How to Succeed in Learning a Foreign Language

Many individuals wonder how to succeed in learning a different language. Get to learn about the most recommended ways to acquire new knowledge. Master your skills and become fluent in another language. Below you will find helpful hints that will allow you to reach your goal.

Firstly, it is very important to know languages ​​other than your native language as this gives you a lot more solvency at the time you need to communicate with others in this globalized world. Of course, the learning process is a bit difficult if you’re older or if you don’t have money to pay for your studies. Yet, you can make it happen. While children can learn more easily because their perception is much higher, you can work towards it.

What to do?
You have to educate your ear, so as soon as you hear another language, learning becomes more feasible. In addition, read news, magazines, literary work, examples of essays that delve into the culture of the language you are going to learn. The following hints will allow you to become a pro faster:

-          Listen to daily recordings of dialogues or songs in that language so as not to lose the habit of listening and also to establish certain parameters of its grammatical forms in your brain.

-          Keep in mind that each language is the representation of a culture that carries its own way of expression, therefore, do not make grammatical and syntax constructions like ours.

-          Watch spoken and subtitled films in that language you are learning; then it would be no subtitles. For example spoken and subtitled in French.

This leads us to conclude that we must learn to think in that language. Try to do some theater or exhibitions in that language to lose their fear of expressing it. It is very important to remember that you should not be fooled by slangs. While a term may be similar to your language, it is most likely that it doesn’t mean what you think.

Learn online
Let’s face it; computers and the Internet have changed the world. Those who are already 30 something have seen the industry grow at breakneck speed, and they have been forced to learn quite fast. Since the education system was not at all prepared to teach all that was being cooked out there, things took a new direction. Today, it is a must for schools to help young people understand and manage new information systems. With a tablet for every student and wireless connection in classrooms, this encourages the use of internet in a constructive way, always under the supervision of the teacher.

All in all, you can find a great online language course. This is great for those who have a hectic schedule. One of the main differences between this and basic language learning is linked to the operating system. You can even use your PC, laptop or tablet. This can help you immensely, especially to learn on the go. Focus and draw a strict plan.

Author bio: Paul speaks three languages fluently and he currently helps foreign students at EssayTask.com with their schoolwork by contributing examples of essays and term paper samples on various academic topics.

All You Ought to Know About Studying Abroad

Our today’s world is increasingly becoming more and more competitive. To cope with the present dynamics of this competitive world, a quality education is much more necessary. For students in developing world, studying abroad is an opportunity, which allows them to gain quality education and to earn degree from prestigious universities. Furthermore, students also learn about different culture, language, history and adaptive skills. These hard earned skills and degrees enable them to compete in their own market and help their countries in upgrading their knowledge base. Also, these courses are an important tool to increase people-to-people exchange and develop diplomatic relations at macro-level.

Thus, it is important to understand every aspect of studying abroad. Typically, a student can go abroad for any level of education – primary, secondary and higher education. But as in the majority of cases students take decision to go for undergrad and postgrad courses, we will focus on information regarding these courses.

Requirements for studying abroad

Students who are planning to go abroad for studying should carefully check requirements. Note that there are two types of requirements: general requirements and then there are requirements which are related to the particular course a student is planning to pursue.

1.      Scores from Professional courses
Depending upon the education level being pursued, students will have to submit scores from professional courses. For undergraduate programs, students are normally asked to submit SAT score, while for post-graduate programs students are asked to submit GRE (for sciences and humanities) or GMAT (for management studies) score.

Along with the above general aptitude tests, language fluency tests are also required. There are mainly two tests in this category – IELTS (accepted widely in the UK and Europe) or TOEFL (accepted widely in the US). Note that language fluency tests are considered more important as a good score means easier adaptation for a student in a foreign environment.

Additionally, for certain higher courses (mainly in life sciences), universities ask for subject GRE scores as this helps panel members in benchmarking student’s knowledge level with American students.

