that you are not very friendly. When you are in your room, shutting the door means “Do not disturb”, keep it open when you can, but also be out in the lounge when you can too. 8. Take care about using too much electricity, water and things like that. Certainly in New Zealand people are usually quite careful about how much they use, and wasting anything is not a good thing. 9. Treat the house carefully and quietly. Close doors and drawers quietly, put plates away quietly. In New Zealand it is good manners to be reasonably quiet when doing things. Also if you don’t treat things roughly, they last longer. 10. Put things away or turn them off when you are finished with them. Many students leave lights on, heaters on, doors open and so on. If you go out from your room to go to the toilet, that is fine, but if you go out to go to dinner, turn off your light. Flatting If you’re a bit more independent and want a real Kiwi experience, staying in a flat is the best. In New Zealand a flat is a normal family home, 3 or 4 bedrooms shared by 3 or 4 people (sometimes more sometimes less) Everyone shares the expenses and shares the roles of cooking and cleaning and so on. A flat is easy to find and often seems very easy going, but they are always different and it needs some work and Kiwi common sense to be able to tell which flat will suit you best. Unlike a homestay, a flat won’t change their routine to suit you, if you don’t suit the flat now, then probably you never will. Flatmates should be like your family in a good flat. So try to help each other out, don’t cause problems and be nice to your flatmates. You are 1/3 responsible and have 1/3 of the say (in a 3 person flat) This means that whatever happens in the flat is 1/3 your problem too, you need to pay 1/3 of the bills, but you also have 1/3 of the right to decide anything that happens in the flat and 1/3 of the right to say No to anything. There are rules about privacy and relationships with flatmates, etc. In general you should treat them like you real your family. It is inappropriate to be more than friends and still stay in the flat. It is also inappropriate to go into other people’s rooms uninvited and to eat your flatmates food that they have bought themselves. Flats are as really good example for New Zealand society. It looks really relaxed and easy going because there are rules that everyone follows. Every flat has different ways to do things. Some flats cook and eat together, some don’t. Some have rosters for cleaning, cooking, putting out the rubbish and so on, while other’s set the roles or just anyone does it when they can. If these things are particularly important to you, then you should sort it out before you move it. When you go to look at a flat, it is an interview for the existing flatmates to you, and for you to them. They have the right to refuse you as much as you have the right to refuse them. When you go to see the flat, talk a lot, find out the things you need to know and show them how nice you are. Back to the Table of Contents ***** Last word I hope this book has been useful for you and will help you make good decisions and not just follow the same mistakes as everyone else who has gone before you. I’m often dismayed when I see students make a decision because everyone does it. In New Zealand there are many people who came here with great hopes of learning English and working with New Zealanders, but gave up because of a lack of good advice. We hope that you won’t become one of these people, and maybe you will be able to help them as well with some of the advice in this book. Please pass on the advice, or the whole book to anyone you think will appreciate it. We are happy for this book to be freely distributed if it is helpful. Back to the Table of Contents ### About KIWI@HOME KIWI@HOME IS AN EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICE. Our core business is making sure students succeed in their goals. We provide support; from direct tuition in English, culture, School subjects, specific need tuition such as English tests like IELTS, to cultural support and advice. We combine the roles of Agent, Counsellor and Education provider. We are dedicated to providing a real, measurable and tangible result for our students and so we have established a very different teaching and learning model and very different standards for homestays and class structures as well. We are proud to be part of the rebuild of Christchurch by changing the international student industry for the better, and making a new standard for all businesses, schools and homestays to operate to. KIWI@HOME is involved in various projects with the Student Volunteer Army, The Human Rights Commission, and the Christchurch-Kurashiki Sister City relationship, and our own projects. We have a large amount of experience in teaching ESOL and also in teaching New Zealand school curriculum subjects as well. We can provide expert tuition both directly and through other contracted tutors in most school subjects, and help with the English aspect of all curriculum subjects. We are experienced with immigration requirements of English, cultural difficulties of international students and visitors and how New Zealand is perceived through the eyes of visitors here. We have a sole purpose designed classroom and office space attached to our house where classes are run, and we also do tuition over the internet, using Skype. KIWI@HOME is a recognised member of the Human Rights Commission’s New Zealand Diversity Action programme and has been recognised for positive contributions to race relations. Back to the Table of Contents ***** About the authors Dan Fujikawa-Greig Graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2000, with a B.Sc. majoring in Physics and is a qualified ESOL teacher with a CELTA certificate, and has over 13 years of English teaching experience. He lived in Japan for 6 years and speaks Japanese fluently. Dan runs an Iaido dojo in Christchurch and is also a member of the Christchurch-Kurashiki Sister City Committee where he is particularly involved with promoting exchange with Japan and Christchurch through youth Kendo. Dan runs free Kendo training for the youth of Christchurch, supported by Burnside Primary school and the Sister City relationship. He is also actively involved in other volunteering work and together with Yoshimi works to create new opportunities for International students to get involved. Yoshimi Fujikawa-Greig Graduated from Kobe Women’s University in 1984, with a B.Ed. majoring in English and is an industry qualified ESOL teacher in Japan. She taught English to children between 4 and 15 years old for about 8 years in Japan, and she has taught English to Japanese students, including adults for 15 years so far. She is a student of the University of Canterbury at the moment as well, studying Te Reo Maori, New Zealand history, European history, Mathematics and so on. Yoshimi is also keenly involved in volunteering and is an avid supporter of the Student Volunteer Army in Christchurch. Contact Dan or Yoshimi on fujikawa.greig@gmail.com Information about KIWI@HOME Education Services can be found at http://www.learn-english.ac.nz Connect with us online Twitter: www.twitter.com/kiwiathome1 Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/KIWIHOME/109002939131127