Sorting out Problems

For the most part, I’ve assumed that your ability to study hard, break down problems into manageable pieces and your strength in organizing the details of your life would carry you through the opening weeks of the term and midterms. However, problems will arise. Before the Final Exam period begins, I recommend spending some tire putting out the small fires that have cropped up. Furthermore, if you’ve got one or two growing fires making life stressful, difficult and messy, I will give you some tips on how to get these problems under control before they do lasting damage to your academic performance and your GPA.

In one of the earlier installments of this series, I mentioned the problematic roommate and how to deal with such individuals. However, at this point in the term you may have encountered some other individuals who have begun to make the study abroad experience difficult.

Along with the roommate, professors will have the most intensive impact on your daily and weekly routines. Professors that make life difficult come in various types. For instance, some may speak English in a way that confuses you. If you have trouble making sense of lectures, I recommend a few actions. First, record the lectures on your phone. This allows you to listen to the lecture a second (or third) time so that you can make sense of it. It also means that you can listen to the lecture with other persons in your study group who more easily understand what the professor says. Finally, you can run the lecture through translation software; in some cases the text that such software generates will help to clarify some of the language that you do not understand.

Second, professors may seem disorganized or may organize the material in a way you find problematic. When this happens, bring specific questions about the material and its organization to your study group meetings. Don’t just say: “I’m so confused!” but specify the nature of the confusion: “The lecture information seems clear, but I can’t prioritize it. Without knowing what’s important, I don’t know how to prepare for examinations.” Note that this happens quite often to Mainland students while studying overseas. Mainland teachers tend to provide very clear guidance about what to study. In contrast, many foreign professors want students to identify and prioritize the important material on their own. I also recommend that you bring such questions and points of confusion to professors. When you do so, don’t blame the professor for confusing you. Furthermore, don’t criticize yourself about not studying hard enough. (This kind of “humble-speak” works on Mainland instructors, but foreigners cannot make any sense of it. Given this, don’t bring it up.) Just state the facts: “I’m lost on how to prepare for the exam. In China, professors presented material like so—here you can state an example to make the point clear. I know that I’m not in China, but I’m not clear about what to look for in preparing for the exam. What am I missing?”

The typical reply that professors provide to this kind of prompt will give you the basics of how to prepare for exams given by this professor. If you read between the lines carefully, you’ll pick up other insights about what that professor values and how this professor’s interests affect how this professor prepares tests, how this professor marks essays and how the professor prioritizes study materials, like course readings.

If you run into a teaching assistant (TA) that gives you trouble, I recommend this easy workaround: seek out teaching assistants that you feel more comfortable with. For instance, if one of the TAs comes from China you might find it easier to work with this TA because you can converse in Putonghua, which allows you to more clearly and precisely articulate your thoughts.

If you have difficulties with staff members—for instance, someone in the Office of International Students—apply the same tactic: deal with someone who seems resourceful, capable, competent, kind and generous. Prioritize people who listen carefully and patiently to you or other people you know. Effective, thoughtful listeners tend to be capable, competent, kind and generous. If at all possible, try to spot two or three such individuals in any given office so that you have a small “team” working on your behalf when you encounter administrative snags. (If you haven’t yet, you will.)

Finally, let’s circle back to exams and papers. If you received a grade that is below a B, I recommend doing a few actions to limit the damage from such a score/grade. More important, these actions will get you back on track with learning the key concepts, materials and skills at the heart of a given course.

First, check in with instructors. Review tests and papers that you struggled with. Make sure that you understand what has gone wrong and how it has gone wrong. Review the material related to the problem area. Make sure that you can apply the insights and techniques in this material in various contexts and circumstance. Make sure that you can create new questions based on this material. We have a saying in English: “Know the material backwards and forwards.” Answering questions related to the material, as well as writing new questions based on the material, will bring you closer to mastering the material backwards and forwards.

Access any tutoring services, including the aforementioned services available through the Writing Center. When I taught in the US, I routinely encountered Mainland students who understood the material, but wrote about the material in ways that muddled this understanding. Writing well will almost certainly improve your test and paper scores by conveying to instructors that you really do know what you’re talking or writing about. Beyond this, writing clear, concise prose forces you to tidy up your thinking. You eliminate excess verbiage. You avoid an overreliance on jargon. You see what the most important points are and emphasize these.

Access all forms of support. Note that math and science programs offer tutorial support. Seek out these services. Use them. Make a point of accessing the office hours offered by teaching assistants. Build your visits to all of these tutorial and support services into a cluster of visits each week remaining in the term.

Don’t bury your frustration in shame. Ask members of your study group for help. Let them know of your struggles. Based on my experience, most people help those who struggle. I suspect that many if not most of you will struggle with this approach because you will lose face and perhaps feel humiliated. Never mind that. Trust people who seem to care about you. The ones who come through for you in a difficult situation will likely become long-term friends and allies. Learning how to build such relationships is as important a life skill as numeracy and writing well. But note: don’t just ask for help; don’t always take. Give back; offer support. This cycle of mutual support will carry you forward long after your university studies conclude.

If you really feel totally stressed out or trapped by the situation, access psychological support services offered through the university. Again, reach out, get help, ask questions, and regain your balance. This basic approach applies to dealing with a range of difficulties that will arise during the course of your study abroad experience.

University education goes beyond grades and job preparation. You learn to live on your own. You learn to work through new kinds of struggles. You learn how to become an adult. Each task is difficult; taken together they pose formidable challenges. Get help. Get the right kind of help. Work effectively with those helping you. Things won’t always work out the way you want them to, but life is not just about fulfilling desires. Sometimes we have to learn how to live with less than what we wanted, while laying the foundation for future successes. Struggling through difficult periods while studying abroad fits into this process.