2.      Scholarships and Funding
Studying abroad is most likely a costly affair. A typical student has to take care of tuition fees, accommodation cost, sustenance cost, and travel cost. Aspiring students can apply for scholarships sponsored by universities or private funders. These scholarships are very competitive. If you are planning to study in Europe, there’s a great opportunity to compete for a scholarship offered by the European Erasmus Programme in which more than 200.000 students are taking part annually. For more information we recommend to read this article elaborating on the Erasmus Programme. Remember that your performance in your school is not the only factor to determine for scholarship. Panel members look for students who have been performing well consistently, have good scores in above-mentioned tests and have a goal in life.

3.      Faculty
It is very important to gather as much information about faculties as possible. Go to online forums to find out whether the concerned faculty teaches well or not.

4.      Travel preparation
While preparing for your trip, make sure not to forget the following things:

• Passport
• Insurance documents
• Duly issued air tickets
• Invitation letter from the university
• Excess currency at least to the tune of two months sustenance bills
• Arrange accommodation beforehand

Author bio: Jeff is a motivated undergraduate student who works as a freelance writer at SolidEssay.com, which is a research paper writing service helping students structure and format their research work.

England for Students

Being an international student means something more than paying attention to a teacher or professor and passing the exams. It’s about embracing a new culture, a new mentality, a new lifestyle. Some love this, others find it more difficult to adapt. There’s no right or wrong here.

Those who prefer to experiment will find themselves with so many things to be learnt.

Take study in England for instance. There are quite many locations, all different, yet all equal, united by the same high quality level of teaching offered. Cambridge, Oxford, London and Brighton are just a few of the names that boast with irreproachable professors, abundant resources and a buzzing atmosphere that students will immediately be drawn to.

Let’s take Cambridge and Oxford.

To many, they are pretty much the same – some sort of Mecca of higher education. Well, not quite so – they are as reachable as any other university and the people here are as friendly as anywhere else. On top, there are special colleges that offer university preparation courses so as to make sure that if one truly wants to study here or anywhere else in the UK, one will succeed.

Although placed in the same “pot”, there are still some misconceptions that are worth mentioning. For instance, there is the impression that Oxford is stronger in politics and the humanities, while Cambridge is stronger in the sciences and engineering. Despite both universities stressing the idea that there is no major difference in either the sciences or humanities, this belief seems to stem back from as early as 1820s. It is true that significant changes have been made in the recent years, like Cambridge’s diversification away from intense mathematical study and Oxford’s focus on scientific research, yet, Oxford offers the course of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, which Cambridge does not. Bill Gates gives scholarships to Cambridge, while Oxford is home to the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious awards for graduates. It seems that there is some truth in the popular belief after all…

While there’s a certain rivalry between the two, there’s also cooperation, best exemplified by the so-called ‘Oxbridge’. Most Oxford colleges have a sister college in Cambridge and both universities have promoted themselves to potential applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Some writers associated with Oxford include John Fowles, Aldous Huxley, Oscar Wilde, Graham Greene, while Charles Darwin, Alan Turing, David Attenborough, Stephen Hawking are associated with Cambridge.

Might want to try Brighton

A cosmopolitan city with two universities; also England’s favourite seaside resort. Famous in the past for its “bathing machines” that the aristocracy would use to take “health baths”, famous now for the vibrant atmosphere that students simply love. Rightly nicknamed London by the sea, it has great, varied architecture and that peculiar “air” that only seaside locations have.

London – well, it’s London

That’s it. Famous and prestigious universities and colleges, people from all over the world, interesting cultures, interesting food and so many things to do and see. And it’s not just about the British Museum or Madame Tussauds, preferred by older generation tourists, it’s about discovering places like Greenwich, Camden Market, Spitalfields, Portobello Market and Angel. Vintage clothing, amazing bric-a-brac, old photos, museum replicas, delicious affordable food and so many interesting people.

Being a student is an adventure, and all the more if you happen to be an international student. There are things to be learnt from books and teachers, and things to be learnt from a city, its food, its buildings and its people. Enjoy!

This is a guest post written on behalf of Bellerbys College – helping international students achieve their ambitions. Feel free to visit them and see if they can help you.

Checklist for students planning to study abroad

As a student if you get the opportunity to move abroad it can be a very exciting time but also a little daunting. The thrill of the different culture, new scenery and new people take centre stage and some of the slightly less enticing details are pushed to the back of your mind. These are a few things that you should remember when planning your study abroad.

