As the golden season of harvest approaches, the freshmen students from the Cohort 2024 at Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) are also about to complete their preparatory semester. With a solid foundation in English for science and engineering built this summer, they confidently embark on their new journey in GTIIT to pursue their dreams.

A strong foundation in English and STEM makes their steps robust. From early August to late September, GTIIT offers an English-taught preparatory session including English, math, physics, and chemistry. This approach, which integrates language and STEM related knowledge, allows the students to better adapt to GTIIT's instruction mode and ensures the success of immersed education.

English textbooks and assignments, eight hours of English teaching each weekday, occasional English presentations, and being "pushed" to ask questions to teachers... While most of their peers are enjoying the summer holiday, new GTers have started their university life since August. The GTIIT faculty team has prepared a structured training plan for them, which not only helps improve their English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, but also guides them to achieve a transformation in thinking through well-designed courses, games, and competitions.

Interesting demonstration at Physics Class

English Presentations, Q&A sessions

"Not only to learn, but to learn smartly." For the freshmen students, one of the important transitions from high school to university is the shift in learning methods and mindset. The course "Learning Strategy", taught by Dr. Chen Fen from GTIIT Career and Learning Center, continued to be popular in this pre-semester. Based on the latest theories and practices of educational psychology and learning psychology, the course focuses on learning mindset, goal setting, time management, etc., helping GTers settle their own pace of learning, manage their time, and upgrade their learning abilities to smoothly transition to the high-intensity study of science and engineering.

Every morning, before classes even begin, the front rows of the classroom are already full; when the class is over, many students still surround the professors, actively asking questions; during the free time at night, GTIIT teaching building remains lit up, with groups of new students either studying on their own or discussing with each other, striving to master the knowledge they have learned... The freshmen have shown a strong passion for learning during the preparatory semester.

It's worth noting that this year's preparatory semester has introduced a unique "Math-English Workshop", which enables freshmen students to learn related glossary and university-level math in a more interactive way. Their interest in learning was triggered by engaging in a series of quizzes and games. 

"Math-English Workshop" is co-organized by Aviram Gabriel from GTIIT Math Program and Michal Steiner from GTIIT English Program

Michal Steiner, Head of GTIIT English Program, pointed out the two obstacles that Chinese freshmen students typically met when leaning Math in English. "One is the language barrier, that they are not used to do it in English. The second one is that they cared more about the solution in their high school study, but here in GTIIT, we are more interested in the process. We care more about the path that led you to this answer," she introduced.

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs