EAP Term 2 2023

  My ideal school is an environment where students can learn while building self-esteem and engaging in friendly competition with classmates. In my personal opinion, I suggest that it is significantly important to be flexible with the format of the class depending on the student's grade level. For instance, whether the student is an elementary student or a college student.   I strongly believe the classes and practical lessons like cooking and sewing should also be under the guidance of the teacher until the students graduate from middle school. That is because students can efficiently acquire academic knowledge and how to behave in a group by having a teacher teach them. On the other hand, I suppose that students ought to think about what they want to do after junior high school and work on it themselves. This is because they gradually learn to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their actions. Therefore, I think that it is more efficient for students to ...

  In my opinion good relationships between teachers and students are important to construct an ideal school. Since, teacher especially class teacher oversees an entire class such as student’s grades, relationships, and problems which are caused by pupils, they need to stay close to the hearts and minds of students and show directions, so that they can configure an ideal school. I think that classes with some degree of control by the teachers work well. However, if teachers or mentors cuddle too close to their pupils, serious distortion might occur. Firstly, in the above case boundaries between students and teachers become blurred. Due to teachers having a good relationship with their pupils, they become friends. They are not preferable for students. It is considered that discipline in the classroom may be disrupted on learning system because they are not friends.  Secondly, it could interfere with the students' ability to run a class. Students might rely on teachers too much,...

  I would like to describe my ideal school. It is one where students can choose subjects they are interested in and develop their ability in small classes . That’s because it is easier to express and exchange opinions in smaller classes, and discussions can be held more smoothly and in less time. A lso , I think it's hard for kids to learn a lot of things they're not curious about, so I would like to specialize in educating them in things they themselves find attractive . As an example of the education, w hat I would supply to our students is doing a lot of outdoor activity because there are many things that cannot be understood just by looking at and reading textbook especially in biology and environmental issue so in my opinion, it is essential to experience and see the world by oneself . Moreover, I think it is also important to hire approachable teachers . The way they speak has some significant role b ecause for instance, if they talk boringly, students wil...

  Teachers make a video and send to students, and they learn by watching it at home after that they mainly engage in problem-solving activities in the classroom by using knowledge which they acquired from the video. During the class, students can share their opinions with other students and work together to solve problems. If students have a question, they ask questions to teachers. I believe this way is the best approach to teaching. Some students can understand the contents of class immediately, but other students take a lot of time to do it. Thanks to videos, students who understand slowly can watch them repeatedly and spend adequate time for a deep understanding. Moreover, g roup work will help the class become more cohesive and provide experience in working with friends to accomplish works. In addition, although it is difficult to develop the habit of studying on your own, they will be able to create a studying schedule and do some homework spontaneously. The ability to make ...

My ideal school would meet my wants by providing options for what I want to do. By being given a lot of choices, students can learn actively, and they become to like studying. I think classroom of life skills and technology skills are best for me because both of them are needed to live. For example, I should learn how to save and use money and time because I occasionally waste money buying something I don’t need, and I can’t use time efficiently. If students can make a plan when they have to study for tests, studying for tests is a lot easier. Also, I don’t use Excel, but to be able to use it is needed for work in the future. The practical problem with this kind of school is that schools don’t have enough time to teach these skills. This is because although these skills are good, other subjects, such as math and other languages, are more important for students. So, most of the curriculum focuses on math or other main subjects, so students don’t have much time to learn life and technol...

 By going to the library and taking classes, I learned that I can find many useful articles and papers efficiently on the computer. She said "it's important to search for the words of what you want to look up without misspelling them". I can also set the age of papers and articles. But many of the articles and papers that came out were difficult for me.

My ideal school is a school where there are classes that focus on learning the traditions of one's own  country because I think it is essential to inherit a valuable tradition.  First, I think this kind of school will stop the decline of our traditions.  Nowadays, many young  people are not interested in their traditional practices. Then, I feel that there is a danger that the cultural values of countries will be lost. For example, in Japan, students do not have enough time to learn their traditional arts such as tea ceremonies and Japanese manners. Because of this, the inheritors of traditions are decreasing gradually. Therefore, students should learn traditional arts related to music, architecture, and so on. We need to make more opportunities for the young generations to be interested in attractions of their own traditions.  In addition, schools should have classes where students can get knowledge about spiritual matters and customs, such as religion, manners...

 My ideal school is a school in which students can not only study but also play with their classmates during the class. In addition, I do not want to access the Internet too soon.  In traditional schools, it is thought studying is the most important thing. However, I think person who is able to play with friends without thinking something is only child because we have to work, and we will be busy when we grow up. We can spend our time on something just children can do at my ideal school. In addition, the number of schools which let students use the Internet to study is increasing. Although this is useful for us, this also prevents students from improving our imagination skills. We should reduce time that access the Internet. Teachers should put tables and chairs like a group. This lets students play with each other and improve their imagination skills easily because they can get opportunities to talk a lot with someone. We do not need to use the Internet when we have questions...

  My ideal school would be consisting of a really good learning environment where students want to learn and teachers want to teach. It would be a diverse school with students of different cultural backgrounds that build on respect for one another. I have always admired and respected people of various cultural backgrounds such as New Zealand, China, Japan, Argentina, Vietnam, and Thailand and I would like to learn from my fellow students as well as my teachers. My ideal school must have knowledgeable and motivated teachers who know how to effectively communicate their knowledge in the classroom. Knowing information means nothing if the teacher is not able to communicate this information to students. In my ideal school, a good teacher takes knowledge and presents it in such a way that the students will readily understand it and be able to utilize the information. On the other hand, a bad teacher will make it almost impossible to understand even the simplest things. My ideal scho...

  Revise your essay on your ideal school & upload it to the blog with a relevant image.

 Throughout taking a lecture in a library, I learned the way to search and use many statistics. Especially, I could understand that if I want to search some topic, I should use " " and OR effectively. In addition, if there are so many statistics, I should limit a period such as 1900-2000.

 I learned how to read academic papers and use the Internet library during the session led by Paula. From this session, I gained knowledge to find the resources I need more efficiently by narrowing down keywords, publication dates, and publication sources. I strongly believe that these strategies can be meaningfully applied to future studies.

 I learned how to search effectively and find good information in a library. The online site of Otago Library was very useful for me when I want to get reliable resources. I understood that using a double quotation and OR is helpful when I want to find articles and books by keywords. Also, synonyms are also essential to search because it is easy for me to get books and articles which are related to my topic. 

I could learn how to use the Internet to search something effectively. Firstly, I did not know we can use an Otago portal site to search what I we want to know. It is so useful tool. In addition, double quotation mark makes us easy to find out something. I sometimes have some trouble to find out good articles. However, this mark will solve my problem. Actually, I do not usually use this mark, but I will use it from now. It's also useful to be able to pin the articles we are interested in. I can read them anytime if I pin them.

 From this session I could learn the best way to find concrete and authorized papers. Especially, search for words rather than sentence is definitely important for me. It is the same way to look for paper in Japan so, I think it is the most valuable things in this lecture.

 I learned how to search some articles efficiently and correctly from the session Paula led. I have to write just keywords related to the topic I want to know. I used to use Google, but I will actively use the library when I want to research something more academic.

This morning, I came to one of the top-notch libraries at the University of Otago named The Robertson Library with my classmates and other students of EAP Class 2. Then, all of us were incredibly awe-inspiring and grateful for the presentation of Paula Whitelock. First of all, I was introduced to how to log in to my computer account; although some minor issues happened, I finally did it. Following that, she directed us to access Google Chrome to find the references for our relative topics.  After approximately 10-minute instruction and explanation, I was able to figure out my appropriate references. Through this session, I have learned several useful techniques in preparing for my upcoming seminar. Initially, there would be more convenient to quickly find out our favorite journal articles or ebooks by typing keywords related to our topics. Moreover, I could get a handle on further results by adding "OR" between these keywords. For example, "the climate change" OR ...

In this post, summarize what you learned about searching for information during the session led by Paula Whitelock in the Robertson Library. What strategies can you take away from this session to use in preparing your seminar and in working on future assignments?

 There are a few things I wish I had known about Kiwi culture before I came to New Zealand.  The first is the omission of the tag question in the conversation. For example, when you say, "This is delicious, isn't it ?",  but kiwi people say " This is delicious, eahy?". I had no idea what they were talking about when I first heard this, Then I questioned my host mother about it and I finally could understand. And that tag question is not clearly pronounced, so I still get confused sometimes.  Secondly, there are no bus announcements. I was very surprised and obscured when I got on the bus for the first time here because in Japan it is normal to have bus announcements. I wondered if it was inconvenient for people not to have announcements. That's why my phone is indispensable when I take on the bus. These are the things I wish I had known before I came to New Zealand.

  I have one thing about Kiwi culture which I wish I had known before I came to New Zealand.   I think that how people in NZ perceive time is quite different from Japanese people. The first day when I came here, I was really surprised that my host family went to bed at 8 pm and got up at 5 am. I had felt they were very e arly to bed and rise, but I noticed it was normal in NZ. In NZ, most shops are open in the early morning and closed early and some are crowded. In Japan, it is rare that cafes to be open at 7am and closed at 3pm.  Also, I think NZ people do not spend their holidays in bed. They find something to do such as gardening or painting, I was surprised because it is normal for me to stay up late and get up at around 12pm on weekends. Before I came here, I was a night owl and lazy, but I am trying to get us ed to the  early-to-bed and early-to-rise culture.

 I have one Kiwi culture that I wish I had known before I came here. It is that Kiwi people don't eat lunch at noon. On weekends, my host family eats branch at 11, so I don't eat lunch with them because I don't eat breakfast and eat lunch at 12:30. On the other hand, people eat breakfast in the morning and eat lunch at 12 in Japan. I was confused at first. But, I can understand Kiwi culture now.

I wanted to know about Kiwi Culture that we must not reach out to people. Japanese people usually reach out to people when we want to take something during lunch and dinner. However, we have to say "Could you pass me?" when we are in this situation. If I had known about that, I would not do that.

Honestly, I have been living in Dunedin, New Zealand for nearly 6 weeks. Time flies quickly :)). There are several things that I was surprised about its culture. Initially, I wish I had known how to skillfully use a knife and fork in my meal. I truly could not use them cleverly because we as Vietnamese people use spoons and chopsticks regularly, rather than using them.  On the other hand, I was also awe-inspiring by the traffic rules in this country. It is absolutely weird for me - a Vietnamese student, because it is essential and compulsory for pedestrians to give way for all kinds of transportation or vehicles if they wish to come across the road. However, I have seen many signals alongside all roads or highways which inform that it is compulsory to give way to pedestrians.  Although there are many entirely bizarre things that happened in my life in New Zealand because of cultural differences, I have adapted gradually to this grand-new culture and become a true Kiwi in the n...

Although there are many things I should have understand before I came to New Zealand, especially I wish I should have had manners about how to use a knife and a folk correctly.  In Japan, people usually use a spoon or chopsticks to eat rice, but it is usual to use a folk in New Zealand. Every time I eat dinner with my host family, I worry about that whether I behave badly or not. In addition, compared to in Japan, I really feel like a lot of opportunities to use knives. Including eating manner, I should have learned New Zealand etiquette.

In my experience traffic rules in here were the biggest gap for me and it still surprises me a lot. I think it is because we have fundamentally different ideas about the rules, such as priority to pedestrians. It was the first thing I felt difference between Japan and New Zealand when I arrived in this country. I didn`t know the culture here and tried to cross the street just like I did in Japan therefore, I was very surprised that they didn’t stop at all. However, all drivers stop at pedestrians crossing so, I was astonished their good manner unlike Japan.

