RuoBing’ padlet by RUOBING

Nice to meet you!

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-22 11:13:50 UTC

My name is RuoBing Zhang and I’m from china. RuoBing is my Chinese name and its means as pure as ice. My English name is Zoe which means “life”. I drew a snowflake to represent myself because my name has ice in it. When I saw it,I think of winter and I think winter is the end and beginning of life, that why I named myself Zoe.
Oh,I forgot to mention, I’m already at work. I’m an online shop owner and a TikTok blogger. Shop owner is my main job, I sell some handmade goods as my main source of living expenses. Blogging is my sideline, I don’t make a fortune, but sometimes I earn some extra cash. In about one year,I managed to attract 60000 followers on TikTok by sharing bits of traditional Chinese clothes. I love it and it makes me happy.
My hometown is Fujian which is in the southeast of China, Fuzhou is a nice place to live in and the pace of life is pretty slow. As a foodie, I really like Fuzhou because it has a lot of delicacy.
Finally,it was a pleasure to meet you and look forward to studying together with you in the future.

Let’s feel the charm of traditional Chinese clothing

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-22 11:17:44 UTC

This is a picture of me in Tang Dynasty costume.

New vocabulary from the reading task

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-23 17:21:32 UTC

I realize that important to set up a vocabulary book from today’s reading tasks, so I set up a vocabulary book and write down the new words I learned from the reading task. There is the speech and English meaning in the book and I write Chinese meaning to help me remember it because of unfamiliar enough with English study.
I want to use more color in my vocabulary book next time, thanks for reading.

This is my puppy and my kitten

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-23 17:34:15 UTC

They will stay with me when I’m tired and then I get full of energy~I want to share it in my independent study padlet because they are already part of my study.

Today is the third day of formal learning

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-24 14:19:36 UTC

Today I do the listening task 1, it’s not very difficult to me but I still spent some time to adapt it because I haven’t done that for a long time. I use a lot of time to listen the text avoid miss some details information, but I still lost some details. When I listen the text I write some information in my note Then I can compare with the answer. It’s very good for my study.

Today’s vocabulary book

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-24 15:25:35 UTC

I use some color in my vocabulary book today, it look clearer now. I’m very happy to learn new words today.

It’s the note I wrote when I listened the task today

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-24 15:29:58 UTC

Maybe it looks a bit messy, I wrote it very quickly when I heard some information.

Summary

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-24 16:03:11 UTC

Today is the first time to discuss with our buddy group members, this process is quite interesting and I got benefited a lot from it.

I learned a new note making techniques called induction when we discuss the the techniques we use to make notes. I have found that some people have the same problem as me which is that they often cannot understand the notes they take in class after class, then we came up with a solution which is to add notes promptly after class while the memory is still clear.

When we discuss how to learn English better, some of us like to listen to English songs or watch English movies, another like to chat with foreign friends, and I prefer to read English novels such as Harry Potter. I think the most interesting things is that everyone more or less know other languages such as Japanese or Korean by watching anime or Korean television. I think this is also such a motivates to learn the language if you want to watch some videos from another country.

It’s great to study with our buddy group members, I m looking forward to do it next

Summary about today’s discussion

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-25 14:05:12 UTC

It’s the second time to discuss with our buddy group members, everyone doesn't look as awkward today as they did yesterday, and our friendship has gone better.

We found that there is quite a difference between our past learning patterns in the discussion. There is a large amount of vocabulary and grammar practice and exams in our school which is “what is good for us”. The rest of us use group learning to study. They will ask and answer questions from each other which is very helpful for their learning. I think this is a great way of learning, just like we do now.

We have developed a different perspective on “What do you think Weiner believes is more important for staying motivated-intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? What is your opinion?” I think extrinsic motivation is more important, because sometimes pressure can become a driving force for our learning. For example, you will be more adaptable if you know the language when you travel in a country, and it’s easy for you to understand the culture and people. Some of us believe that both of them are equally important, while others believe that intrinsic motivation is more important.

Through today’s discussion, I feel that our friendship has been closer and we have learned something new.

