International Students also Learn outside of Class
2023-01-29
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1The cost of attending a college or university in the United States is very high.
2Education Data Initiative, an organization that collects data on the U.S. education system, says the average college student spends more than $50,000 each school year.
3Some international students receive scholarships or financial aid.
4But many have to pay full price and often need to work outside of their class and study hours.
5The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency says students on an F-1 visa are permitted to work both on, and off campus, as long as they follow certain rules.
6Students can also get experience with American work culture by volunteering for organizations outside of their study area.
7Learning English recently spoke with two international students about what they learned about American culture from their jobs.
8Khushi Agnish, from India, recently finished her undergraduate studies at Quinnipiac University in the northeastern state of Connecticut.
9Agnish received a scholarship from Quinnipiac.
10But she needed a job to cover extra costs.
11She got a job making public opinion research phone calls for the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
12The poll researches a wide range of topics such as tensions between Russia and Ukraine and New York City's new mayor.
13Agnish said she made up to 100 phone calls a night for the work.
14One thing she learned was how to confidently speak on the telephone with Americans.
15She said sometimes Americans had trouble understanding her accent.
16"People just think if it's an Indian person calling or if they're talking to an Indian person, it's probably a scam.Other than that, a lot of times people were actually really nice."
17Agnish also worked at the campus technology center and volunteered at a hospital as a sexual assault counselor.
18At the technology center, she helped people who had computer problems, like lost files.
19At the hospital, she helped people who said they had been assaulted to contact the police and fill out paperwork.
20Agnish said she learned that in America "people are not just sitting at home or telling girls to sit at home."
21She said that is different than in India, where many women do not go out alone because they are concerned about rape.
22"I was glad I could help in some way," she said.
23Tony Yan Tong Chen just completed his undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
24He is now applying to study for an advanced degree in piano performance.
25He came to the U.S. from New Zealand with a strong background in classical music.
26Along with piano, he is a skilled string musician.
27Chen said the best jobs at Eastman for piano players are saved for graduate students.
28He could do things like work in an office or direct people to their seats during musical performances.
29He chose not to do those jobs.
30Instead, Chen got a job with ROCmusic to teach young students from Rochester schools how to play music in an orchestra.
31Many of these students lack a musical background and do not know how to talk about music.
32"I had to change my vocabulary to make it accessible and help them improve," he said.
33"When certain students even just show up, that will really please me.So I think in general, it's just really celebrating small successes."
34Like other international students, Agnish and Chen's work experience gave them extra money and added to their understanding of American culture.
35But one professor who studies education had a warning for international students: do not let your work prevent you from completing your degree on time.
36Walter Ecton is an assistant professor at Florida State University.
37He and two other professors recently wrote a paper on students who work while attending college.
38The paper noted that students who work are about 20 percent less likely to complete their degrees than those who do not.
39He said the best amount of work for students is five to 10 hours a week.
40Ecton said it is likely that international students who work while going to school learn a good deal about American culture, new kinds of people and work routines.
41But they need to be sure they do not put themselves in a bad situation by delaying their progress.
42"For international students, many of them are paying really large amounts to be over in the United States.They need to work to support themselves, but they also want to get their degrees as quickly as possible."
43If the students can finish on time and move on to the next part of their lives, a little bit of work can be, as Chen put it, a way to "get out of the music school bubble ... and feel more integrated into the community."
44I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1The cost of attending a college or university in the United States is very high. Education Data Initiative, an organization that collects data on the U.S. education system, says the average college student spends more than $50,000 each school year. 2Some international students receive scholarships or financial aid. But many have to pay full price and often need to work outside of their class and study hours. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency says students on an F-1 visa are permitted to work both on, and off campus, as long as they follow certain rules. 3Students can also get experience with American work culture by volunteering for organizations outside of their study area. 4Learning English recently spoke with two international students about what they learned about American culture from their jobs. 5The Indian pollster 6Khushi Agnish, from India, recently finished her undergraduate studies at Quinnipiac University in the northeastern state of Connecticut. 7Agnish received a scholarship from Quinnipiac. But she needed a job to cover extra costs. She got a job making public opinion research phone calls for the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll researches a wide range of topics such as tensions between Russia and Ukraine and New York City's new mayor. 8Agnish said she made up to 100 phone calls a night for the work. One thing she learned was how to confidently speak on the telephone with Americans. She said sometimes Americans had trouble understanding her accent. 9"People just think if it's an Indian person calling or if they're talking to an Indian person, it's probably a scam. Other than that, a lot of times people were actually really nice." 10Agnish also worked at the campus technology center and volunteered at a hospital as a sexual assault counselor. At the technology center, she helped people who had computer problems, like lost files. At the hospital, she helped people who said they had been assaulted to contact the police and fill out paperwork. 11Agnish said she learned that in America "people are not just sitting at home or telling girls to sit at home." She said that is different than in India, where many women do not go out alone because they are concerned about rape. 12"I was glad I could help in some way," she said. 13The piano player teaching kids 14Tony Yan Tong Chen just completed his undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He is now applying to study for an advanced degree in piano performance. 15He came to the U.S. from New Zealand with a strong background in classical music. Along with piano, he is a skilled string musician. 16Chen said the best jobs at Eastman for piano players are saved for graduate students. He could do things like work in an office or direct people to their seats during musical performances. He chose not to do those jobs. 17Instead, Chen got a job with ROCmusic to teach young students from Rochester schools how to play music in an orchestra. Many of these students lack a musical background and do not know how to talk about music. "I had to change my vocabulary to make it accessible and help them improve," he said. 18"When certain students even just show up, that will really please me. So I think in general, it's just really celebrating small successes." 19Academic advice 20Like other international students, Agnish and Chen's work experience gave them extra money and added to their understanding of American culture. 21But one professor who studies education had a warning for international students: do not let your work prevent you from completing your degree on time. 22Walter Ecton is an assistant professor at Florida State University. He and two other professors recently wrote a paper on students who work while attending college. The paper noted that students who work are about 20 percent less likely to complete their degrees than those who do not. He said the best amount of work for students is five to 10 hours a week. 23Ecton said it is likely that international students who work while going to school learn a good deal about American culture, new kinds of people and work routines. But they need to be sure they do not put themselves in a bad situation by delaying their progress. 24"For international students, many of them are paying really large amounts to be over in the United States. They need to work to support themselves, but they also want to get their degrees as quickly as possible." 25If the students can finish on time and move on to the next part of their lives, a little bit of work can be, as Chen put it, a way to "get out of the music school bubble ... and feel more integrated into the community." 26I'm Caty Weaver. And I'm Dan Friedell. 27Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. 28________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30campus -n. the location of a school 31undergraduate -n. the first level of higher education in the U.S. 32poll -n. a public opinion survey 33accent -n. a way of pronouncing words that occurs among the people in a particular region or country 34scam -n. a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people 35counselor -n. a person who provides help or advice 36assault -n. a physical attack 37apply -v. to ask for the chance to enter or attend something, such as a school 38string -adj. a kind of instrument that makes a sound because of strings, such as a guitar, violin or cello 39graduate -adj. a student working on an advanced degree 40accessible -adj. understandable 41certain -pronoun. one member of a group 42routine -n. something that happens often or usually 43bubble -n. a protected area, an area not influenced by outside forces 44integrate -v. to become a member of a larger group 45_______________________________________________________________ 46We want to hear from you. 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