Contact of Derby University: Laura Williamson
Contact Erasmus Office of the KPZ: Harrie Poulsen
Derby is an university with approximately 10.000 students. Those students could study all kind of things in Derby. From Arts till Engineering till Education.
I'm going to follow three modules in Derby. Two of those modules are about children with a learning difficulty or disability. The first one: Exploring disability is about disabilities in general. All kind of disabilities will be discussed in this module. The second one is about Special Learning difficulties in the classroom. How could you help those children with a disability in classroom to include them in stead of that they are the kid with that label. The third module is about intelligences. The theories arround intelligences (psychometric and non-psychometric). It is a lot of theory but it is interesting to know how a child is learing.
All these modules have a little bit the same assignments. Exploring disabilities and special learning difficulties have two courseworks. For both you have to make a poster/leaflet and you have to write as well an essay(2000/2500 words).
The poster for exploring disabilities is about how effects the disability your daily life. It is about one specific disability or impairment and it is your choice which disability or impairment. The essay you have to write is about what are the effects at applying for a job and it is about the debate if your disability you have chosen a disability is or not.
The poster for special learning difficulties is about giving the teacher information about a specific disablity that could help him or her to teach that specific kid.
Registration process:
First of all I had to apply for the modules through sending a email to the internationaloffice with my choices. If they were allright they would send me back that form signed. Of course you had to fill in the forms for the Erasmus scholarship.
In England at the university of Derby I had a day for making my applyment final so that I would be a offical student. It took about two hours. They gave my studentpass and from now on I was an offical student of the Derby University.
The first days:
The university of Derby had an introduction programm for international students. If you flown at special days the picked you up at the airport and would bring you to your accomodation. The university has student hallcity centre. My accomodation was Nunnery Court. Their was place for arround 300 students at this hall. The other halls had place for arround 350 students each complex. There are approximately 7 big halls. The room was not that big but really useful and clean. You share your flat in this hall with four other students. You are sharing as well your kitchen, shower and toilet. Every week there is a cleaner for these common rooms.
I’m quite tall so I did a request for a taller bed. They had one and the housekeeper installed that specific bed when I was gone. The services at the halls of the university were great. If there was a problem they solved it in less than 12 hours.
The introduction week started the next day with a guided tour through Derby. The guides were as well international students of the university. They showed us arround and helped us with the basic stuff you had to arrange. This first week is important for you as a international student because this was the week for making friends.
Finances:
England is expensive from the perspective of a Dutch person. The flight was not but the normal life in Derby was. The room I had was arround 550 euros each month. It was a great accomodation but expensive and there was a disadvantage with the contract fort his room. As an Erasmus+ student they had a special contract till the end of May. But still that contract was too long. The semester ended already the 27th of April. So most students and friends will leave then as well to there home. So there is no reason for you to stay till the end of your contract(a little bit a waste of your money).
If you do not a lot and you are just there for your study you will spent not a lot of money a budget arround 50 pounds is good enough. I had a lot of trips with friends and I row in England then a budget of 50 pounds is not realistic. Trains are expensive. You pay quite easily 40 pounds for a zigzag. But if you make a reservation for a specific train through the internet it could safe you 15 till 20 pounds. The only thing is that you need a creditcard for that. In England you need a creditcard for everything so please take a creditcard with you if you go to England in general.
The bus is in England the opposite. The bus is most of the time quite cheap. So I took the bus most of the time to see places. Your travel time will be longer but you will safe a lot of money. In England they have got as well special grouptickets for he bus(As well if you go with just another person you could safe money with a groupticket).
So If you do trips and stuff to see the country you will spend arround the 500 till 600 pounds each month.
Review of your stay abroad in academic terms:
I have learned a lot at the university of Derby. The lectures were great. The teachers who gave the lectures were well educated and they were well known with the subject they spoke about. So I’ve learned a lot academic terms and phrases. Because you were aware of all there knowledge about the subjects you were extra motivated and it inspires me. The essays were good for the writing skills in academic terms. As well were the essays good for practicing your searsching skills for good theoretic articles.
There was a lot of time for you as individual to ask for time. The teacher had no problems to check sometimes your essays or give some great tips to make your essay more succesful.
Review of the stay abroad in cultural terms:
There is difference between the dutch culture and the Englisch culture. What I definitely noticed was that English people were more polite than dutch people. So I’ve learnt that it is sometimes better to be more polite to arrange something instead of be straightforward.
Thanks to the international introduction week I had interaction with more cultures. Because of that I realise that I life in a great culture with respect for someone his own will. There was for example a guy from azerbaijan. His was in Derby for his study and finished it but after a few days he had to go home for his arranged marriage. He had a wife chosen by his parents.
Because of all those kind of cultures you’ve had interaction with your gonna appreciate your own culture but I’ve got more respect and more understanding for other cultures because of my English adventure.
Review of the stay abroad in social terms
Through this experience I am more autonomous and have more self-esteem. I think that I am more capable to make the difference between important stuff and not important. I know myself bette rand I have discoverded parts of me and from my personality that I didn’t know or came up more than I could imagine. I feel after this experience I’m more able to understand the others and to apprecciate them and the diversity in general.
Did you gain any learning experiences you wouldn’t have gained without staying abroad?
I sincerely think that doing an Erasmus should be something obligatory for all the University students because only travelling and meeting new people you can have this kind of experience and enrich yourself understanding and living the European Union and the beautiful variety of the world in which we live.
You start thinking in a completely different perspective and all the things that you were doing before they’re seen in a different way: you can really see your life from outside and learn better to evercome obstacles and to be independent, respectful and open-minded.
Do you think staying abroad provided benefits for your future job (as a teacher)?
I think it was very useful for me as a becoming primary school teacher. I think it is useful because English is the most common language in the world and that is why it is becoming more and more important in education in the Netherlands because we are a country who has wide spreaded contracts and busnisses all over the world.
Good English education is because of that quite important. I have improved my English in the United Kingdom so I think that I will get easier a job.
The introduction week started the next day with a guided tour through Derby. The guides were as well international students of the university. They showed us arround and helped us with the basic stuff you had to arrange. This first week is important for you as a international student because this was the week for making friends.
Finances:
England is expensive from the perspective of a Dutch person. The flight was not but the normal life in Derby was. The room I had was arround 550 euros each month. It was a great accomodation but expensive and there was a disadvantage with the contract fort his room. As an Erasmus+ student they had a special contract till the end of May. But still that contract was too long. The semester ended already the 27th of April. So most students and friends will leave then as well to there home. So there is no reason for you to stay till the end of your contract(a little bit a waste of your money).
If you do not a lot and you are just there for your study you will spent not a lot of money a budget arround 50 pounds is good enough. I had a lot of trips with friends and I row in England then a budget of 50 pounds is not realistic. Trains are expensive. You pay quite easily 40 pounds for a zigzag. But if you make a reservation for a specific train through the internet it could safe you 15 till 20 pounds. The only thing is that you need a creditcard for that. In England you need a creditcard for everything so please take a creditcard with you if you go to England in general.
The bus is in England the opposite. The bus is most of the time quite cheap. So I took the bus most of the time to see places. Your travel time will be longer but you will safe a lot of money. In England they have got as well special grouptickets for he bus(As well if you go with just another person you could safe money with a groupticket).
So If you do trips and stuff to see the country you will spend arround the 500 till 600 pounds each month. `
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