3 challenges when studying in the US from high school

ITT – Coming to the US when he just finished 10th grade, Truong Thoi Tien faced challenges when studying in the US, had to change his way of studying and make his own life when he was not near his parents.

After finishing 10th grade at Gia Dinh High School (HCMC), Truong Thoi Tien studied in the US at the age of 15, becoming a student at Memorial Hall School. After 5 years, Tien graduated from high school and attended Lone Star Community College.

Recently, Tien entered two schools of the University of California system, Berkeley (top 7 in the world in 2021, according to THE) and Los Angeles (top 15 in the world). Experiencing studying abroad early, Tien realized 3 challenges when studying in the US that international students had to overcome.

Foreign language

In the US, most public high schools are for those who have US citizenship, green cards or study in cultural exchange programs. I attended Memorial Hall School, Texas, a small private school with only about 100 students and most of them are foreigners.

Because the school does not require a foreign language certificate, I did not take IELTS or TOEFL before studying abroad. So, I joined the school’s first English class. Limited foreign language proficiency becomes a barrier in the process of learning and making friends.

Except for Math, which mainly requires calculation and study that is lighter than what I already know in Vietnam, many reading and writing subjects such as Geography, History, Politics, Economics… are all challenges. big with me. Although the schedule is not too heavy, my grades are still very low.

During the first few months of the crisis, I realized that I had to accept the fact that I was suffering from culture shock, not to fool myself into thinking that I had adapted to the new environment. From that fact, I do not solve the root of the problem, which is trying to cram learning materials while my vocabulary and English skills are limited.

I think having difficulty in using foreign languages ​​is a common problem of international students, especially those studying abroad at the age of 15 like me. The reason why, when going to a new country, mastering a foreign language is difficult, especially for Vietnamese students who mainly learn to read and write in high schools.

How to learn?

America focuses on liberal arts education, appreciating individual factors and students’ thinking. Before a problem, I can like it or not, as long as I give an example to prove my point of view. A week, I only study four days, the whole semester only study 7 subjects.

In terms of knowledge, most of the natural subjects were studied in the secondary school curriculum in Vietnam, so I did not face many difficulties. However, with social studies that require a lot of reading and writing, you need to change your mindset and way of learning.

For example, my school teaches some subjects about psychology. The final exam does not have an outline, so rote learning cannot be applied. Instead, each lesson will have notes, the teacher emphasizes what ideas, you should follow those parts. Not only that, the test also has many forms such as multiple-choice, essay, essay. Written articles will not have a specific right or wrong answer, as long as you can make a convincing point and presentation.

Therefore, if you keep the same rote or review method, you will not pass these tests. You need to be proactive, look for information to gain more background knowledge or organize group study sessions, both to practice communication skills and to easily exchange content. If you have difficulty studying, you should ask your teacher. Open-minded teachers will be a useful counseling channel for international students when they first go abroad.

Independent

I think one of the challenges when studying in the US at the age of 15 is the factor of independence. I used to be a student being taken care of by my parents, just eating and studying but had to learn to adapt and be independent when coming to the US. You can stay at the home of native speakers, teachers in the school but still need to be independent.

In addition, there are a few interesting things in the US that when I arrived, I realized that my previous opinion was wrong. When I watched the movie, I saw that the US has a lot of tall buildings and thought it was the same everywhere in this country. As it turns out, Americans often live in the suburbs, where the houses are close together, low-rise and very simple-looking, and the city is the place to work.