The first thing I reacted to when I started school in England, was that the teachers were focused on what we had to learn from day one. They made it clear to us what we had to do in the exam, how the exam would be structured, and how we should work throughout the year to achieve a good grade at the end of the year. I found this really helpful. From day one it was "this is the subject - this is what you have to do in the exam - and you WILL have to do the exam". In Norway teachers aren't that focused, because here our grades are based on more than only our exams. The focus is different, and we might not have to do an exam in that teacher's subject. "If you have to do the exam blah blah blah"...
Secondly I loved how the teachers really wanted us to do well in the subjects (that is, to do well in the exam). They were always willing to offer us extra help if needed, either during lunch time or after school. Whether that is because they care about the students and their future, or because of the exam league table ranking I'm not sure, but I choose to believe it is a mixture. Either way, it is definitely a good thing. Everyone in my Spanish class had individual speaking lessons once a week, as preparation for our oral exam - and it did help a lot. To be completely honest, I don't feel like my teachers in Norway care as much about how I do in the exam. Some might, but certainly not everyone...
Before I continue I have to mention maybe on of the biggest differences between the Norwegian and English school system. In Norway students in year 12 and 13 do 4 mandatory subjects (norwegian, history, religion and P.E) and 3 chosen subjects (like sociology, MFL, chemistry, etc...) - whereas in England year 12 and 13 students only do 3 or 4 chosen subjects.
The timetable is very different as well. In Norway you've got between 5-8 lessons every day. That is, depending on your subjects, you've probably got between 2-4 free periods every week (because you're supposed to have 30 timetabled lessons a week). In England I had (talking about myself now) about 15 timetabled lessons a week, and 15 study periods/free periods. Obviously this implies that you have to do a lot of independent studying - you can't be mucking about because then you will lag behind. This system makes you a lot more what we in Norway call a "student"(person that goes to university) and not an "elev". For me I prefer being a "student", because I then have the opportunity to dispose my time and work as I please and do some extra work where needed. As my situation is now, I haven't got the time nor the work capacity to do any more work than the homework I get. I think I can say that most days I do schoolwork from 8 am to 7 pm (obviously I have breaks and procrastinate a bit..)
Furthermore I think it is admirable how English schools give praise to good achievement and behaviour. They do this for example through awards and positive postcards. For me this is something very encouraging, making me want to work hard and do well, because people notice what I do and how much effort I put into my work. Obviously I can see the negative side of it. Those who don't do that well, and don't get awards, might not be as motivated to work. In Norway schools and teachers should try not to make differences between the pupils because "it's not fair". No student should feel better or worse than the others. Which, to be honest, I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing.
Viser innlegg med etiketten English Oddities. Vis alle innlegg
Viser innlegg med etiketten English Oddities. Vis alle innlegg
7. november 2012
25. april 2012
You know you're British when...
...you've accepted queuing as a way of life.
...you never forget to say 'please' and 'thank you'.
...you can say the word 'bloody' in every sentence - and it still makes bloody well sence.
...you open/hold the door for the people coming behind you.
...you don't bother looking out the window when you get up in the morning to see what the weather is like, because you know it will be grey and overcast.
...you wear whatever you fancy - neither the weather nor the opinions of others have a say in the matter.
...you think it's weird when a house isn't made of bricks - and you're fascinated that people in other countries paint their houses.
...you never leave the house without an umbrella.
...you drink at least one cup of tea every day.
...you don't speak a foreign language, because you don't need it.
...you're trilingual; english, sarcasm and chav.
...you never get off the bus without thanking the bus driver - even when he's clearly not listening.
...your humour is based on sarcasm and irony.
...it's completely normal for girls to wear ballerinas to school in January.
...there is a TV channel called Dave and no one questions why.
...it's acceptable to dye your hair in any colour of the rainbow.
...you're worse at English grammar than foreigners (to be fair; they've studied it, you haven't).
...you refer to Europeans as if they aren't from the same continent as you.
...you think £5-7 pound an hour is good pay.
...you're watching many of the TV soaps, for example Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
...you walk around in London, and realise that everyone else are foreigners.
...you support a football team that is not Manchester United.
Thought I had to post this as well, because I posted one about norwegians.Many of these sentences I've found somewhere on the internet, some of them I've made up, based on my experiences after 9 months in the UK... :-)
...you never forget to say 'please' and 'thank you'.
...you can say the word 'bloody' in every sentence - and it still makes bloody well sence.
...you open/hold the door for the people coming behind you.
...you don't bother looking out the window when you get up in the morning to see what the weather is like, because you know it will be grey and overcast.
...you wear whatever you fancy - neither the weather nor the opinions of others have a say in the matter.
...you think it's weird when a house isn't made of bricks - and you're fascinated that people in other countries paint their houses.
...you never leave the house without an umbrella.
...you drink at least one cup of tea every day.
...you don't speak a foreign language, because you don't need it.
...you're trilingual; english, sarcasm and chav.
...you never get off the bus without thanking the bus driver - even when he's clearly not listening.
...your humour is based on sarcasm and irony.
...it's completely normal for girls to wear ballerinas to school in January.
...there is a TV channel called Dave and no one questions why.
...it's acceptable to dye your hair in any colour of the rainbow.
...you're worse at English grammar than foreigners (to be fair; they've studied it, you haven't).