Passport

Surely anyone who is preparing to go abroad will have a valid passport? You’d be surprised. Be sure to check that your passport is still in date as you don’t want this to delay your trip. Equally as important is that it doesn’t expire whilst you’re abroad. The last thing you want is for your passport to expire before your flight home as this can take anything from 4-6 weeks to be replaced and may result in you missing your flight home and additional costs for yourself.

Budget

Start by making a list of any payments that need to be made in your absence. If you have any outstanding debt don’t think that you can just leave it behind, it will be right here waiting for you when you get back and in a much worse state than when you left. Get organised and get in touch with your bank/lender and explain what is happening. It may be that payments can be frozen until your return or even transferred into someone else’s name. Don’t forget that if your moving abroad for an extended period of time you’re going to need a bank account over there as using your current one abroad is likely to cost you money.

On an Erasmus programme you don’t need to pay any extra tuition fees to the new University you will be joining and there are also Erasmus grants that you can apply for but keep in mind that these are to cover things such as a higher cost of living in your country of choice and they are not intended to cover the full costs of your study abroad.

Decide how much money you would like to take with you to get started and be realistic. A good way to be prepared is to work out your budget and then add on an additional 25% as a contingency. If the worst should happen you’ll be glad it’s there. You also need to take into consideration how long you have until you travel. Do you have enough time to actually save that amount of money?

Accommodation

If accommodation is something that you have to organize for yourself be proactive about it. Don’t put it off until you get there as you don’t want to end up being ripped off or even worse having nowhere to stay at all; www.erasmate.com is a site aimed at Erasmus students looking for short term accommodation in Europe and means that you can get it arranged before you travel.

It is also worth thinking about whether you will need to sub-let your current accommodation. If you’re going to study abroad you are likely to be in your second or third year of University and may not be living in halls anymore. Do you rent a room/flat? Who is going to cover the costs while you are out of the country? Think about if you have any friends that would be willing to take it on while you’re away or if not you can use the Erasmate site to advertise it to fellow students. This is a great idea because you could potentially find someone looking for accommodation for the same amount of time as you, so that once your study abroad comes to an end it is an easy transition for both of you.

Hired help

Once you have found your accommodation how do you intend to get all of your belongings there? If you are only studying abroad for three months then this probably doesn’t apply to you but if you are there for a full academic year this is something that you need to consider. Depending on the course that you are doing you may have a lot of essentials that need to go with you and if you are moving for a long time you may require more space than the 23kg the airline allows you. Use an online calculator to work out how much it would cost you to ship everything to your destination as this could work out cheaper than paying for extra baggage and also make it a lot less stressful for you. It may even be necessary to put some things into storage if you are planning to let out your current accommodation. Getting quotes for these early on will ensure you make the most cost effective decision.

Be safe

It is so easy to get caught up in the excitement of moving abroad and you can easily forget things like travel insurance. Make sure that you have some in place that covers you for your entire stay as some policies are only valid for 30 days. You will also need to get yourself a European Health Insurance Card before your trip; this means that if you require any medical attention you are entitled to the same healthcare as the nationals and that you can see a local doctor.

Culture

Immersing yourself in a completely new culture can be a daunting prospect but it is important to do so. Not only will it help you to meet new people but it also looks great to future employers as it demonstrates how adaptable you are. You can read more about how studying abroad can improve your future job prospects in this post.

If you will be studying in a country where you do not speak the language then do a little research before you go. Even though your course may be taught in English this doesn’t mean that when you’re in the real world everyone will speak English for your convenience. Pick up a phrase book and even if you can’t get to grips with it the locals will appreciate you making the effort. Reach out to anyone you know that has already done the course you’re about to do as they can give you helpful tips and advice for starting out in your country of choice. If you don’t know anyone there, make friends. Go to local community centers and find out about any groups for expats. Your new University is bound to have communities for people in your situation so really throw yourself into the local culture and you will definitely settle in much quicker.

This post was written by Ashleigh Sheard on behalf of Robinsons Relocation, a UK based specialist in International, European and UK moving and relocation.

What do London’s Markets have to offer?

Guest Post by Morgan Souihed.

Wherever in the world you are, high street shops and chain supermarkets can get pretty tiresome, can’t they? People shuffle along with their trolleys oblivious to one another as they shovel tasteless, cellophane-wrapped foodstuffs into their baskets: the same bland products every week. With Britain’s high-streets becoming more and more homogenised, people need to look elsewhere for a shopping experience that’s a little more fulfilling. Fortunately for all of us who’ll be studying in the UK, London has a rich history of independent markets that provide high-quality products and foodstuffs that aren’t simply churned out by a soulless corporation, often at competitive prices. Many of these still operate today, and if you’re staying anywhere near Mile End road, you’ll find several of them right on your doorstep…

Farmer’s market, Mile End Queen Mary Campus
We’re sure your parents will have been incessantly telling you to buy fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish instead of subsisting on the more common takeaway-based student diet. Fortunately for them, and for you at the University of London’s Queen Mary Campus a local farmer’s market is hosted every Thursday from 9am until 2pm. Here you can buy fresh local produce including sausages, fruit and vegetables, freshly caught fish and artisan breads to ensure that your diet can range from the simply healthy to the practically opulent. Take advantage of this local treasure and the parents will have nothing to worry about!

Roman Road market
Markets can provide you with more than just food, however. At craft markets like the excellent Roman Road market, you can pick up some great bargains to do just that. You can source yourself some budget antiques, pick up a few books for study or pleasure, take in some spectacular street performers and even grab a bite to eat. The Roman Road is the oldest known trade route in Britain, so the market is steeped in history.

Brick Lane market
If you’re feeling adventurous and up for venturing a little further afield, Brick Lane Market is a sprawling, traditional flea market where you can buy yourself just about anything you could possibly want. It’s well worth the effort to go and take in the sights, smells and bargains aplenty that the market has to offer. Brick Lane is famed for being an area rich in Asian culture, so you can grab some fantastically authentic food while you’re there, and the market itself will provide you with vintage clothing, electrical goods and bric-a-brac aplenty. Why not check it out and see what hidden gems you could unearth?

One key way to experience these attractions is to live near them. There are luxurious student accommodations nearby, such as Scape Living’s Hoxton location, or student housing possibilities via Erasmate’s website , which means that some of London’s best sights and experiences are just minutes away. So don’t miss out on what could be some of the best times of your life!

A Successful Return after International Studies

When studying internationally, you certainly get a flavor for the culture you’re being exposed to. Certainly, that’s the chief reason why people want to study abroad; they want to gain a greater understanding of the world in which they live and perhaps learn some new skills along the way. However, how do you successfully return home and get back to the life you’d temporarily left behind? How do you get your life back?

1. Getting ready to go home:
This is probably one of the hardest parts of ending your overseas studies. You’ve worked through all your papers, seen the sights, likely enjoyed the local food and drink, and taken more pictures than you’d ever thought possible. How do you get ready? Hopefully you’ve been keeping a journal about your experiences. The remaining time you spend in the country you’ve unofficially adopted is a perfect time to reflect on what you got out of your experience. Ask yourself questions like:

• What did I learn about my country?
• What did I learn about myself?
• Did I accomplish everything I set out to?
• What will I miss the most?

These and other like-minded questions will go a long way in helping you reflect on your experiences and discovering what you’ve learned overall. Asking yourself questions such as these may also help you solidify what you most look forward to about returning home. In addition to the memorabilia you’ve collected over your time abroad, you may also want to pack up your memories, as they will likely have been your richest learning experience.

2. Realizing it’s not all rosy:
Home ain’t always where the heart is. In fact, after participating in international studies, it’s quite likely that home is the last place you’re thinking about after you’ve been back a while. You may find that you miss the country you’d been studying in. You may also find that hearing English spoken everywhere is a bit of a surprise. People may misunderstand that some of the new behaviors you’ve adopted are not affectations, but ways you learned how to behave while abroad. Some of your relationships, in fact, may have changed altogether, as the significant people in your life may see growth and change in you where they didn’t before and now feel somewhat threatened. Be brief in your explanations, try not to engage in behavior that seems like you’re putting on airs and hopefully those who matter most to you will be able to look and realize that you’ve grown and changed as a result of your overseas time.