 There are some things I wish I had known before I came to New Zealand. The first one is how to cover a futon. In Japan, we cover ourselves with quits and blankets as we are. However, Kiwi people use two sheets on the mattress and the other one under the futon. I didn't know that when I first got here and slept on two sheets. Another is that stores and cafes close early. When I wanted to go to a cafe after school, I couldn't because many shops were closed. In Japan, cafes are usually open untill 10 or late. That's why I was confused when I first got here.

Is there anything about Kiwi culture that you wish you had known before you came to New Zealand? In other words, what information about NZ culture would have prepared you better for your experience here?

 This event was so exciting for me because there were a lot of clubs I didn’t know. My wish born was to find some clubs I’m interested in, and I wanted to achieve to join a club. In jaw born, I think it worked out well because I got to hear from a few clubs and spent time interacting with the Muslim club. I need to find some SNS of clubs I’m interested in, and it is the anime club because I like Anime, and I think I can talk a lot about what I like. I haven’t decided to sign up for the anime club yet because of the time of activity, but I hope to attend at least one event at that club before I return to Japan.

 Clubs Day felt nostalgic to me because as soon as I entered my college, my college had a Clubs Day. But I am an introvert and find it difficult to talk to new people, so I don't  feel like I was able to do some successful networking at the event.  My wish bone was f inding a club that is interesting and exciting to me. I thought those were very important factors to continue doing the club activity. My jaw bone was listening actively and responding properly to what was being said. As I said before, I am not good at talk with stranger so I made a conscious effort to at least react a lot. The next thing I would do is go to the club for a trial. I would have loved to visit the Anime Club or the Dance Club! They treated me very nicely.

  This club day was very interesting and new to me, let me feel the rich club organization of the University of Otago. And I felt that I can do some successful networking with them. I visited some of the clubs that day, and I really found something I interested in, such as badminton, Latin dance and tramping club. I spent some time talked with them. But my plan was to find something not only funny but also show my value. And I kept looking for until I noticed a club named: Unicef for every child. I've always been concerned about children's issues. I've been part of a program in China that supports out-of-school girls for 15 years. Because it was a big problem in China 20 years ago. So I started to talk with them. First of all, I introduced myself and what my experience about children issue especially girls. I supported two out-of-school girls in China to finish their college. I want to focus on helping children around the world solve their plight. And then I asked abou...

 My wish bone was trying to interact with as many people as possible. Especially, I was interested in world history when I was in high school, so I wanted to talk with people who belong to clubs related to the culture of other countries.   My jaw bone was when I communicate with others, I was trying to speak actively and ask anything which is interesting. I heard introductions of associations and, the most new to me of these was the Association of Muslim Students. I tried some traditional tea and sweets and got an English version of the Quran. A man in this association explained Muslim culture what looks like. I talked with him about the difference between cultures with the knowledge that I got in a class on world history. It was a valuable time for me because it was the first time I discuss cultures with a person who has Muslim culture.  Through Club Day, I found there were a lot of associations I was interested in. I want to join a club where I can learn ...

  I felt like I was not able to do some successful networking at this event, but I really enjoyed it.   My wish born is to make Kiwi friends through club activities. I don’t have opportunities to make new friends except for in language center.   In the class, although we learned many kinds of greeting, which is used when we want to join some groups and finish a conversation, and a lot of tips to talk someone smoothly, I completely could not use them. When we practiced networking at the class, I could use them. However, when I tried to use it, the words did not come out. I thought the reason why I could not come out was I didn’t clearly think about which club do I want to join. At the class, I already thought about my career, so I could listen to other’s talking and talked others what I wanted to talk. I regrated that I should have thought about what clubs I wanted to join before Clubs Day. If I get an opportunity to join networking event, I want to practice using wo...

I feel like I was able to do some successful networking at the event. My wish bone was to find some interesting clubs and make new friends there. As a result, I found some nice clubs, such as UNICEF, and made a few friends through networking. I was able to communicate effectively because I spoke to them proactively. Especially, I spent time Muslim University Student' Association. I had my first experience with Hijab. It was so exciting! In the future, I would like to keep in touch with the friends I made there and deepen our friendship. I have already signed up for the badminton club and mathematics club and I am going to join UNICEF club.

