Christmas In Denmark

Everything has finally came to an end and it is holiday time. It was Christmas on 24th of December in Denmark. I don't know why but in Denmark Christmas is celebrated a day earlier  than many other countries. In our last week at school we had a Christmas dinner with friends from English class. It was really enjoyable in fact because it is not celebrated in Turkey and we are not familiar with all those things taking place during Christmas. Besides eating traditions for Christmas, we have learned a lot about other Christmas traditions such as giftgiving.

It has been a month since they started playing Christmas songs on the streets in the town. I am not sure that it is a Christmas tradition but it is really nice especially when you have a lot of snow. So, we had a "white Christmas" in Denmark which seems to be quite important for many people. Also, the trees in the town has been decorated with lights and almost every shop has a Christmas tree decorated with lights. However, Christmas was also a little bit challenging for us. Everyone left for the family visit for Christmas Eve and we were alone during the holiday. We also didn't know that shops would be closed on Christmas Eve and the day after. Therfore, we were quite lucky to learn it in the morning just before going for a trip to Malmö, Sweden although it was a little disappointing. It was still fun to stay in Vordingborg with our fellow Turkish friends. Now that it is almost New Years Eve, we are planning to go to Copenhagen and have fun on New Years Eve with friends. And this time we are sure that everywhere will be open :)

What about Christmas or Christmas Day? As far as I  learned from Danish friends Christmas or Christmas Day is the holiday to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The day is known to be the actual birthday of Jesus and in most of the countries it is celebrated on the 25th of December. It is one day earlier in Denmark. Decorating Christmas Trees, sending and receiving Christmas cards, family gathering on Christmas Eve, gift giving and believing in legendary gift bringing figures - Santa Claus and/or Father Christmas-  can summarize the Christmas in short. I am glad that I had the chance to observe all of these myself in a Christmas celebrating country. Merry Christmas to everyone...  :)

First Semester Ends...

After a long time, I am back to write. Exams are over and we handed in our papers; in short, we are done with the first semester in Denmark. Some of our friends have already left but  me and some of other friends will stay in Denmark for the next semester as well.

This semester has been  long, tiring, and full of fun of course. In English class, we have been dealing with several  dimensions of language and language teaching; from culture to grammar. For the last two month we have been dealing with phonetics and I really learned a lot during these lessons. For instance, in the past I used to consider pronunciation only something that I should be aware of. However, now, I also realized the importance of teaching pronunciation and other speaking skills in my class. Moreover, in educational studies class, we have been studying classroom management, different educational theories, problems in youth. Meanwhile, we have been dealing with different tasks, including group discussions, verbal and written presentations. 

At the end of the semester, we handed in an exam paper for educational studies and we had an oral exam. It was a different experience to take an exam I haven't been used to. We also handed in a phonetic portfolio and an exam paper for English class. We have been working hard on our papers and teaching plans.  In short, it was a challenging and productive semester for me. Now, we really deserve having a rest and enjoying our free time in Denmark.

Week 48 - Exams In Denmark

These days, it has been very tough on me because of some reasons. First, I have recently started writing my exam papers for educational studies. We are going to have an exam on the 10th of December. Second, I have to hand in a phonetic portfolio for English class on the 17th of December. Also,I am going to write and hand in an article about teaching pronunciation with my portfolio. Last, but not least, the weather is getting worse everyday in Denmark.

Yesterday I have read an article about the weather conditions in Denmark. It states that this year, it has been the coldest November in Denmark in the last century. So, in order not to get sick we are staying indoors most of the time. In fact, it is a good chance to focus on our exam papers as well. I sometimes really enjoy watching the snow outside through my window while studying for my exam papers.

When it comes to exams, I have never read this much literature in such a short time - for the last ten or fifteen days. While looking for relevant  literature for my exam paper, I have been reading a lot and it is hard to find something you need at the very beginning. It is hard, yes but still it is sometimes very enjoyable when you read and try to find out something interesting.

Sometimes, when you are nervous about the exam, it is hard to focus on your work. However, I feel that I am not as nervous as I used to be in those times of exams in Turkey. Because, we generally have a whole week or two for the exams and take more than five exams for different courses. It is a quite stressful period in deed. I am still nervous about my exam in Denmark as well, but it is not because of the structure of the exam but just because I want to do my best.

In an ordinary exam in Turkey, you wouldn't feel like you can succeed even if you study very hard. You have to memorize a lot and you generally don't have an idea of the possible questions in the exam. They might be multiple choice questions or theory related  classic questions. Also, exams mean a lot in Turkey. In every step of your education you have to take an exam to be qualified so it is really stressful. On the other hand, now, I just write on a topic I found interesting and I don't have to memorize a lot of unnecessary things. I read more literature, try ro make use of it in the future and that's it! There is nothing to do with memorizing what theory exactly says, it is more important to try to understand what it says and how can I apply this to teaching. To illustrate, if we evaluate the exams in Bloom's taxonomy,  the exams in Turkey would be in knowledge or comprehension level. On the other hand, I can say that the exam I will take here is not limited with these two levels. I can see that I change my route through Knowledge Level and Synthesis Level, and even evaluation, which makes more sense.

Al in all, it will be a different experience for em to take an exam in Denmark. After the exam I may right about my observations and thoughts about the exam but now; I have to turn back to my work and go on writing...

P.S. We, as exchange students, are not taking a usual exam in Denmark. Other Danish students are taking a different kind of exam and later on I will write about that!