3. Exercise:
Because returning to your country of origin is almost always tinged with a mixed bag of emotions, it’s important to maintain a steady exercise routine. It’s been proven that exercise helps with the sadness that is associated with a return from overseas travel, so why not try to exercise regularly when you return to your country of origin? That can help you also gain some clarity of thought in those first few days back in your own home, and you’ll be a bit able to understand what exactly you learned during your time away.

4. Make a Friend (or Several):
It’s all too easy when you return from an exciting international study adventure to suddenly isolate yourself and withdraw. Other people just won’t get where you’re coming from. However, you know that you can’t just hide away; go out, make a few new friends.

These are but a few of the things you can do to make your return from overseas studies that much easier. While we predominantly fool ourselves into believing our return home from international studies will be no problem, in reality, it is.

Christina St-Jean is an English teacher based in Ontario, Canada and contributor to Degree Jungle. When she’s not teaching or writing – or teaching about writing – she’s spending time with her two young daughters, likely doing karate.

How to Find Restaurants While Studying Abroad

Asking the locals where to eat is always fun, but sometimes a language barrier can make directions difficult to follow. Plus, you never know how local tastes differ from your own. Restaurant review sites help travelers find new restaurants, literally, by providing a map and directions. For the global foodie, review sites also serve as a platform to chime in with your own opinion.

TripAdvisor: This travel site helps travelers find hotels, flights, activities and restaurants for many different countries. The content is user-generated (which means honest and candid reviews) and can be accessed through either the site or an iPhone app.

The easiest way to find restaurants in your area via the Website is to type the country into the search bar. Click on the link to the country. In the menu you will see the country, select restaurants from the drop down menu. This will lead you to a page categorized by major cities and regions.

Using TripAdvisor via your mobile is even easier. The app will find restaurants near your location, and you can then filter results by price range.

Restaurants in all countries can be found here.

Lonely Planet: This site offers the same range of services as TripAdvisor, but the restaurants are mostly reviewed by Lonely Planet staffers, making it less of a community-driven environment and more of a travel guide service. You can, however, leave your own review or vote to move a restaurant up (or down) the list.

Restaurants in all countries can be found here.

Yelp: In addition to finding new restaurants and seeing what your friends are up to, Yelp users can review all types of businesses and places in a neighborhood. Currently, Yelp is supported only in certain areas, but restaurant search results can be filtered by distance, accepted payments, price and category – making it easy for you to find exactly what you want, when you want it. (There’s even a search filter for vegans and vegetarians!)

Users can access Yelp through the site or through a smartphone app (Android, iPhone).

Only the UK, Spain, France, Germany and Austria are currently supported.

Zagat: The critics at Zagat are serious about food. This site is for those who are willing to drop a little more cash for high quality food, atmosphere and service. Search results can be filtered by neighborhood, special features (outdoor seating, private room, etc.), price, cuisine type and operating hours. Zagat should be used to plan meals in advance. Also, the information on Zagat can be dated, so it’s always best to double check the information you find.

Countries supported: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Sweden Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

For Vegetarians and Vegans

Happy Cow: This is the best international resource for vegans and vegetarians who are traveling. Happy Cow helps you find restaurants and grocery stores (and even gelaterias in Italy!) that satisfy vegan/vegetarian needs.

Most countries are supported by Happy Cow. Click here to find your area.

Happy travels and bon appétit!

This post was shared by Lauren Bailey who is a freelance blogger. She loves writing about education, writing, and health. She welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren99@gmail.com.

8 Ways the Internet Has Changed Study Abroad Forever

Students across the globe have been joining up to participate in study abroad programs for many years. While every student’s experience with study abroad is unique, it is always memorable and can push you to grow in ways you hadn’t imagined. And, with the advent of the internet, the experience of study abroad has become much more accessible and integrated than it ever was before. If you’re thinking about studying abroad, read on for some of the ways that the internet has changed study abroad for good:

1. Google map your home stay or neighborhood.
Before the internet, and Google’s global mapping campaign, you could only imagine what your home stay or residency would look like. Once you received details about where you would be staying, you could do little more than look at maps and read up on the dominant culture. Now, students can see complete images of their future residencies with Google maps, and they can stroll through their future neighborhoods virtually.

