What I noticed in online lessons is that our teachers are more accepting of being late for classes. They thought it sometimes takes a long time to join a class due to a poor signal. Hence, I felt each lesson finished too soon. One of our teachers started using Microsoft One Note to check our prep (homework). Personally, I prefer it to handing in papers. I can sort out my prep with it well, so it was more convenient to revise my prep. We are muted most of the time during a class, so students do not answer questions, that our teachers ask, as often as they do in face-to-face lessons.
On the other hand, when I wanted to answer, since I sometimes was not able to unmute myself quickly enough, another student answered before I could. In addition, I felt it was easier to answer questions from our teachers because only one student can unmute. Hence, online lessons were useful for me to improve my way of answering in classes.
Boarders whose family live in the UK or who went back to their own countries for the Christmas holiday were not allowed to come back to the boarding houses. That meant there were only a few boarders. Also, we were taking a lateral flow test on every Saturday. Thanks to these, all of the boarders in Hall House watched a TV series on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Since we did not have to go to different class rooms, we had a longer time between classes. I read some books during the breaks, which was helpful for me to motivate myself and rest my eyes. I sometimes could not continue studying because my eyes were too tired. Fortunately, online text books are available. However, it would be better to use real text books especially for online lessons because they are more eye-friendly.
Because of the second lock down, I was quite frustrated, however, I appreciated the opportunity to take online lessons. What’s more, I was so lucky that the Tazaki Foundation arranged for us to come to the UK without giving up under such a difficult situation. I am grateful that I am supported by so many people to study continuously in the UK. I am going to do my best for the coming exams next term.