| Hi Jeannie. How's it going? |
| Oh. Hello Dan. |
| Pretty well, thanks. |
| Have you managed to get the money for the course yet? |
| Yes, that's all sorted out now, thanks. |
| It took long enough, though. |
| It was practically a year ago that I applied to my local council for a grant, |
| and it took them six months to turn me down. |
| That's really slow. |
| And I thought I was eligible for government funding, |
| but it seems I was mistaken. |
| So then I asked the boss of the company I used to work for if they would sponsor me, |
| and much to my surprise, he said they'd make a contribution. |
| But what about college grants and scholarships? |
| There must be some you could apply for. |
| Yes, there are, |
| but they're all so small that I decided to leave them until I was desperate. |
| And in fact, I didn't need to apply. |
| My parents had been saying that as I already had a job, I ought to support myself through college. |
| But in the end, they took pity on me, so now I've just about got enough. |
| That's good. |
| So now I can put a bit of effort into meeting people. |
| Haven't had time so far. |
| Any suggestions? |
| What about joining some college clubs? |
| Oh right. You joined several, didn't you? |
| Yes, I'm in the drama club. |
| It's our first performance next week, |
| so we're rehearsing frantically, and I've got behind with my work, |
| but it's worth it. |
| I'm hoping to be in the spring production, too. |
| I've never liked acting. |
| Are you doing anything else? |
| I enjoyed singing when I was at school, |
| so I joined a group when I came to college. |
| I don't think the conductor stretches us enough, though |
| so I'll give up after the next concert. |
| And I also joined the debating society. |
| It's fun, but with all the rehearsing I'm doing, something has to go, |
| and I'm afraid that's the one. |
| Do you do any sports? |
| Yes, I'm in one of the hockey teams. |
| I'm not very good, but I'd really miss it if I stopped. |
| I decided to try tennis when I came to college, |
| and I'm finding it pretty tough going. |
| I'm simply not fit enough. |
| Nor me. |
| I think I'll give that a miss! |
| I'm hoping it'll help me to build up my stamina, |
| but it'll probably be a long haul. |
| Good luck. |
| Thanks. |
| How are you finding the course? |
| I wish we had more seminars. |
| What? |
| I'd have thought we had more than enough already. |
| All those people saying clever things that I could never think of - |
| it's quite interesting, but I wonder if I'm clever enough to be doing this course. |
| I find it helpful to listen to the other people. |
| I like the way we're exploring the subject, |
| and working towards getting insight into it. |
| How do you get on with your tutor? |
| I don't think I'm on the same wavelength as mine, |
| so I feel I'm not getting anything out of the tutorials. |
| It would be more productive to read a book instead. |
| Oh, mine's very demanding. |
| She gives me lots of feedback and advice, |
| so I've got much better at writing essays. |
| And she's helping me plan my revision for the end-of-year exams. |
| Do you tell me, I always struggle with revision. |
| Well, the first thing is to find out exactly what's required in the exams. |
| Would it help to get hold of some past papers? |
| Yes. |
| They'll help to make it clear. |
| Right, I'll do that. |
| Then what? |
| Then you can sort out your revision priorities, |
| based on what's most likely to come up. |
| I put these on a card, and read them through regularly. |
| But that isn't enough in itself. |
| You also need a timetable, to see how you can fit everything in, in the time available. |
| Then keep it in front of you while you're studying. |
| I've done that before, but it hasn't helped me! |
| Maybe you need to do something different every day, |
| so if you break down your revision into small tasks, and allocate them to specific days, |
| there's more incentive to tackle them. |
| With big topics you're more likely to put off starting. |
| Good idea. |
| And as I revise each topic |
| I write a single paragraph about it - |
| then later I can read it through quickly, and it helps fix things in my mind. |
| That's brilliant. |
| I also write answers to questions for the exam practice. |
| It's hard to make myself do it, though! |
| Well, I'll try. |
| Thanks a lot, Jeannie. That's a great help. |
| No problem. |
| See you around. |
| Bye. |