Through this event I could find new connections with other students. Before the event started, I wished to join some interesting clubs because I felt it works well on me. With my job bone I was able to communicate with presenters. Their clubs were so impressing, especially environmental conservation club was very fascinating. I’ve been wanted to do something for lovely nature in New Zealand. I think it is the best way to accomplish my thinking and improve English too. Since this intention I signed up this club. For next step I’m going to wait call from the club.

Last Thursday, I had a great opportunity to attend one of the biggest events of the year named "Clubs Day". From my initial thinking, I was really impressed and delighted that there were many different clubs with various categories. Honestly, I got many successes after this event. First of all, my wishbone was participating in a Christian group in which I could explore and make new friends from another Church. Fortunately, I found my favorite club named Otago Christian Fellowship. It was nearly 15 minutes I spent having a conversation with the club's captain - Simon. We did felt really excited and comfortable when exchanging information with each other. Besides, to make effectively our conversation, I used some useful sentences which I had learned in class such as "May I join you?", "It was my pleasure to talk to you", "Nice talking to you", etc.,.....   Eventually, I decided to join this club by giving essential details in the paper. After t...

I spoke to many students during the clubs day, so I was able to succeed to communicate with them. My wish bone was to find clubs I can improve my English skills. For example, I want to join a club I can get opportunities to speak English a lot, so I was going to search clubs like volunteer. I think I could communicate effectively because I ask students many questions, so I could talk longer. I spent my time on communicating with students who join an anime club because I love Japanese manga and anime. There were many manga on the table, so I enjoyed talking with them. To ensure that I make the most of the opportunities afforded at this event, I need to join some clubs. Actually, I belong to the dance club now. However, the club does not give me enough opportunities to speak English although I enjoy dancing and can make some friends. I haven't decided what club I will join, so I am going to search clubs I talked on the websites. I am interested in an anime club and UNICEF club. I nee...

How was Clubs Day for you? Do you feel like you were able to do some successful networking at the event?  What was your  wish bone ? What did you want to achieve through networking at the event? What clubs did you plan to find out about?  How did you go with using your  jaw bone ? Do you feel you were able to communicate effectively? What clubs did you spend time interacting with and exploring? And then to the  back bone , what do you need to do now to ensure that you make the most of the opportunities afforded at this event? What are the next steps you need to take? Are there any clubs you are going to sign up to online? Are there any events you are planning on attending? Title your post Clubs Day Debrief -- Your Name and accompany it with an appropriate picture, perhaps one you took at the event.

  I find all of the ideas were interesting. as the mentors mentioned that they made as to know more about this world. The The one that appeals to me the most was International Trade Biodiversity Finance . I did global trading for many years, and it was my first time to hear about biodiversity finance. I also try to google more information about this new point. Governments and conservation organisations often point to a large gap between existing financial resources and the resources needed to achieve biodiversity objectives. But the gap is almost always presented without context, as though biodiversity loss will be resolved through increased funding alone. Both economic development and the maintenance of biodiversity and sustainable development are issues to which both the United Nations and Governments attach importance. For my personal opinion, I think the second presenter —Leon Strik Wang is the best. Because his slide was eye-catching and interesting. He spoke with confidenc...

I think Leon's presentation is the most interesting because I have never thought how effective water melon is for us. To tell someone what almost of people don't know is effective because we will be interested in it. Ian is the most effective communicator because his script clearly showed illustration about international trade. In addition, he spoke fluently and slowly. It was easy for me to listen his presentation. He often used eye contact, so I knew he strongly wanted to tell us about international trade. In my personal opinion, we can study what we want to learn in detail if we go to post-graduate school. For example, although there are different areas of business, Ian deeply learned about international trade in business. We can concentrate on specific filed.