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-26 14:48:21 UTC

My first impression of York University is that it is a university with very strict academic requirements, and the campus is very beautiful. Last Thursday, we attended the first class, and teachers introduced us to Yorktown and York University, it’s a bit difficult for me to understand what teacher say because it is the first time taking an all English course. This is a new challenge for me but it’s has great benefits for developing my English.
I usually start independent study at 10am Chinese time after I finish my breakfast. We have different learning tasks every day and I usually start learning vocabulary because I’m poor at it. I will write them in a notebook when I meet some unfamiliar vocabulary while reading or listening, then I will report the note on my independent study padlet. This mode of study is my first experiment and I think it can improve my independent study ability.
Through the learning of this week, I feel that I have gained a lot particularly the courage to speak English.

pcz516_1 — 2024-04-30 13:53:54 UTC

Today I learned some new words from the reading task, and I wrote it in my vocabulary book.
Today’s group discussion was about issues related western education. We recorded the video and I will submit it on our group padlet, it's the first time we recorded the discussion so both of us felt a nervous but we still finished our work. I often record videos so I felt well but I don’t know how they feel, maybe a little awkward. It’s seems that both of us have different reasons to study in UK it’s a very interesting thing.

The summary of reading task

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-01 14:06:20 UTC

The author's purpose is to establish a new organ to enable more deserving students to study in higher education. She described the current situation of China's education system: strong competition and limited learning resources. It leads to many Chinese students have to get a higher education degree if they want to have a good job. At that time, the high quality education in the western has a great lure for them. This demand and lack of application information have led to the rise of unethical “study abroad” organs. This type of organs prevents many worthwhile students from obtaining learning opportunities because they can not afford intermediary fees. That is why the author highlights the importance of establishing a affordable study abroad organs, by analyzing the current status of education in China and the exorbitant fees charged by some unscrupulous study abroad organs.
The author set up a organ called “ChaseFuture” in order to solve the problem just mentioned. The purpose of this organ is to provide affordable solutions for students who wish to apply for admission.
Furthermore, the author illustrates the ability of their organ by show several successful cases of completed applications, prove its ability to assist students who aspire to pursue higher education in achieving their desired learning outcomes and completing their desired applications.

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-02 13:36:02 UTC

Summary

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-03 14:48:11 UTC

Today we discussed the topic of reading tasks, We have different opinions on these issues and also share the same view. In the first question, we have different points. I think going to college is to have greater competitiveness in the job market and broaden one's horizons. Another classmate believes that going to college is to better adapt to society. After discussion, I believe these are all important reasons for going to college. In the third question, everyone mentioned their college experiences as an example, and it's great to hear about everyone's campus experiences. On the last two questions, our ideas are generally the same. We all believe that universities are gradually transforming into cultivating individual comprehensive qualities, and universities are still very important in the future.

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-03 15:26:45 UTC

Another week of learning has come to an end. I feel really fulfilled, and I've picked up a lot of things. I feel really fulfilled and I've learned a lot of stuff. I feel like the most useful thing I learned was making the paper outline. It's more than just a form. While working on this document, I had to keep reading and considering different viewpoints. Through this plan, I feel like I have a much clearer idea of what my paper is going to be about. I'm really looking forward to next week's learning, hoping it'll help me further refine this paper.
I feel that I have adapted better to studying this week. I can more accurately know what tasks I need to complete compared to last week. In terms of time management, tasks can also be completed within a controlled time frame. This is also a great progress for me.
Looking forward to next week’s study.

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-08 16:22:57 UTC

Today we discussed some issues about environmental protection. Everyone's ideas are very interesting. We all have similar thoughts on the first question. All of us believe that people should pay attention to the global environment so as to cultivate people's awareness of protecting the environment better. On the second question, we all believe that there are differences between different countries and regions.From the perspective of individuals, we believe that factors such as regional differences, educational level differences and different social environments will affect individuals' environmental awareness. Each of us made some suggestions on the last question. I think the government should improve the policies on environmental protection and strengthen the rewards and punishments. Another student thinks that more environmental protection films can be made to cultivate people's awareness of environmental protection from small things.

Through today's discussion, I found that everyone has their own ideas about protecting the environment. Anyway, I think it's very important to protect the environment.

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-08 16:25:15 UTC

Mini Presentation

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-09 17:48:00 UTC

I have a lot of work today, so I have to record videos very late. I hope it won’t be too late.

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-10 18:46:52 UTC

My main area of focus this week is presentation. I feel my spoken English has improved a lot by preparing the presentation and conducting the presentation. And I also learned how to organise a presentation. I plan to speak more English with my friends to improve my speaking. In terms of time management, I don't think I did a very good job this week. I realised that I didn't finish this listening test in time after checking the scheme of work because I have a lot of work this week. I will finish it over the weekend and make a schedule for next week to avoid such problems.This week I cooperated with my study partners very happily, more and more tacit understanding between us.

