Yin Shasha, a senior student majoring in English, studied in University of Tampere for a year as an exchange student from 2016 to 2017. She is the beneficiary of Excellent Undergraduate Project, which is launched by the China Scholarship Council to give extraordinary undergraduates a chance to study abroad with free tuition. Studying abroad has given her a new perspective of the world and she would like to share her exchange experience with us.
When talking about the qualifications of exchange, she said a beautiful resume is essential. She is among the top 3% of the English majors with abundant awards and scholarships. As a normal student, she took part in quite a lot contests related to teaching skills and English abilities, such as the Micro Teaching Video Contest. Besides, a high score in IELTS is also required. It is highly suggested that candidates should get 7 plus points. In addition, she highlighted the importance of a good spoken and written English. To achieve fluncy in English speaking and coherence in article writing, she recommends students who are nonproficient in either one begin to practice and improve their skills since the enrollment. Without fluent spoken English, ideas can’t get across; without idiomatic written English, the scores may look bleak.
Then, she shared with us two unforgettable experiences in Finland. One is being a volunteer of a national conference called WWFinland, where she helped to make sure two speeches went on smoothly. She surprisingly met Katrin Jakobsdottir, the prime minister of Iceland and happily took a picture with her. “The abundant chances of talking with important people and embracing the international atmosphere can greatly broaden the horizons.” said she. The other is participating in a project, which mainly provided the exchange students with an opportunity to share the education methods in China with the local students. She chose a senior high school as a teaching site. In the senior high school, she had discovered a big difference between the English teaching in China and in Finland, giving her a new insight of English education. Owing to this experience, she could have a better understanding of English teaching and education system. Besides, a lot of interesting teaching methods has been introduced into her class now.
For this program, all she can express is gratitude. It has made her college life complete and perfect. As she said, every minute in Finland she was learning. There, she experienced all kinds of cultures and is now an elegant girl possessing new ways of thinking. “Nothing is given without a disadvantage, but I perceive the advantages of the exchange outweigh.”
