Imagine, it's your first day of school, and the professor begins class with the following announcement:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've all had very impressive academic careers up to this point. Now, I want you to forget everything you've learned, including your tried and true study habits. I prefer students with a clean slate."

This is exactly what happened to 19-year-old Abhijit Chatterjee* from Calcutta nine months ago, in his first week at an Australian university. 

"I had no idea what to expect. Everything is so different here, in terms of teaching and learning techniques. Now that I've finished one year, I feel like I understand. But believe me, it's been really difficult!"

Increasingly, it's not only what you know, but how you express it that counts. Universities in the US, UK and Australia require the ability to read, write and speak clearly and critically.

Today, we'll look at what exactly is expected of you in foreign universities. Tomorrow, we'll share tips on how you can boost your vocabulary, improve your reading comprehension and refine your writing skills.

• Course selection in US universities

Speech

You will be required to make presentations frequently in foreign universities, often in front of a large group of students.

In fact, many universities now have a 'speaking requirement', which must be satisfied through a public speaking course or a class on interpersonal communication.

Most people, including adults, have a phobia of addressing crowds. For Indians in foreign countries, this problem is compounded by the added barrier of a noticeable accent.

Moreover, most top universities offer small classes, meaning only a handful of students learn in each classroom. In this environment, participating verbally in class is often mandatory, and comprises about 25 percent of your final grade for the course.

Also, it is expected that you meet your professor outside of class. You'll often find it necessary to meet one-on-one, in order to review an assignment or to clarify a point of learning. These meetings give you the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject material, but can be wasted if you stumble over words and appear nervous.

The best way to confront this issue is to tackle it head on -- don't sulk in the back of the classroom with your hand glued to the desk. Instead, welcome the opportunity to participate in class, and to engage in conversation with fellow students and your professors.

Speak in a confident voice, use a vibrant vocabulary and express coherent points. If you do this, fellow students and your professors will be very impressed.

Rishad Dhume* (23), from Pune, has this to say of his experience studying at Amherst College in the United States:

"The entire culture at Amherst was built on participation. One night our class, which consisted of only eight people, ate dinner at my professor's house on campus. As a surprise, he pulled out our most recent essays and had each of us defend our points, while the rest of the class asked questions and provided advice. Learning in India was never so interactive. Luckily, this was when I was in my senior year. If I was still a freshman, I would have curled into a ball and refused to talk!"

Reading

By the time you reach university, you'll have read innumerable pages and countless passages.

But, whether or not you know it, most of us practice 'passive' reading techniques. This means that you absorb the material without questioning and analysing it, relying on the text as a bible of sorts. This problem is only reinforced by memorising text-books and regurgitating facts come exam-time.

In foreign universities, however, the emphasis has shifted to critical and analytical reading. In this type of reading, you're expected to 'read between the lines'. That is, you account for the author's point of view and opinion, compare it to other accounts of the same material, and extract what's valuable.

The reading will be diverse: scholarly articles, internet research, reference books, new releases in your field and the work of classmates. Also, you'll be expected to interpret statistics, graphs and tables, relating them to the text.

Anjali Khanna*, 25 from Punjab, was a British literature major at the University of Cambridge in the UK. This is what she had to say about reading requirements:

"It was crazy! I planned on reading Shakespeare and talking about it over coffee. We did that, but only a fraction of the time. Otherwise, I was digging through archives in the library, trying to find a fresh interpretation of 'Othello'. I read about six different doctoral theses and had to understand the different theories driving them. It was tough work!"

• Study Abroad: Start off on the right foot

Writing

The writing expected of you at university will be extensive and diverse.

You'll write research papers that require months of preparation and reworking. Also, you'll write brief, argumentative responses evaluating assigned readings.

Furthermore, you'll be expected to critique the work of your classmates, recapitulating and improving their arguments.

Finally, there are lengthy essay exams, requiring you to organise and express your knowledge without relying on spell-check or references.

Aditya Mehta, a 24-year-old political science student from Mumbai, says, "When I was studying at Oberlin University in the US, one of my courses only had three assignments, all research papers. To give you an example of what this is like, not only did we have to read Plato's 'Apology', we also had to argue its authenticity and relevance in terms of Greek history. It was the hardest assignment of my life. I spent at least a month on it, and only managed a 'B' grade."

Recap

Indian students are some of the most talented and driven in the world. If you need evidence, just look at standardised exam scores and the student populations at the world's top universities.

Turning this talent into good marks and great careers, however, requires an understanding of the education system in foreign countries.

In Part II of this feature, we'll look at how you can get a head start on your international education with academic exercises for the summer.

Part II -- Study Abroad: Exercise your brain!

MORE ON STUDY ABROAD:

• Going to the US to study?
• Want to study abroad? 

~ Are you a student who is studying/ has studied abroad? What advice would you have for other students who may soon be pursuing studies in a foreign country? What are your experience as an international student? What were the things you wished you knew before you left home? Write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in and we will feature your experiences right here.