International Students

On this page:

Understanding expectations of teachers Improving your writing skills Knowing how to reference well and avoid plagiarism Improving your English Improving your study skills Improving your intercultural skills Doing post graduate study

Congratulations on taking this big but exciting step of moving from your own familiar world to a foreign one. You are probably already a very successful student in your own country. However, we have learned through many, many conversations with international students that often when you arrive, you may not clearly understand what Victoria University expects. Don't worry, though. There is lots of support available for you here at Victoria. Think about these study issues and solutions:

Understanding expectations of teachers:

You can learn about what Victoria's teachers want from their students by:

Improving your writing skills:

Some international students want help in writing essays and other assignments. They also like to get help with their grammar. If you want help in these areas:

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Knowing how to reference well and avoid plagiarism:

This is very important at Victoria. Some international students are not used to referencing every idea they take from other authors. At Victoria you must do this, whether you quote (write the exact words) or paraphrase (use your own words). If you don't acknowledge all your sources you might get no marks or you might even be asked to leave the university. To understand more about this:

• Learn paraphrasing, summarising and referencing skills at PALS
• look at our material on this topic.

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Improving your English:

Although you have gained an appropriate IELTS score to get entry to Victoria you will need to continue perfecting your English. Most 200 and 300 level courses require a higher standard of English than 100 level papers. To improve your English:

• come to SLSS' Conversation programme
• come to SLSS' Academic Speaking programme
• come to SLSS' grammar workshops
• look at Victoria's Language Learning Centre and their English resources
• look at other useful grammar websites to the top right of this webpage.
• live and talk with native speakers.
• watch TV, especially the news, and read some of the newspaper every day.

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Improving your study skills:

SLSS offers many workshops on study skills such as note-taking, effective listening, exam preparation and time management. They are free and you can come to as many as you want. Also check out some handy hints in our Studyhub online resource library.

Improving your intercultural skills:

SLSS offers an intercultural skills course EXCELL. The course offers you intercultural skills and helps you to improve your understanding of New Zealand culture.

Doing post graduate study:

If you have arrived at Victoria and are about to do post graduate study you can:

• come to free post-graduate workshops at SLSS
• come to a free one-to-one individual appointment with a learning adviser.

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