An INTO program gave students study tips for upcoming Wednesday midterms.

Counselor and student advisor with the University College Robin Taylor was the guest speaker at the midterm prep program. Taylor discussed study tactics, note taking, time management and test anxiety.

Student engagement coordinator for the INTO office Kenny Jones said he thought the topic of test anxiety would be good for INTO students.

“Robin and I talked and she was going to talk about test anxiety, which I thought would be really good for them,” Jones said. “Because I couldn’t imagine what it’s like to take a midterm in a different language than my original language.”

Jones said the main thing he wants students to focus on through these programs is study skills.

Business administration graduate student Guang Yang said some of the tips given at the program were quite good. Yang said the tips are good for studying and they can help save time and make studying more effective.

Business major Fan Huang said she came to the program because she wanted to learn new things. Huang said midterms give her test anxiety and said she learned some new tips for studying during the program.

Jones said American education is different from other countries’ education, so he hopes by showing INTO students different study skills focused on test taking in America they will be able to take some skills that will work for them and help on their exams.

Computer science graduate student Suresh Choudhary said he wanted to learn about the typical midterm exam, how it is conducted and what kind of questions the professors will be asking.

Choudhary said in India the tests are more objective, like essay writing, but in America the tests are more direct, like multiple-choice questions. Choudhary said that is one of the differences between the tests in America and the tests in India.

Jones said the midterm program was a success and that the students were engaged and asked a lot of questions.

“I think the students really took it seriously, just from visible reactions,” Jones said.

Jones said there were about 30 people at the program, although he said it would have gone well even if there were three students in attendance.

“Numbers are good because I reach more students, but as long as the students learn something they didn’t before, then I would view that as successful,” Jones said.

Jones said he tries to do one midterm program per semester around the time of midterms and they are open to all Marshall students.

The next program Jones is planning is a stress relief program from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 25 in the INTO Center lobby where students can make stress balls out of flour, rice or play dough.

Amanda Gibson can be contacted at [email protected].