2. Book tourist arrangements online ahead of time.
Instead of trying to wrangle your way through the local train station or risk buying the wrong tickets for the wrong flight, you can simply book travel arrangements online. You can even do this before you ever arrive in your study abroad country. If you know you want to schedule a weekend to Florence during your study abroad, you can do so online in a flash.

3. Communicate more easily with friends back home.
This is one of the coolest things that the internet has brought about for study abroad students. We no longer have to simply email or (gasp) send letters. We can chat in real time or have video meet-ups. This makes it so much simpler to stay in touch with the people you love and to feel less isolated during your abroad experience.

4. Access student reviews about your abroad program.
The decision as to which study abroad program to go with can be challenging. If you’ve narrowed down where you’d like to study, there could still be several institutions offering programs at that location, and you will have to weed through the differences and similarities to find the right fit for you. This used to be largely up to chance and the small amount of information provided to students via promotional materials. But, now, students can go online and access reviews of programs written by past students, which can make things much easier.

5. Talk to current abroad students.
Another great way to find out more about your potential abroad experience is to speak with students currently in a given program. With the powers of the web, you can research students currently abroad and contact them through Facebook or Twitter.

6. Connect with locals before arrival.
Getting to know a few people from the local community is essential to a positive abroad experience. You will learn so much more than if you only hang out with other foreigners. Connecting with locals online before you ever arrive is a great way to start a potential friendship. Just make sure to be aware and bring a friend if you do decide to meet up.

7. Get inside access to the nightlife and culture.
With the use of blogs and social media accounts, you are now allowed to do as much peeking as you desire into the things that most foreigners don’t experience until they are well into their stay. Getting up close and personal with the best bars, clubs and restaurants is easy by following some interesting locals online.

8. Immediate translation.
When you’re stuck for a word, you no longer have to whip out a language guide and comb through it searching for what you need to say. Online translation tools can make it seamless to look up and say the words you need to use. They are also handy when doing homework and written assignments.

This post was shared by Katheryn Rivas who is a freelance writer and resident blogger at onlineuniversities.com, a site dedicated to distance higher education. She is passionate about providing the best higher education advice to her readers, and is also a travel and food junkie. Katheryn welcomes your comments at katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

An Erasmus student’s guide to Learning English!

Again, we’ve received an interesting post of one of our users. We’re happy to share tips and tricks by Olan Ahern on how to improve your English speaking and writing skills during an Erasmus exchange.

As a former student studying abroad – an Irishman studying in England – I like to think I’m an honorary Erasmus student! While I was unlucky not to have the opportunity to learn a foreign language, I did get the opportunity to meet a lot of students from a wide range of countries. The experience sparked my enthusiasm for new subjects and trying new things; from eating Paella with Spanish students to going out on the town with Russian students and learning to truly appreciate vodka, these experiences changed my life forever!

After spending several months  with my new found friends, something occurred to me (besides the fact these people were great fun to be around); some people were getting a lot better at English while some people were only improving  slightly and others weren’t improving at all.

I asked those who were making great progress what their secret was, how come it was so easy for them to pick up the English language?

The following is a summary of the responses I got:

Speak Regularly
A lot of my friends said they were surrounded by English speakers for the majority of the day, and one of the most important aspects of gaining proficiency in any language is speaking it regularly!

Here is a list of ways to do so:

• Pick subjects that are highly populated with English speaking students, this will encourage you to interact and learn from them.
• Interact with other English speakers as much as possible. This will help you get a proper grasp of the language. This is known as real-world comprehension and practical use of the English language.
• If you live in a bilingual household or dorm, try to make an effort each day to speak English.
• Arrange a day every week for a number of international and English students to meet up in a relaxed environment and learn from one another.
• Go to the local pub! It’s an easy and relaxing way to get a grasp of local slang and different sayings in the area. This is often the most confusing thing for many international students. For example, the saying “it’s raining cats and dogs” doesn’t mean it’s literally raining animals.