Reference

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-13 14:59:50 UTC

Student blog from the faculty of arts & humanities at King’s college London(2019). Why you should study something you love at university. [online]. Why you should study something you love at university. Available at: https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/betweentheacts/university-study-something-you-love/ [Accessed 28 January 2019]

Skatova, A. (2014). Arts students are motivated more by love of subject than money or future careers[Online]. The conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/arts-students-are-motivated-more-by-love-of-subject-than-money-or-future-careers-34330 [Accessed 17 November 2014]

Coleborne, C. (2023). Why arts degrees and other generalist programs are the future of Australian higher education [Online]. The conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-arts-degrees-and-other-generalist-programs-are-the-future-of-australian-higher-education-203046 [Accessed 13 April 2023]

Summary

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-14 15:02:26 UTC

The topic we are discussing today is time management. We all face the challenge of time management. One of us is facing both graduation thesis and this course at the same time. I also work and study at the same time. This sometimes leads to me having to work late at midnight. For example, on Thursday and Friday of last week. In the face of this situation, I think we should plan our weekly tasks in advance. For example, we can see the weekly scheme of work in advance, So we can allocate tasks for a week and complete some tasks ahead of schedule, if there are too many tasks on a certain day. I've been trying to do this all week.

Some answers

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-15 13:21:12 UTC

1. Is there enough focus on mental health in your country?
I don’t think China places enough focus on mental health. Maybe some big cities have already begun to focus on mental health. But in most cities, people still do not attach great importance to mental health.

2. Do you think health services should treat physical and mental health equally?

I think so. Because mental health is as important as physical health and both of them influence daily life.

3.Do you think health services should treat physical and mental health equally?

I think the company should be responsible to its employees in directions working pressure, Personal emotions and economic pressure.

4.What is the role of the family in dealing with mental health issues?
Firstly, I believe that the family plays the role of a regulator which is mean that help regulate life pressure and relieve emotions. Meanwhile, a negative family atmosphere can lead to mental health issues. Overall, families play a crucial role in addressing mental health issues.

5. What is the role of the family in dealing with mental health issues?
I think it has strengthened my emphasis on mental health.

summary

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-16 15:05:17 UTC

Air pollution has been a problem for a really long time, and it keeps making people sick in many ways. More and more people are getting respiratory and heart diseases because of it. In the 21st century, there’s a lot of talk about whether this number of sick people will go up or down, but almost everyone agrees it’s going up. One reason is because more people are getting older and living in cities, where pollution is worse. But there’s a good side too – people are starting to do things to control pollution.

Even though there are rules to control pollution, the dirty stuff in the air doesn’t seem to change much. That’s because people keep buying cars and causing pollution. So even if some people suggest stricter rules, it’s really hard to make the air cleaner. Even though the total amount of pollution going into the air is going down on paper, the air quality doesn’t seem to improve.

So, we came up with a way to quickly check how much of a certain dirty thing is in the air. What we found was that the numbers we see don’t match up with what’s actually happening. To make sure our data is accurate, we tested this in different places, and it turns out that actual pollution is much higher than what’s reported.

This got us thinking – why is this happening? One reason is that we’re more focused on how dirty the air is, rather than where the dirt is coming from. People are supposed to watch themselves to make sure they’re not polluting too much, but nobody’s really checking if they’re telling the truth. So when we make rules to make the air cleaner, we need to make sure they actually work.The author believes that universities play a really important role in spreading awareness about air pollution. In the future, they’ll be crucial in making sure our evaluations are accurate.

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-17 13:57:06 UTC

This week, we finished our practice on writing a formative essay, which was a good attempt. Through writing this essay, I learned about the British style of writing, such as how to use citations, academic language, and the structure of the article. Additionally, this week's study greatly enhanced our time management skills because we needed to submit the complete essay and ARC discussion by Friday. It required us to start trying to do it at the beginning of the week. I finished writing the main paragraphs from Monday to Wednesday and the conclusion and citations on Thursday. Since I wrote the introduction last week, I just made some simple modifications to it this week. This exercise improved my time management skills. It was a fulfilling week.

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-24 14:19:25 UTC

This week, we received feedback from our tutor on our formative essays. My main issue is the essay structure. In my reflective essay, I used subheadings to mark my main paragraphs, which caused me to overlook the cohesion of the paragraphs. I divided the content of the main paragraphs into several sections and used summary phrases like "In conclusion," which made it confusing for the reader. I believe there is much room for improvement in my essay structure. Other issues include a lack of connection between topic sentences and arguments, and incorrect citation format.

This is different from the problems I had with my diagnostic writing in the first week. After these weeks of study, I have made significant progress in writing. In the upcoming writing assessments, I will improve my essay structure and strengthen the connection between topic sentences and arguments.