...you refer to Europeans as if they aren't from the same continent as you.
...you think £5-7 pound an hour is good pay.
...you're watching many of the TV soaps, for example Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
...you walk around in London, and realise that everyone else are foreigners.
...you support a football team that is not Manchester United.
Thought I had to post this as well, because I posted one about norwegians.Many of these sentences I've found somewhere on the internet, some of them I've made up, based on my experiences after 9 months in the UK... :-)
6. februar 2012
Fri fra skolen pga snø/is
Jeg stod opp halv syv, spiste frokost, slo på PC-en, sjekket Hastingsbury's nettside, og ble møtt av dette:
Herlig! Jeg la meg under dyna, og sov i 3 ekstra timer. Nå må jeg vel se å få gjort noe skolearbeid etterhvert tenker jeg. Har som vanlig en god del spansklekser, sosiologi - og coursework i engelsk, som jeg ikke egentlig har begynt på... Better get started.
Forresten så fikk jeg tidenes spørsmål om Norge i går. Benji lurte på om vi spiller fotball i Norge. Hahah :)
7. november 2011
Bonfire night
På lørdag feiret vi Guy Fawkes Night, eller Bonfire night. Det var veldig koselig. Hele familien var samlet. Først hadde vi bonfire hvor vi brant Guy. Deretter var det fyrverkeri og lanterner, etterfulgt av god mat (som jeg ikke husker navnet på). Husker bare at det hvert fall var jacket potatoes og baked beans. Og til dessert var det bl.a. sticky toffee pudding.
Guy Fawkes var en mann som prøvde å sprenge opp parlamentet, men feilet. Derfor feirer britene. Som vertsfars far sa; det er vel bare britene som kan finne på å feire at en mann som levde for 400 år siden ble drept fordi han prøvde å sprenge parlamentet...' Hehe.
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| Becky, Guy and me |
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| Guy (ready to be set on fire) |
Lanternene var utrolig fine å se på! Jeg visste ikke at det gikk an jeg, trodde det bare var sånt som var i tegnefilmer..... :) se filmen her:
10. oktober 2011
Flagging i England
Oddity 5:
I Norge flagger vi jo så fort vi får anledningen til det. Bursdager, konfirmasjoner, flaggdager, 17.mai, flagging på halv stang ved dødsfall osv. I England flagger de nesten aldri. Siden det er et så multikulturelt land er det noe med at det liksom blir feil å skulle flagge med ett flagg. Eneste anledningen de flagger, er ved fotballkamper. Hvor sært er ikke det?
8. oktober 2011
Høflighet
Oddity 4:
Som dere vet er britene er kjent for sin høflighet! De sier mye 'please', 'thank you', 'sorry' og 'excuse me', og det er aldri noen som sier den 'huh?/hææ?' - i stedet sier de 'pardon?'. Random folk på butikken, lærere eller bussjåfører kan finne på å kalle deg 'darling', 'sweetheart' eller 'my love'. Alle takker bussjåføren når de går av bussen, og på skolen/butikken/andre steder trenger man aldri å bekymre seg for å få en dør slengt i ansiktet, fordi det alltid er noen som holder den opp for deg. Jeg liker England for denne oddity'en!
7. oktober 2011
Post gjennom døra
Oddity 3:
Her blir posten levert gjennom luke i døra!
Fordelen er at man ikke trenger å bekymre seg for hvordan man ser ut når man skal hente posten - man kan gjerne gå i pysjen eller morgenkåpe :)
2. oktober 2011
Melk levert på døra
Oddity 2:
Sånn ca annenhver dag (eller hver tredje?) står det en flaske melk på utsiden av døren når jeg går til skolen. Tror ikke det er noe alle her gjør/får, men synes det er ganske morsomt og stilig at noen faktisk gjør det.
Bare det at melka er på plastflaske, og ikke kartong, er jo annerledes.. Btw, bildene er tatt med iPhone, så kvaliteten er vel ikke den beste. Oh well..
30. september 2011
Venstrekjøring
Oh, ny etikett! English oddities. Skal dele noen ting med dere som er typisk engelsk - litt merkelige/eksotiske ting.. Som jeg ikke er vant til. Så, først: Venstrekjøring.
Det har tatt tid å venne seg til at britene kjører på "feil side av veien". Jeg ser fortsatt til venstre først når jeg skal krysse veien, men jeg ser i hvert fall riktig vei når jeg skal ta bussen til skolen..!
Grunnen til at engelskmenn kjører på venstre side av veien ligger langt tilbake i tid - nærmere bestemt i middelalderen. Kort sagt handlet det om at man ikke visste hva som befant seg rundt neste sving, og dermed holdt man seg til venstre for å kunne svinge sverdet med høyre hånd om det rundt svingen skulle vise seg å være en fiende. Det er i hvert fall det jeg har hørt - og det høres logisk ut for meg.
Grunnen til at engelskmenn kjører på venstre side av veien ligger langt tilbake i tid - nærmere bestemt i middelalderen. Kort sagt handlet det om at man ikke visste hva som befant seg rundt neste sving, og dermed holdt man seg til venstre for å kunne svinge sverdet med høyre hånd om det rundt svingen skulle vise seg å være en fiende. Det er i hvert fall det jeg har hørt - og det høres logisk ut for meg.
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