My culture shock in an international school

Change of environment: Shinz Jo's initial bewilderment has been replaced with a sense of appreciation.

“NOW, discuss your answers with the person next to you.” Without missing a beat, everyone began talking about their solutions.

My deskmate turned to me expectantly only to be met by my blank stare.

Wasn’t this the part where the teachers would show us the marking scheme? Why did we need a discussion when we weren’t sure whether our answers were correct?

Amid my confusion, the only thing I recognised was that I had underestimated how different the Western education system was from an Asian one.

Throughout the entirety of my primary and secondary education, I had an Asian-style learning experience.

Hence, when it was time to choose my pre-university programme, I wanted a change of environment and opted for an international school to study for my International Baccalaureate.

Little did I know that at the end of my first week, I would feel disorientated and lost. My social battery was flat, my mind was trying to comprehend what I had learnt, and my heart longed for a time machine where I could mentally prepare my past self for the challenges I would face.

My old, familiar pals – the thick piles of course notes and revision guides – were nowhere to be seen in this new environment. Instead, in every lesson, I was forced to befriend “real-world examples”, which terrified me as I was required to apply real-life situations to theories.

I also took some time getting used to mind maps, with their sprawling lines and circles.

To further consolidate our knowledge, we were told to turn to our classmates, instead of our textbooks or end-of-chapter practices.

I was taken aback by how regularly class discussions sprang up at seemingly random moments, as I had been used to working on the practices independently.

Thus, you can imagine how bewildered I felt when we were asked to go on a scavenger hunt for different text types in an English class or sway our bodies to model the movement of particles in different states during a Chemistry lesson.

While I could understand that these were attempts to conduct lessons creatively, I was sceptical about how they might better illustrate a concept to us compared to PowerPoint presentations or bullet point notes.

Being foreign to a learning concept was a strange feeling, especially when I had been a student my entire life. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, for hadn’t I chosen this path to push myself out of my comfort zone and expand my perspective of learning?

As friends gave their input in discussions and teachers dropped hints when I seemed confused, I gradually came to appreciate the environment of active student participation and how it instilled a sense of inquisitiveness in me.

When faced with a difficult question, I found myself trying to model my classmates’ thought processes to come up with a solution. Similarly, during mathematics examinations, a subject I had always struggled with, I tried recalling what variables I had added to the simulations about functions, which helped me visualise and apply the knowledge I had learnt.

It was only in these instances did I notice my shift of focus from my learning products, be they answers or results, to my learning process, and whether I truly understood the essence of various concepts.

Now, if you asked whether I might make the same decision to step out of my comfort zone as I did six months ago, I would agree without hesitation.

Had I not done so, I wouldn’t have discovered a new style of learning and reaped the benefits that come along with it.

Shinz Jo, 18, a student in Selangor, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team.

1. There is an English phrase that is often used to describe someone who feels awkward or out of place in a new environment. Can you guess what it is? Hint: There are five words in the phrase. Starting out in the new school, Shinz Jo felt like ________ ________ ________ ________ ________.

2. Mind maps are used to represent information visually. Can you draw a mind map based on the information provided in an article featured in today’s copy of the Sunday Star newspaper? Do this activity with a group of friends. When you are done, share your findings with each other.

3. Imagine that you were Shinz Jo’s best friend. How would you encourage her in the first few weeks when she was having difficulty adapting to the new teaching style? Work with an activity partner to stage a telephone conversation between you and Shinz Jo, in which she talks about her struggles and you in turn give her your moral support and encouragement. Record your role-play so you can review your performance later.

Since 1997, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme has supported English language teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Through Star-NiE’s teacher and student workshops, annual contests and monthly English language resources for classroom use, participants of the programme reportedly showed marked interest in the language and progress in their proficiency. Now in its 25th year, Star-NiE is continuing its role of promoting the use of English language through a weekly activity page in StarEdu. These activities are suitable for use individually and in groups, at home and in the classroom, across varied proficiency levels. Parents and teachers are encouraged to work on the activities with their children and students. In addition, Star-NiE’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme will continue to be a platform for participants to hone and showcase their English language skills, as well as develop their journalistic interests and instincts. Follow our updates at facebook.com/niebrats. For Star-NiE enquiries, email [e-mail].