The new semester is just around the corner. Apart from moving back to campus and selecting courses, most Korean college students are probably busy meeting up with their friends to talk about how they've spent their summer vacation. Over drinks, of course.
Parties and alcohol are prevalent in almost all college campuses throughout the world, but the drinking culture may vary from country to country. For example, most of the drinking in American schools take place on campus; there are numerous frat parties, dorm parties and school-sponsored events that serve alcohol throughout the semester.
But drinking, especially binge drinking, can lead to problems such as drunk driving and even alcohol poisoning. You can listen to the Voice of America podcast about how one school, University of Oklahoma, has decided to enforce strict policies regarding student drinking to deal with these alcohol-related problems. The script is also below.
Click here for script: "Rules about Alcohol"
The Voice of America website is a great resource for students of English. Originally a famous radio program, they provide podcasts for every news story they cover, and the articles are read by a real person (unlike some newspapers that employ machine-generated voices). In addition to current news, they have a section called Special English for learners of English. What's "special" about Special English?
It has a core vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions... Special English writers use short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. They use active voice. They do not use idioms... Special English broadcasters read at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are fluent English speakers understand complex subjects.
If you think studying English without idioms is no fun, this can be remedies by going to the American Idioms page (in Korean).
Also worth mentioning is the Foreign Student Series (43 stories in all) that will be of particular interest to those thinking about studying abroad, or for those just curious about American college culture. As well as the story above about drinking, other topics in this series include the following:
- Choosing a Student Exchange Program to Come to the US
- Helping Foreign Students in the US Feel at Home
- A College Handbook Just for International Students
- Your Questions About Admissions Tests
- English Tests: Comparing the TOEFL and the TOEIC
By using VOA podcasts, you can learn about U.S. higher education and improve your English at the same time. It might even help you decide whether or not to study abroad.