UK universities are the first choice of many students who want to study abroad. The UK accepts thousands of applications from international students every year. Students who enroll in UK universities undoubtedly get numerous benefits. Like other countries, there are some challenges faced by international students who study at UK universities. How to solve these challenges happens to be a concern of students.
Here, you will read about some challenges faced by international students in UK universities along with their possible solutions.
The Problem in Adopting the New Education System
Each nation has its own education system. So, the education system of the UK may be different from the education system of your country. In that case, you may face the challenge of adopting the education system that many international students face.
· Solution
There are some orientation programs in UK universities, which can help you in adopting the new education system.
Cultural Shock
Everyone knows that each nation has a different culture. Especially if you belong to the Eastern or African culture, you find a great shock in the Western world. There are many differences between Eastern/African and Western cultures, and sometimes among different Western countries’ cultures.
· Solutions
There are multiple solutions to the challenge. First, there are some cultural exchange programs available in the United Kingdom, which you can join. Besides, your classmates and other peers who are local to the UK can help you significantly to understand the UK culture. Visiting different places in the UK also helps you understand the British culture.
Besides, if you choose a homestay as your student accommodation in the UK, then also you get great help. In that situation, you live with a UK family and see its daily life. So, it gives you a direct chance to immerse in the UK culture. However, while choosing accommodation, this is not the only factor you have to consider other factors also.
Understanding UK People’s Accents
It is a known fact that the accent of speaking English in the UK people is different from the accents of people in some other countries especially Asian countries. So, understanding accent is one of the challenges students may face.
· Solutions
The first thing that you can do is to listen to audios and videos online that belong to the United Kingdom. You can start doing this while you are in your home country before starting your journey to the UK. It can be a type of practice to understand the UK accent for you. In many videos on YouTube, you can read the subtitles along with listening if you have selected subtitles in your settings. Listening to the voice and reading the subtitles together may help you more in understanding the UK accent.
After you start living in the UK, befriend some classmates who are local to the UK. Talking to them also makes it habitual for you to understand the British accent.
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Less Fluency in English
This is the problem that is faced by some international students whose native language is not English and who are not so fluent in English. In the UK, they need to speak and listen in English with people most of the time except those who belong to their countries or languages.
· Solutions
Many universities in the UK provide language support programs through English language courses and workshops. Besides, practicing English daily by talking to your friends and reading your course books and other books also help in providing you good command of English.
Difficulty in Finding Preferred Accommodation
Sometimes, you may find it difficult to get accommodation with your preferred amenities, preferred location, and budget. It is one of the major challenges that many students face in London. You can solve this problem with some easy solutions.
· Solutions
A major thing you can do is to visit the online accommodation service platform websites, where you can find the listings of student accommodations in the UK and many other nations. You can visit the city’s page where you want accommodation. For instance, if you want to find student accommodation in London as per your preferences and budget, you can visit a page dedicated to London with lists of student housing properties, private apartments, and homestays in London. You also find a filter feature there, through which you can filter the lists of accommodations according to price ranges, amenities, and some other aspects. Some websites also offer a comparison feature to compare prices, amenities, distances from universities, and more of multiple properties on a single webpage. You also find an option there to sort the list according to prices.
One more thing you can do is you can search for accommodation early since prices of accommodations increase with the passage of time and preferred accommodations may be filled if you do late.