Watch T.V.
Watching TV is an excellent way to learn English and relax at the same time. Different programmes offer different opportunities to improve your level of English.

The 3 S’s:

• Soaps: Help you understand different accents. For example, watching Coronation Street will expose you to the Manchurian accent, while watching Eastenders gets you used to a Cockney accent.
• Sitcoms: Improve your cultural awareness and help you to understand different tones and expressions. Also a great introduction to English humour and sarcasm.
• Sport: Improve numerical understanding, possibly for those who have a lower level of English.

Watching programmes is an easy way to improve one’s English comprehension without feeling like you are studying. A helpful tip, as your level increases after a couple of months watch dubbed or subtitled films in favour of those with English voice and subtitles.

The Internet
The Internet is full of resources that can help you improve your English proficiency. Students spend a lot of their time online. Here a list of ways to improve your English whilst online:

• Read news articles on English news websites is a way to work on reading comprehension. The Internet is one of the best places to go to improve vocabulary since definitions can be looked up easily with a simple web search.
• Bookmark an English dictionary website. Some dictionary sites, such as The Free Online Dictionary, have vocabulary games and other learning tools available right on the front page.
• Freerice.com is another vocabulary-building website that allows users to answer multiple-choice vocabulary questions. The site will donate 10 grains of rice to fight world hunger for each correct answer.
• Participating in an English-speaking message board or forum community is a good way to work on your writing ability while discussing topics of interest.
• You can judge your level of English by using sites such as Pearson PTE specialists in English language tests. This is a good method to check where you need to improve.

While a lot of people find it effective to increase proficiency in English through the methods I described above, taking formal classes or joining a club dedicated to learning English can accelerate your progress. Classes can help increase motivation and keep you on a normal schedule of study, many people find this important for learning!

This is a guide I’ve devised from my friends experiences of how they learned English. I hope people who read this post find it useful and hopefully find helpful tips especially if you’re an Erasmus student studying in England.

Olan is a former Erasmus student who works on behalf of Pearson PTE specialists in English Language Learning

How to Protect your Identity while Traveling Abroad

Traveling to another country can be an enlightening and sometimes life changing experience. You can learn about an entirely different culture and meet people who live speak a different language, enjoy a different array of cuisine and take in all of the new sites. Along with all of this fun, comes the danger of having your identity stolen. By the time you get back home and check on your finances, the damage may already have been done. In order to protect yourself from becoming the next victim you should know what to look for and how to guard yourself from identity theft.

How Can I avoid Scams and Criminals?

The best way to avoid a scam is to be aware of your environment. There are some simple things that you can do in order to keep yourself from becoming a victim of Identity theft.

• Never use your credit card on a publicly used computer or in a free Wi-Fi area on your laptop or smartphone.
• Set up an account with a protection agency, such as Lifelock. They can monitor your accounts and personal information. If they see something that looks suspicious they will contact you. If a thief is trying to open an account in your name, they will be stopped before the damage can be done.
• Follow a set identity theft protection plan designed around your household. It should include methods for keeping your information safe and a plan for removing documents securely from the home that are considered trash.
• Think about opening up a mail box at the post office. This way no one can steal your mail from your mailbox while you are on vacation.

What Kind of Setups Should I Be Looking For?

One popular approach that thieves like to impose on tourists is called the, “Front Desk Credit Card Scam.” This ploy involves you getting a call in the middle of the night asking for you to give you information over the phone since your card did not scan right. The agent claims that they need to scan your information again to charge you for the room. So in the morning you go down to check out and find out that the front desk did not call you, but rather a stranger has run off with your information.

Another ploy to watch out for involves you being at a bank machine. The thief watches you as you begin the process and will approach you just as the money comes out of the machine. They will ask you a question designed to distract you long enough for them to grab the money and run.

Finally, watch out for the stolen wallet routine. Here the thief places the wallet on the ground just waiting for an honest person to pick it up. Keep in mind that at the same time there might be an accomplice watching and waiting for the right time to pick your pocket.

Do not let your future be destroyed because of someone stealing your identity. Take the steps today to protect your life, finances and good name.