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One Student’s Journey through an ALMS Module|
WEEK 1
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Opening group session: we talked about our past experiences of language learning and I started to think about writing my personal history. Looked at Kaleidoscope and the list of Support Groups. Thought about my needs and made a draft plan. I have to plan for about 98 hours of work for my 4 credits. | |
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WEEK 2
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Second group session: Talked about groups and my independent work. Looked at examples of ALMS Diaries/Logs. Formed a DIY group with students from my Faculty. Fixed my first counselling meeting. Finally finished my ALMS plan! | ||
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WEEK 3
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Met my ALMS Counsellor for the first time and we talked about my history and study plan. It was good to come up with a plan that suits me and my needs. Later in the week our DIY group met and made plans. Started my ALMS Log and tried to reflect on what had happened so far. | ||
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WEEK 4
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Started reading the text books I have chosen for focusing on language. First meeting of the Presentation Support Group. We planned our programme and set dates for meetings for the rest of the term. | ||
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WEEK 5
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Went skiing in Austria. I wrote a travel journal and tried to use English as much as possible. | ||
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WEEK 6
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Our DIY went to the cinema and then discussed the film. Carried on with my reading and looked through a few websites for tips with reading strategies. Reading seems to be getting easier. Made notes and a vocabulary list and wrote a summary. Listened to a BBC podcast. | ||
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WEEK 7
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Presentation Support Group meeting. I gave a 2-minute presentation of my studies. Watched a DVD at home without subtitles and wrote a review. Attended a lecture in English in the Faculty. | ||
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WEEK 8
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Met my counsellor for the mid-term meeting. My plan hasn’t changed much. We talked about log-writing and ways of evaluating my skills and learning. Our DIY group came to my flat and we spent the evening cooking in English. | ||
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WEEK 9
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Had a really busy week with exams. Wasn’t able to work or reflect on my English much but tried to watch the news in English in the evening. | ||
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WEEK 10
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Practical Writing Support Group began. Talked about writing CVs and letters. This will be very useful. More reading. Brought my Log up to date – it seems to be changing into a Learning Diary. | ||
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WEEK 11
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DIY group met in the ALMS room. We had all read a difficult article and so we discussed the language and the topic. I practised my presentation with a video camera. Wrote the first draft of my CV for the Practical Writing Group. | ||
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WEEK 12
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Gave my presentation to the group. Got feedback from everybody, which felt good. Last meeting of the Practical Writing group. We discussed our CVs and letters. Wrote summaries of my academic reading. Worked on listening skills and pronunciation. | ||
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WEEK 13
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Final DIY group meeting. Discussed what we had learned and wrote reports. Prepared for my final counselling meeting. In the meeting we went through my Learning Diary and discussed what I had achieved, how I have changed as a learner and what I plan to do after the course. ALMS Module completed! | ||
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Total hours: 98 (organized by me) + 10 (ALMS meetings and documents) = 108 hours
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