English Rewind - 6 Minute English: Is student life all good?

Hello! The programme you're about to listen to

was first broadcast in December 2015 on the BBC Learning English website.

For more English language learning programmes and podcasts,

search for BBC Learning English.

6 Minute English

from BBC Learning English dot com.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice.

And I'm Neil. Hello.

Hello, Neil. You went to university, didn't you?

Ah, yes. University — the best days of my life.

I made fantastic friends, went to great parties.

Did some work?

Well, yeah, I did some work, but probably not enough.

Well, the subject of today's show is student mental health.

So, Neil, do you think you're looking back at your university days

'through rose-tinted spectacles'?

And that means looking at a situation as being better than it really was.

I did feel out of my comfort zone when I arrived.

Yes, everyone seemed to know everyone, knew where to go.

Yes, well, being 'out of your comfort zone'

means being in a situation that you aren't familiar with

and which makes you feel nervous.

Did you talk to anyone about your feelings, Neil?

Did you get any counselling?

And that means professional help with personal or psychological problems.

What? No, not me.

I'm one of those men who isn't good at talking about their feelings, Alice.

I just felt a bit homesick, that's all — I missed my friends and family.

Oh, dear.

But let's move on, shall we! Why don't you ask me today's quiz question?

All right then. So here it is.

In a survey of students at Imperial College London,

how many students said they suffered from high levels of stress

or a mental health condition during their time at college?

Was it a) one out of four? b) two out of four?

Or c) three out of four?

Well, I'm going to go for c) three out of four,

because I do think that university life can be more stressful than people realise.

Yes. And 'stress' means 'pressure or worry caused by a difficult situation'.

OK, we'll find out if you're right or wrong later on.

Now, in the UK, there has been a rise in students using counselling services.

Why's that, Alice?

Well, let's listen to Kirsty, a student at Exeter University,

talking about why she has had problems.

And here's a question for you while you listen —

did she enjoy her first days in college?

No. The thing is, it's a real balancing act.

When I first got to university,

I don't think I'd really realised that I'd forgotten how to make friends.

You know, I'd been with the same school friends for seven years,

and so I was trying to balance, you know, social success with academic success,

whilst learning how to look after myself at quite a young age.

And I think that's the experience of a lot of young people

and people really struggle with it.

What's a 'balancing act', Alice?

It's where you try to give your attention to two or more things at the same time.

So, here, Kirsty is trying to balance making new friends

with doing her academic work and learning to look after herself.

What does Kirsty mean when she says she's learning to look after herself?

Well, to 'look after someone' means 'to protect or take care of someone'

and, in this case, Kirsty's learning to take care of herself —

for example doing her own shopping and cooking.

OK, let's listen to Dr Ruth Caleb

of the counselling service at Brunel University in London

talking about what practical stuff students could learn

before leaving for university that might make life easier for them.

Certain things that I think it would be very, very helpful

for students to have put in place

are an ability to do the practical things of life — to do the washing,

to do the cleaning and so on, being able to cook.

Budgeting is extremely important in university life

and also spending time on your own comfortably.

Oh, yes, that's excellent advice.

I couldn't boil an egg when I arrived at uni.

Oh, really? Can you do it now, Neil?

— Mm, just about, just about. — Yeah? Oh, great, OK.

And what about 'budgeting'?

This means 'planning how much money you have and how you will spend it'.

I'm still pretty bad at that.

However, I am very good at spending time on my own comfortably.

Yes, I can believe that — feet up, watching TV with a takeaway.

Takeaway, of course a takeaway, cos I can't cook anything!

— No. — Not even an egg.

You know me so well. So how about the answer to today's quiz question, Alice?

All right then. I asked in a survey of students at Imperial College London,

how many said they suffered from high levels of stress

or a mental health condition during their time at college?

Was it a) one out of four?

b) two out of four?

Or c) three out of four?

And I said c) three out of four.

Yes. And you are correct. Well done, Neil!

The survey, completed by over a thousand students,

also found that almost 70% of those that suffer from stress

do so at least once a week, and 9% of students feel stressed constantly.

'Stressed' means anxious and worried.

Well, I feel anxious just thinking about all that stress.

— Mm. — Can we hear today's words again?

We certainly can. They are through rose-tinted spectacles,

out of your comfort zone, counselling,

homesick, stress,

balancing act, look after yourself,

budgeting, stressed.

Well, that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute English.

We hope you've had a stress-free time.

Please do join us again soon. You know where to find us, don't you?

Go to BBC Learning English dot com, where you'll find grammar points,

vocabulary and more editions of 6 Minute English.

— Goodbye. — Bye.

6 Minute English.

From the BBC.