  In my opinion 　 Lan Herbert’s presentation was surprising for me. I’ve never thought about international trade in that way. This project gives the impression of high environmental prospection. It worthy to invest this project to grew New Zealand which have massive biodiversity. Then, he looked so nervous however, his graph was wonderful to grasp the feature at a glance.   I think 3 rd presenter Shannon McNatty used most structured presentation method. Her speech was well organized, attractive, and understandable. Her idea based on her own experience was straightforward. Her speech was so memorable.   From this session glimpsed that the advantages of post graduate students. Honestly, I’ve never imagined doing study at postgraduate level. I thought after I graduate my Japanese university I’ll start working at company, however if I could learn polished study like that, it might be the best way to improve my life. Although I believe it is not easy way so, I won’t g...

 I fascinated by third speaker's presentation. In many cases, student learn the problem about woman in just classroom. However, in her research, they studied women's issue while they joined some activities. I think these experiences was effective for not only her but also many students.  I regard third speaker as the most effective communicater. This is because, althouth first speaker used only paintings and a few explanation and second speaker didn't use any characters , she used both many pictures and much explanation. Thanks to her clear power point, I could understood easily.  In my country, students who enter graduate school spend at least two years to graduate. This means that they will find employment two years later than the usual university student. That is why many people don't choose to go on to graduate school in Japan. If you decide your research theme clealy and succeed to research steady, you will be able to expand your feature possibility. 

 I think Ian Herbert was the most effective communicator because his slide was clear and his voice loudness and speaking speed were easy to understand.  I found Shannon McNatty's presentation most interesting because her topic was attractive and I thought that her investigation would be useful for future education. I have learned that graduate research allows one to study and think deeply about one's own area of interest.

I participated in The Three Minute Thesis Competition as an audience, and I received presentations from three speakers. I thought Shannon's presentation was the most interesting for me because I didn't think about the benefits of outdoor education and I was surprised that there is an incredible impact on adolescents.  In addition, I think that she was the most effective presenter. Her talking speed was moderate and easy to understand. She used some notes when she was talking, which helped her talk naturally and correctly. I was really impressed because when I give a presentation by using notes, I just read notes and my way of speaking is like a robot.  In this session, I felt that the presenters have not conventional ideas, but novel ideas. I think that having a new idea is important when we learn something. It will be helpful for the challenges of post-graduate study.

 I think Shannon's presentation is the most interesting because I didn't know outdoor education is important for girls. I found Ian is the most effective communicator because he speaks slowly and clearly. So, audiences can hear his word easily. From this session, I realized that post graduate study is more directly related to society. I don't plan to pursue post graduate studies, but I'm interested in economy and would like to know more about it if I had the chance.

  Last Thursday, I attended an amazing and useful speaking contest about Business named Three Minute Thesis ( 3MT ). As far as I am concerned, the three presenters showed the best version of themselves and many beautiful ideas for the topic. However, one of the most impressive presenters for me is Leon. His ideas were about watermelon consumption in each specific group. Although I found it difficult to entirely comprehend his ideas, I partly realized a useful conclusion related to product influences in the Economy.  Besides, I was also interested in Ian Herbert's ideas for I truly discovered the BIC (Biodiversity Investment Contribution). From my understanding of his opinion, one of the most essential things in sustaining economic development is benefiting future generations. From then, the business company can easily find out the best way to develop their strategic partnership and spread their product out as quickly as possible in the global market. Moreover, there were seve...

Write a post on the experience of attending the 3MT heat for business subjects on the 6th of July. Explain which presentation you found most interesting and which presenter was the most effective communicator. Finally say what insights on the possibilities and challenges of post graduate study you have gained from this session.

  When I was a junior high school student, my way of thinking completely changed from passive to active because, I was surrounded by a huge number of unexpected encounters. Surprisingly almost all the encounters broadened my perspective and changed my character. From these experiences I could become a kind and patient person.   Before I entered junior high school, I wasn`t a good student. I was selfish and impolite but, I had completely changed my mind before I entered high school. An encounter to my friend revolutionized. He was enthusiastic for volunteering, and I occasionally tagged with him. At first, I felt bored to it because I just went there and gathered gavage or looked after children. It wasn`t exciting for me. One day, my friend had a fever so, I had to go there alone. I considered to skip it but, I went there to save my friends face. Since then, I reformed myself. I realized that I always relied on him every time. I had just completed my own job while he was he...

 When I was eighteen years old, I failed my second-choice college entrance exam. I was quite confident because of the good results I had achieved in previous practice tests, so I was incredibly upset. Luckily, there were two months left until the entrance exam of my first choice university. However, I was very impatient because some of my friends had already finished their exam life students preparing for examinations, and if I had failed my first choice university, I would have had to study for another year. I began to study harder and harder. English was the highest-scoring test, so I forced it. My tutor gave me a lot of advice every day and he encouraged me. He was a student at my school of choice, so he motivated me by sharing his student life experiences such as university classes and studying abroad with me. With a strong desire to pass the exam, I solved a lot of past problems and studied hard to predict the trends of the questions. Fortunately, I was able to get into the ...

After I came to New Zealand, I had a heavy homesickness.  In fact, I did not t want to study  abroad in another countries ,but I had to  do it because my university has studying abroad as a part of graduation process.  I had many reasons why I did not want to go abroad. The first is because I was extremely worried about living without my mother. And also, I am not able to speak English fluently and accurately, so I was anxious about whether I could communicate with native people and understand the classes. I think my homesickness was caused by these reasons and I cried almost every night, after I arrived here.  However, a few weeks later I thought I had to charge my mind, otherwise I would not gain anything from this studying abroad and time and money would be wasted. Then in order to feel happier, I hanged out,   talked a lot and went shopping, with my friends. In addition, I have fried to discover attractive points in New Zealand such as incredibly beauti...

  When I was a junior high school student, I experienced an important event which made me grow up. It was to start to go to a cram school. The reason why I went there is that I wanted a tutor to help me study to enter high school. Ordinarily, my English skills were incredibly bad. I thought I would not pass the exam because of my bad English skills. However, my English teacher, Yuriko, helped me improve my English skills. In addition, I found my future dream.   At first, she let me learn about the only grammar that I could not know and she taught me about that until I understood. She made me my own printouts to solve. Thanks to her, I became good at studying English and I became to like English. I gave up continuing to improve the bad points, such as English , in the past. However, I learned from her how important it is that I make an effort to overcome my weak points, so I kept studying until the day of the exam. As a result, I could pass the exam to enrol in high school and ...

About a year ago, I encountered a number of serious issues with my student visa. The Immigration Ministry informed me of some problems with my visa through an email, and they asked me to wait for a long time. After reading the email, I became very upset and worried about what was happening and how I could handle the situation. I immediately shared this problem with my parents during a dinner conversation, feeling overwhelmed and constantly seeking their help. My mother advised me to be patient and wait. Then, on the following Sunday, I received an email from a lawyer who instructed me to provide additional documents to the Immigration Ministry of New Zealand, including an academic transcript from my university, a foreign language proficiency certificate, and a bachelor's degree, all translated into English. I was confused because I did not have these documents in my possession, so I had to go to my university to obtain them. I took a deep breath and headed to my university by bus...

When I was fourteen years old, my parents left me at home and moved to another city for work. In the five years that followed, I only saw them once a year. Prior to making this decision, they asked me if I could handle everything while they were away. I assured them that I could, as I understood the circumstances that led them to make such a difficult choice. However, I soon realized that things were not as easy as I had imagined after they departed. I had to take care of various daily tasks, including studying, cooking, and housework. If I didn't manage my expenses properly, I would find myself in a financial bind.   Nevertheless, after a few months of living independently, I became proficient at organizing my studies and daily life. I created a schedule for myself and devised a sensible spending plan to ensure that I wouldn't run out of money by the end of each month. Whenever I encountered challenging problems that I couldn't solve on my own, I sought help from others....