Thompson Rivers University, which is located in Kamloops, Canada, and was established in 1970 and elevated to the status of a University in 2005. Approximately 1,000 of 10,000 students are international students, which is a large portion compared to other universities. Thompson Rivers University made an agreement with Gachon University for exchange students, and short-term overseas lessons in 2014. The course consists of Science, Computer Science, Health Science, Tourism management, Anthropology, Media, and Pedagogy. Among those, Pedagogy has held its ground since the province evaluated it as the best. Thompson Rivers University also provides many facilities such as a hospital, theater, swimming pool, and various gym facilities for students and citizens, the students not only study, they are also able to do various activities.
Thompson Rivers University supports two kinds of classes for international students. Language Studies, which is one of two, is the class that levels the students English from A to L using an English test. Each instructor and assistant makes up each class respectively. Lessons consist of listening, speaking, writing, and reading. Through the lesson and various activities such as horseback riding, water sliding, kayaking, hiking, and indoor rock climbing, you can learn more about Canadian history.
The other kind of class that Thompson Rivers University supports is 'Elective' classes. Language Study is something all students study, but elective classes consist of topics which can be taken as various subjects. This class is divided into sections, and is held Monday to Wednesday from 9a.m. to 12a.m. In the orientation, you learn that there are four class options and you can choose three out of the four offered. You can take whatever classes you want according to your English level. Classes are divided into levels, based on the results of the level test taken in the first week. The four elective options include Study Skills (Searching appropriate way of studying for oneself), General English(Choosing and investigating topics, which can be debatable and making posters and presentations), Workplace Readiness(Learning how to write resumes and cover letters for employment and preparing for interviews), and English Test(Preparing for public English exams such as TOEIC and TOEFL). Among the programs, General English is the class that handles the most general subjects. It is also fun and easy to learn and many students take this class for this reason. As a further explanation about General English; after choosing the topic that you are interested in, two students in each team make a poster based on what they've investigated. On the last day of class, every student who took the General English class gathers to explain and displays their posters. At this moment, teachers and some of the homestay families participate and have time for Q&A and evaluations.
Lee Joo-Hee(Business Administration track,‘14), who visited Thompson Rivers University for a short-term oversea lesson commented, "I felt it was more like a game than a class since most lessons were done in groups and through games. I participated in the class with joy and activeness, so it made me feel like the class ended very early. Also, it was fun to travel around Vancouver and U.S.A due to the easily accessible transportation. "She also commented that, "The only thing desirable from my experience there was that it focused more on play and having fun than on developing English skill”. Anyone who wants to know more about Thompson Rivers University, should visit their homepage at www.tru.ca.
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