Tag: Success

College Life

Don’t Highjack Your Success in America

Esther Tokognon
People holding American flag

I bet you’ve decided to study in the United States of America because of all the opportunities this country has to offer. I did too!  

If you’ve been reading my articles, you’ve probably realized that this country has a lot of rules that are present nowhere else in the world, but can be detrimental to your success. Although we each have our definition of success, I refer to it on this blog as steps you can take to make your time in America the best it can be! I started this blog because I know that adjusting in this country is hard. It’s very easy to get lost and forget the main reason why we came here.

Below are some rules and advice that may seem basic but are extremely important, especially for international students that are long ways from home. There are things that I learned throughout the years, and I would hate for you learn the hard way! Some of the advice on here are from things that I’ve seen happen to certain people that I know. 

Americans use Fahrenheit

Very few countries use Fahrenheit to measure temperature, the U.S. is one of them. You won’t need to adjust if you are from one of those countries. However, if you are like the majority of us, you will have to adjust to that. Use the weather app on your phone and always check the weather before going out. 

Taxes aren’t included in the price tag

Shopping wasn’t necessarily fun for me. Unlike the rest of the world that displays the full price of an item, Americans don’t do that. In the early days, I found myself having to return items several times cause the total came up a lot higher than I thought it was going to be 😥. There are however 5 states that have no sales tax – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. If you live in one of those states then lucky you, but if you are like me, save yourself the embarrassment and plan for an extra 3%-10% of total price pf good purchased for state and local taxes.  

Ok, now let’s get into the most important stuff. 

Make friend with the right crowd

Bad things can happen to anyone anywhere. However, there are ways to reduce the probability of those things happening to you. We love America, and the fact that people have the freedom to do what they want. This is also why it’s important to not hang out with the wrong people and get dragged into trouble with them. You don’t want to have a criminal record because of something dumb you did. Entering the workforce in the U.S is very challenging for international students, but will be even harder if you have a criminal record. Please don’t hijack your success by making bad decisions! 

Must be 21 to drink

If you didn’t know that before, now you do! You must be 21 years old to order and drink alcohol. Please follow the rule, even if you were used to drinking alcohol back home. Don’t be tempted to get a fake ID, as you could face serious consequences if you get caught, which may include jail time. Also, even if you have an international passport that technically allows you to drive here, get your state’s driver’s license before you drive. Talk to your International Advisor if you are interested in applying for a driver’s license. Don’t highjack your success in America!

Do not apply for a credit card

Don’t get trapped into the American credit system. Again, as a newbie in America, steps you take now can positively or negatively impact your future. You have no business getting a credit card. Especially if you get them through stores. They make it sound like you will be getting a great discount by signing up for their credit card. Please refrain from doing that, as I know so many people that are now in debt and have ruined their credit score because they opened multiple credit cards with various stores. Your credit score is very important as it shows how fiscally responsible you are. In the event that you were to stay in America after you graduate, this number will be necessary if you want to buy a house, buy a car …etc. Click here to learn more about credit scores.

Please, please, please don’t make these mistakes that can highjack your success in America!

 

College Life

How to Learn English Fast (Outside the Classroom)

Esther Tokognon

Learning English as a second let alone a third language is hard. Trust me I know! English was the fifth language I learned, and now, it’s the language I feel the most comfortable with! But that definitely wasn’t always the case.

When I first came to the United States, I barely spoke any English. Enough to go through customs, which was heavily reinforced by hand signals. After taking the English placement test to see what level of English class I needed to enroll in, I did surprisingly well. I only had to take 6 credits of ESL courses – dedicated to International students. At the same time, I was enrolled in a Public Speaking class and a Math class. Here are some of the steps I took outside the classroom to become more comfortable with English.

Limited my interaction with people that spoke my native language: This doesn’t mean that you need to stop talking to them, but the less time you spend speaking your native language, the better. When I first arrived to my dorm, I did not have a roommate, but I was blessed to have two Togolese students as suitemates. Togo is about 3 hours drive from Benin – my native country. Both countries share similar culture, and speak some of the same languages.  Being 6,175 miles away from family, it was nice having people with a similar cultural background. The only problem was that we were always speaking French. We also didn’t like the cafeteria food and would rather cook for ourselves and eat together, which limited the level of interaction we had we native English speakers. My priority was to succeed in America and I needed to speak proper English to do that. How can I do that if I am always in my room speaking French and not getting out of my comfort zone?

Got an American roommate: At the end of my first semester, I told the residence director I wanted an American roommate. That way, I would be forced to speak English. The key to learning English fast is total immersion into an English-speaking environment. The next semester, my roommate was American. And the two Togolese students were still my suitemates. Perfect balance!

Didn’t limit my interaction to just my American roommate: Practice with any native speaker as often as possible. This will also help you learn slang and colloquialisms, which are important if you want to fully immerse into this environment. Also, one of the problems that international students face the most when learning American English is being able to listen and understand. In general, Americans speak very fast. But not every American speaks at the same speed or has the same accent. Practicing with a variety of native English speakers will expose you to different accents, speed and ways of speaking.

Joined clubs and organizations: This is a great a way to meet people, make friends, and practice your English at the same time. If you would like to learn more about all the clubs available at your campus, talk to your International Student Advisor. When it comes to clubs off campus, I really like https://www.meetup.com. You can join a group and meet people near you who share similar interests. If you love to volunteer, try https://www.volunteermatch.org to find volunteering opportunities in your area.

Watched movies in English: If you are a beginner, leave the subtitles in your native language then switch to English subtitles as you progress and finally remove all subtitles. This was the first strategy I used when I was still in Benin and was preparing to come to the United States. Take your time and make sure you understand what you are watching. I found this website that has a list of 10 modern American classics movies for learning English. It also has some tips on how to learn English through movies and films.

Finally, a strategy that I never used but that I’ve heard is very helpful:

Play video games in English: This is the only advice on this list that I didn’t follow myself as I am not a gamer. However, I have so many friends that found this very useful. If playing video games is something you are really passionate about and that you spend a lot of time doing, learning English while playing will be beneficial.  

Improving your English is all about practice!