PPT

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-24 15:55:53 UTC

Presentation

pcz516_1 — 2024-05-24 16:00:34 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-01 08:14:29 UTC

This week we only had four days of classes, and we had a lot of homework on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We had to submit assignments every day. But thanks to the time management content and discussions from previous weeks, I feel that my schedule this week was more reasonable. Sometimes, I couldn’t finish my homework on time and had to stay up late. But this week, I prepared my assignments in advance, which allowed me to complete them on time and feel more relaxed.

Additionally, I rewatched “Harry Potter” this week. I found that it greatly improved my spoken English. After watching all seven “Harry Potter” movies, I felt my accent became more natural. Then, I reviewed some videos of our previous presentations. I noticed that after a few recordings, my spoken English really improved a lot, which is very good for me. Now, I can even have basic conversations with my friends in English in daily life, which I couldn’t do before.

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-05 10:50:26 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-06 14:07:11 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-07 13:17:44 UTC

1. I believe social media will replace TV broadcasts and newspapers because it is very convenient. Social media can be accessed on phones and tablets, allowing people to check for the latest information anytime.

2. In my opinion, the best news source is the official media accounts of national institutions, as they are the most accurate and reliable.

3. Health reports in the media are not always trustworthy. Their reliability depends on the type of media. Reports from official media can be trusted, but other sources may spread false information.

4. While everyone can access media, there should be regulations on the content individuals publish. Those who spread false information should be strictly punished.

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-07 13:40:39 UTC

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pcz516_1 — 2024-06-14 09:53:57 UTC

Reflection writing

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-17 03:41:24 UTC

Over the past two months, I have been regularly reviewing the vocabulary lists from Weeks 1 - 8, which has helped me remember the new words better. In my writing, such as essays and Response Journals, I try to use these new words and phrases to make my writing clearer and more interesting.

To remember and practice these new language items, I use a notebook to write down new words and review them often. Additionally, I enjoy watching English movies and reading English novels, which helps me see how these words are used in different contexts.

To improve further, I could practice speaking more by setting goals to use new words in daily conversations or presentations, which would help me use these words more naturally. Also, getting feedback on my writing and speaking will help me understand how well I am using new language items and where I can improve. This way, I can continue to enhance my language skills in both writing and speaking.

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-20 13:26:35 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-20 13:36:33 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-23 17:18:01 UTC

• What I had to do: The task was to analyze and improve my essay draft and prepare a related PowerPoint presentation. I needed to check and correct the references in the essay to ensure the content met the requirements and create a clear, organized PowerPoint for the presentation.

• Challenges or difficulties faced: The main challenge was to ensure all reference formats were correct and the content was accurate. Additionally, while creating the PowerPoint, I had to make sure the information was concise and clear while including all necessary references.

• If done in the past, how was it different: I have done similar tasks before, but this time the focus was on the accuracy of the references and the presentation quality. Compared to before, this time required more detailed checking of every single detail.

What was successful and why: The success was accurately correcting the references in the essay and ensuring all references were correct. Additionally, the PowerPoint was made clear and concise, effectively conveying the main points. These actions were successful because I carefully checked each reference and ensured the PowerPoint content was closely aligned with the theme.

• What was not successful and why: Initially, I missed some reference format errors, which required multiple revisions. These actions were not successful because the initial check was not thorough enough and did not cover every detail.

• Overall performance: The overall performance was successful because the final submitted essay and PowerPoint met the requirements and clearly conveyed the main points during the presentation. I know this because the final feedback was positive and no reference errors were found.

• Actions to change if done again and why: If I were to do this task again, I would conduct a more thorough initial check to cover all details the first time. This would reduce the time needed for subsequent revisions and improve efficiency.

• Limitations faced and how to remove them next time: The main limitations were a tight schedule and an initial check that was not thorough enough. Next time, I would plan ahead to ensure there is enough time for a detailed check to avoid missing any details.

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-26 16:31:24 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-26 16:31:35 UTC

pcz516_1 — 2024-06-27 12:21:55 UTC

Today, our group discussion focused on two main areas: learner autonomy and stress management. For learner autonomy, we reflected on the past 10 weeks and shared examples of how we identified and set learning goals, planned and executed activities, and evaluated our progress. We discussed understanding the reasons behind our learning and recognizing our strengths and weaknesses. We also talked about different learning strategies and how our motivation has evolved.

For stress management, we completed exercises on managing and understanding stress and explored the University of York’s resources. We shared personal experiences and tips, including techniques like meditation, exercise, and time management. Additionally, we discussed how cultural practices from our countries help in managing stress.

Overall, this discussion helped us realize the importance of being proactive in our learning and maintaining our well-being, both crucial for academic success.