student blogger

Last week an article on the education section of the Guardian website questioned the suitability of the current English language tests for international students coming to study in the UK. Here, Erik- a Slovakian student living in London, gives his response to the article and the issue as a whole.

"It is very difficult, I would say impossible, to find an objective language test. Some phonetic and cultural aspects of a language can be learned only through extended interaction with the target community. Therefore, I think the best way would be to allow the students into the target community and evaluate their performance after several weeks. If it turns out that they cannot keep up with the workload because of the communication gap- they failed the language test. Regardless of their potential, they also have to prove a certain level of English proficiency.

However, such authentic testing is simply infeasible. The standardized tests were created, to offer equal conditions for everyone and they should make sure that the successful candidates are able to use English to a certain level. But no test can replace real life.

Erik is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. Here he reacts to an article about the differences between Slovakian and 'Western' life:

"A few months ago, I came across an article entitled ‘Is Slovakia Stuck in the 1950´s?'. It was written by Allan Stevo- an American who has been living in Slovakia for several years and has a good understanding about the everyday life. His article was a collection of interesting, though anecdotal, facts about Slovak customs and common practices that have become part and parcel of our daily routines. The article contains a healthy dose of criticism, much of which Slovaks were asking for. Yet in general, it seems that he likes Slovakia the way it is.

The article attempts to draw parallels with the American or Western way of life, and often comes out with something that may be interesting to the foreign reader, but rather commonplace for the majority of the Slovak population.

Angelique is originally from the Seychelles and has recently finished studying Law at the University of London. Here she goes through the problem all students face in London- MONEY:  

Struggling not to go broke in London? This is definitely for you!

London is known for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. Many students travel miles away from their homes to study in London only to be faced with this crisis:

"I AM BROKE!"

Amr K. Moufid is an Egyptian student currently studying music in London. Here he looks at the main differences he has noticed between Britain and Egypt:

When I first came to England, it seemed to me that the only thing it had in common with my home country, Egypt, was that they both start with the letter "E". Let me put it this way, moving from Egypt to England might probably be the best way to explain and demonstrate the meaning of ‘culture shock'.

How so? This is what I mean:

Rules & Organization

To start with, Egypt is not big on rules and organization. For example, we don't do traffic lights in Egypt; we keep that to a minimum! Anyone who has ever been to Cairo will tell you that it's an adventure just driving through the streets, never mind trying to cross the street on foot! By the way, we also drive on the opposite side of the road and we have a little thing called lane separators in two way streets.

Erik Redli is a university graduate from Slovakia who is currently living in London. In the second of a two-part article, he looks at the things he initially found most unusual and different about London. You can read part one here.

On Weekdays the City Belongs to Tourists

Once I went for a night out on a Monday. Together with my Mexican roommate, we headed for the local Walkabout (a chain of bars in London). We did not expect many people there, it was a Monday. However, we had to wait in a queue for 45 minutes, such was the crowd.

At the weekend this multiplies as the tourists are joined by the local residents. On a Friday, locals seem to call it a day around 4pm and in the evening you can see them hanging around the pubs and bars. I like the way they rest their glasses of beer on the street lamps while immersed in lively discussions. Some of them blow a lot of money, and once I even found £10 on the street.