大三出國、全英語課程 - 國際視野 : 淡江大學大三出國通報及學分採認系統

:::

2023大三出國輔導通報系統 - 留學心得報告[編輯]

政經 409820478 　朱家誼　　留學學校：查爾斯大學(捷克)-限政經系

(一)基本資料

- Charles University in the Czech Republic, located in Prague. - September 2023 to June 2024 - Faculty of Social Sciences(19字)

(二)課程學習

【照片說明：Classroom photo】

The experience of attending classes at Charles University is similar to that in Taiwan, but also different. First of all, most classes in the Czech Republic have a lot of material that requires reading before class. Although the class hours are not long, if you prepare carefully for each class, you will actually need to spend a lot of time studying outside the classroom. Especially since English is not our mother tongue, reading the material requires a certain level of English proficiency and possibly a relatively large amount of time. Secondly, compared to Tamkang University, Charles University offers more courses related to Europe, or to be more precise, courses related to Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, there are some research fields that are few in Taiwan. For example, I took a course on Zionism at Charles University titled "The European Origins and Evolution of Zionist Ideology: From Eastern Europe to Israel." The course mainly introduces Zionism, the Jewish national movement that began in the late 19th century. It also covers relevant thinkers and contemporary European writers and examines how European ideas and events influenced Zionism and how these influences manifested over time. This was the most impressive course I took at Charles University, as this knowledge is not typically taught in the Taiwanese education system unless it is learned through extracurricular exploration. Another course that is hard to find in Taiwan is Czech, which helps exchange students better integrate into the local environment. Therefore, if you don’t have a particular dislike, I recommend taking a Czech language course! All in all, I recommend that you choose some courses that you have no chance to take in Taiwan, or choose courses with similar themes, so as to see another interpretation of knowledge from different perspectives and viewpoints, which is quite interesting!(302字)

(三)生活環境

【照片說明： View from Vyšehrad towards the castle】

Regarding the accommodation environment in the school dormitory, the school dormitory we were allocated was a double room, which was not very spacious. Common areas such as kitchens and bathrooms are cleaned every Monday to Friday, except public holidays, so if there are consecutive holidays, no one will clean and collect garbage. One thing to note is that bathrooms and toilets are not gender-specific! Although in theory, shower rooms are separated by men and women, because it is not a hard and fast rule, some students may not necessarily follow the signs above. Therefore, you may see men bathing in the women's showers and vice versa, so it's important to be vigilant and check before you shower yourself. The transportation around the dormitory is quite convenient, with buses and subways available. However, the subway station is a bit far away. It takes about ten minutes to walk. There are residential areas along the road, so it is quite safe. There are supermarkets and bus stops next to the subway station. If you don't want to walk, you can also take the two-stop bus to the intersection in front of the dormitory, and then walk for about five minutes to the dormitory. The weather in Prague is mostly pretty good. It doesn't often rain all day long, and the climate is also very dry, which is different from the humid northern Taiwan. It also snows in Prague in winter, especially near the hostels. In the summer, you can see the sky begin to lighten before five o'clock in the morning, and it doesn't start to get dark until around nine o'clock in the evening. The sunshine time is very long.(279字)

(四)自我成長

【照片說明： View by the river on the way to one of the campuses】

The main language spoken in the Czech Republic is Czech. Although most Czechs, especially in Prague, can communicate in English, you will occasionally encounter people who only speak Czech, such as dormitory administrators and supermarket clerks. If you don’t know Czech at that time, you can only rely on the translation software on your mobile phone or use your hands and feet. Since the Czech Republic is not an English-speaking country, I rely heavily on the help of translation apps. In the Czech Republic, most product packaging is in Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, and there is little English, but there is usually English on tourist-oriented things such as landmarks and station signs. For example, although the subway station names in Prague are all spoken in Czech, if the announcement is about a suspension of service on a certain section, it will be said again in English. Shortly after arriving in the Czech Republic, the northern hemisphere began to enter winter, with shorter daylight hours and gradually shorter days. When winter has completely entered, it gets dark at 4 pm, which makes me realize that lack of sunlight can really affect my mood. For example, I have a class at 5 pm, and it is already dark when I go out to school. , it feels like going to night school. Although Prague is a famous tourist city, as a city of residence, it is very unfamiliar to us from Taiwan, so we need to be patient and open-minded to get to know this city.(252字)

(五)大三出國建議

Going abroad during the third year is a requirement for graduating from the Department of Political Economy. Preparing for the application process for the third year abroad is like going through the college application process again. It requires researching schools in advance, selecting suitable options, preparing application materials, and going through procedures, all of which take time and patience. Once you receive the admission notice, you go through the new student registration process again, including system registration, dormitory application, and various preparations before departure. Upon arrival, you have to handle dormitory check-in, school registration, telecom services, and start living in a foreign city. Studying abroad involves not only learning and sightseeing in your spare time but also frequent daily life activities, which can sometimes be more challenging than academics, especially for those experiencing independent living for the first time. Although embarking on this journey was not entirely of my own volition and it was not as easy as I imagined, the experience has undoubtedly been rewarding.(166字)