09 October 2008

Driving Licence Course in Break Week

By Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Moira Blake

The small number of students gave the course an "at-home" atmosphere

Using a toy car (and the road boards) to learn the give-way rule and how to change lanes

Left to right: Gavin Mardon (EOC staff member), Yuki Sugiyama, Melissa Tyndall and Masayuki Kato

On 29th and 30th September, during break week, a driving licence course was held as one of the Education outside the Classroom (EOC) opportunities. Three students responded to the challenge.

This course covered the Basic Driving Licence course materials that prepare the students for taking the driving license written test. An EOC staff member, Gavin Mardon, guided the students as they learnt the New Zealand traffic rules. Aside from memorizing the rules, they also learnt the traffic related English words and reviewed the questions that are usually asked in the test. Overall, it took a total of 8 hours to finish the course.

Here are the comments of the students:

Yuki Sugiyama (a 2008 student from Japan)
I have never driven a car, even in Japan. So I absolutely didn't know about any traffic rules people have to know when driving. Gavin showed me how to change lanes and the give way rules. Using a toy car and the road boards made it very easy to understand.

Masayuki Kato (a 2008 student from Japan)
It was easier and more fun than studying on your own. When I didn't understand about something, I could ask straight away, which made it a good study time. I will try my best for the test.

Melissa Tyndall (a 2008 student from Malaysia)
Because I already have a Malaysian driving licence, I thought there was no need to take the course. But when I gave it a try, I think it was worth it. I found out that there are differences between the rules in Malaysia and in New Zealand. Furthermore, it was so relaxed that even though I learnt a lot, I didn't feel as if I was in a classroom. After doing this, I feel confident and am looking forward to taking the test.

<Back  |  ^Top