Learning to Learn

Scarlett Gilligan, Universidad de las Américas Puebla.

At our age, we’re more than used to adapting to new ways of learning and our education systems constantly changing — one of the few good things to maybe have come out of COVID. Use this to your advantage because, at least for me, moving universities was such a strange experience. Thanks to our historical turmoil with education systems, we can use this adaptability to help us prepare and transition to new little flips. Keep in mind your experience may be totally different, this is just a bit of food for thought if you are preparing to leave!

One big thing I had to adjust to within my university was different class priorities. In many Latin American universities, the aim of the class completely shifts, and the structure follows suit. I’ve gone from sitting in giant lecture halls with PowerPoints and notes at my fingertips to sitting at a desk again. It honestly took me back to my sixth form days. Group work is a big thing, and as a student who moved abroad to learn a language, this was great — eventually. At first, however, I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. Especially after a long summer break, I found my language skills were at their absolute worst. This can go one of two ways: you can sit there in silence and be content with your level, or you can push yourself to converse even when, let’s be real, you’ll make mistakes. At this point, you’ve already moved countries — you can handle a 15 minute debate.

It’s all very easy to say in retrospect. I literally changed a class because I found out I had to give a presentation in front of 60 Mexican students. I think not. But I knew I had to have patience with myself whilst not holding myself back — I only have a limited amount of time here. I had an amazing conversation with my friend where she said, “We’re halfway through our first semester — I only have three months left. Do you feel like your Spanish is actually good enough for how long we’ve been here?” I thought, no. From that point on, I refused to be embarrassed by making mistakes.

Every university is different — you don’t need me to tell you that — but I can pre-warn you: exams are very different. Part of my grade is literally my attendance (I’m still deciding how I feel about that). It seems to be more relaxed, but don’t let that fool you. They’re more quantity than quality. Just because the academic level may be different from what you’re used to doesn’t mean you can do nothing. Remember, you can still learn so much just by engaging in class, and I’d recommend it — the work sneaks up on you big time.

It’s not that this is a bad thing, but my goodness, it will be obvious that you’re an international student. Make sure you use this to your advantage! Being the only international in a class will be what you make of it. Like I said before, you can either be too scared to speak or seize your opportunity. Be strict with yourself! There are hundreds of students at every university and, like you, they’re all there to learn — from the university and from each other too. Take this time to speak with who you can whilst you can. Yes, keep the comfort of your international friends — it’s always nice to have people who really relate to your experience — but on the other hand, having my own group of Mexican friends has made me feel like I’m truly utilising my time here and making a real life for myself, one that I can come back to in the future.

As someone who’s moved away anyway, I trust that you can adapt to change — and you need to as well. The start may feel overwhelming, but you just have to trust the process and rely on the fact that you do know what you’re doing!