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Meet Yuki - he is from Japan and studied the Online English Course in February 2021. He shares his experiences of the course below.
What’s your background?
I’m studying Economics, particularly Experimental Economics, at Waseda University. I’m in my third year of undergraduate and will graduate in a year.
Why did you choose to study the UCL Online English Course?
Because the UCL Online English Course is rich in academic content, such as training in producing a research report and academic lectures.
I also wanted to learn and improve my academic English.
What were the highlights of the course?
For me, the research project was one of the most impressive content areas of this course.
Through working on a research project with other students, I had a lot of opportunities to discuss in English. I not only talked about the research but about other general topics such as hobbies, lifestyle in university, cultural differences between Japan, China and the UK and so on.
Besides, it was also interesting that we had Conversation Cafe every Friday where we could talk to UCL students.
How did you find taking this course online?
Although I was not able to visit London physically, I can understand the atmosphere of London by communicating with teachers and UCL students, watching videos describing the history of London, etc.
In terms of learning academic English, I think I could achieve my goal, which was to obtain a foundation required to study at foreign university, even though this was an online course.
The lectures were clear and I could ask questions by speaking out as well as by chatting. I felt it was not much different from usual courses delivered face-to-face.
What were your teachers like?
The teachers were friendly and have thorough knowledge about teaching English.
When I had difficulties in designing a questionnaire, constructing my research report and so on, they gave me great advice which helped me to complete these assignments.
I also enjoyed talking to them as they answered any questions I asked, even questions that were not directly related to this course, such as linguistic comparison between English and Japanese, and the UK culture in general.
What skills did you develop on the UCL Online English Course and how will they help you in the future?
I improved my English skills in the areas of speaking and writing in particular. This is because I had many chances to share my idea in English during live classes and tutorials.
As a discussion group consisted of 3-4 students, it was easy to speak out and express my opinion, resulting in the improvement of my speaking skills. This will help me to express my opinions or ideas to others clearly in the future.
What advice would you give to a student who is thinking of studying the UCL Online English Course?
Although this course is conducted online, I believe you can find it interesting and useful if you want to study English itself or study something in English.
Through the course, you will have an experience as if you are studying at UCL in the UK. For instance, you will be able to listen to lectures conducted at UCL, to work on a research project and to communicate with other students not only from UCL but from all over the world.