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Reflection on studying in France

 

Time:2011-06-06 10:16:18 Clicks:

 

I never thought that one day I can take more than ten hours flight to the other side of the earth as I never took the plane before. France, a romantic country which a good many girls are looking forward to, finally let me set foot on this land on September 7th.

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I. Culture

Culture, before I came to France, was kind of knowledge that is almost learnt from books. However, after I came to France, culture turns out something you can feel, touch and even smell just like air everywhere. Things can be never easier than you thought, in order to enjoy my academic stay in France, what I should prepare is a brave heart and a warm smile.
Here I select some aspects in my daily life through my experience to express my feelings about French culture.

Language

With little preparation for French, I set my foot on the way to France. I thought it will be ok as I can use three languages-English, Chinese and body language. Unfortunately, situation turned out to be difficult as soon as I got off the plane. Most words written to the public are French. How could we find the right way to reach our destination? We believe that English can handle this problem. However, it is harsh to make French people speak English as you wish. They are pleased to hear French words from foreigners, and they are willing to share their pleasure with your by using French to answer your questions. Via this experience, we deeply realized how French people treasure their own language. French is precious and blest in their heart. Having been here for more than two months, picking up French is the course I have to do every day. Remind myself to say “bonjour!” to anyone who smiles to me and say “au revoir!” whenever I leave some place. I will be delighted to find the beauty in this language.

Food

As is well known to all, France is famous for its food. As a Chinese person, I am familiar with our own food. Chinese evaluate the food by its color, smell and taste. We are good at using and matching complex ingredients. Distinct from Chinese food, French cuisine is extremely diverse, which is supported by the French passion for good food in all its forms. From my previous impression of French food in some restaurants outside France, French food is heavy and complicated. In fact, much of the French cuisine is fairly simple, relying on high quality fresh ingredients and loving preparation rather than complex recipes. It is quite common in much of France to take a two hour break for lunch. When I go to supermarkets or some resident family, my eyes will be attracted by the exquisite outlook of the food, especially for the dessert. Though I am proud of our own Chinese food, I shall admit that French food has a vital status in the world.

People

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The life philosophy in France is that French people work to live rather than live to work. They understand to enjoy their life and value their leisure time. I have an embarrassed experience on the first day when I live in France. I thought it had adequate time for me to buy my daily necessities in the Carrefour around 7:00 pm. To my surprise, with a few minutes after a broadcast, wherever I went, the staff in the supermarket tried to stop me. Confused with the French just said in the broadcast, someone who understood French told me the supermarket would close soon. Much different from Chinese, where shops stay opening till late at night and keep running on weekends, in France, you must respect their leisure time and remember to buy enough food on weekends. Apart from that, French people live a romantic life. I even heard some foreigners commented: “French people would buy gorgeous flowers even when they have no money to buy baguette.” It is a joke but it really explains how French people love their life and beauty. They use perfume; they decorate their houses with flowers; they show their enthusiasm toward any nice stuff. Besides, most French people are friendly and always try to give your a hand even without being asked. And I believe even a cold and tough person who lives here long will become warm and soft.

Entertainment

Party is never out of fashion in the young French people's mind. They are creative in organizing various parties. Having less KTVs and internet bars, they prefer to have fun with their friends easier without many entertaining facilities. What will be better than drinking, dancing and laughing to make them high over a whole night? Happiness is simple in French way.

II. Study

In France, there is nothing easier and freer than to be students. Whether you are rich or poor, no matter what nationality and identity you are, no matter how old you are, if you want to attend school to learn something and meet certain entry requirements, the school must accept you and you will not lose the opportunity to be educated as you cannot afford the tuition fees.

From primary school to university, the education French students receiving are relatively free. It's impossible to always hear only the teacher’s voice. Teachers in the classes are acting as the roles of director. They are much more willing to divide the class into several groups so as to reckon them to read and discuss by themselves. Afterword, students conclude their ideas and present to the whole class. During the group work, professors walk around to direct the process, and give some suggestions when it is necessary. The freedom students enjoyed in France is determined by the equal relationship between professors and students, unlike China, in which the relationship is more likely to be between management and managed. French teachers and students often discuss problems together, no matter when they are in the classroom, in the office or even in the cafeteria. Talking like friends, professors always use the words "What's your opinion?" or "What do think of…?" rather than the words "answer my question". They prefer to hear more different opinions and suggestions from their students rather than the same one they give.

Viewing from the freedom in French education, we can easily figure out that French education is people-oriented and students-centered. It actively promotes the education which inspires students' autonomy. The aim of the education is not to pass the knowledge to students but to teach them the skills to obtain knowledge and gain the ability to apply what they have learnt. It enables students to develop the habit of independent thinking. By contrast, Chinese education emphasizes on the authority of professors. Students must obey the teachers'  words so that it deprives students' creative consciousness and squeeze the students' imagination.

The autonomy given by French education to students does not mean it is scattered. In France, the requirement for students admitted to higher grade is very strict and tough. In order to successfully pass the exam to obtain the diploma, students need to be self-strict and master a smart way to study:

Note

In French universities, there is no syllabus and textbooks for each academic teacher have their own ideas and teaching methods. However, the note taken in the class should never be replaced. Notes are the significant review material for the final examination.

Teamwork

As the school I attend is an international college, the students around are from different cultural background. Therefore, the teamwork requires more understanding and tolerance. The most common kind of teamwork is doing presentations. A good teamwork cannot be done just at once, it need a long time's meticulous preparation and cultural coordination.

In French universities' assessment system, there is a assessment for usual studies; if you can get a high grade for it, almost half of the final grade will have a guarantee. Generally, the assessment for usual studies is to test students' capacity to apply their knowledge and verify what they have learnt from the course by practice, the most common assessment is for their teamwork. Only by getting good grades for the teamwork, a good final grade can be guaranteed.

Requests for the result

The eliminating rate in French universities is very high, which means it's not easy to pass the exam. Not like traditional Chinese education, if the France student study just by their memory or cannot totally understand the courses, it will be hard to get a good grade in the examination. Final exam in France is usually a 2-3 hours exam, which generally has no simple concept question, blank filling or multiple choice, etc., but composed by 1 or 2 discussion essays or integrated computing questions. Only with an accurate understanding of the subject, strict organization of the correct answer, you can be successes, so it asks students to be clear on the whole subject and have a rigorous high-level thinking ability.

Besides, just simply repeating the notes of teachers cannot pass the examination either, you should deeply analyze the key point of the subject, and specifically discuss, such as using some practice examples. The teacher asked students not only to know the knowledge, but also to digest them and apply them in their own way.

Communication

It is not easy to talk with professors in French schools as they are not often available at school except when they have classes. But even so they will still answer the problems, which students come up with, seriously. Especially for individual's final dissertation, it is vital to communicate with supervisors from time to time about what I have done, so as to make up the deficiency for the present and begin to engage in the next part of work.

The advantage of direct going to the professor is that it helps students more accurately understand the key points of the course. Though the contact with professors, students can leave a nice impression on them, which will be somewhat help for the final comments.

By nearly eight months of study in France, I deeply appreciate the country in its cultural and educational differences from that of China. From perception to part acceptation, then from part acceptation to part integration, what I should keep is the positive and optimistic attitude toward every day and every second of the life overseas, telling myself not to be regret for wasting time when returning.

2006级国际商务3班 林瑾