Student Name : Janice Lee Juen Yung

Student ID : 0318695

Module : English 1 [ENGL0105]

Session : February, 2014

Foundation in Natural and Built Environment, February 2014.

Causes of in some countries, young people having little leisure time and are under a lot

of pressure to work hard in their studies

Education plays a significant role in every individual human’s life. No one can deny that

the key to success lies under hard work (Real Fog, 2011). Thus, young people concentrate on

their school performance because they believe that good academic performance is the only

solution to succeed in the future. Hence, young people spend 15 hours a day studying. They

have very little leisure time and are under a lot of pressure to work hard in their studies.

However, there are some parties that are also influencing these young people to work even

harder in their studies. Psychologists stated there are three main causes for this problem,

parents, country, and competition among students.

One of the main causes is parents. In this generation, parents are not aware about the

important drawbacks of studying hard on their children. According to IELTS EWB, “Some of the

parents have decided what their child will become in future for example, engineer, doctor and

more. In many countries, where economic condition is not very good, people want their children

to do what they were unable to do in their life. So, they start pressuring their child to study hard

to achieve the same.”(Srivastava, 2011). Parents force their children to study extra hours after

school by arranging extra classes at private schools for their children. It is very common for

young people to spend a few more hours at small private schools after their usual day when

school is over. Parents believe that if they obligate their children to study hard, they will lead

their children to be a successful person with a bright future. However, parents do not realize

this can cause depression in some young people’s lives due to the pressure given by parents.

The second cause is the country. Due to the mass production of graduates, the country

has insufficient employment to meet the massive production of graduates. Young people

nowadays may not be able to get a job even though they hold a degree. For this reason, young

people work hard to attain a seat in good universities. This is due to large number of applicants

to universities than there are universities in some countries. As a result, students who achieve

very high grades only manage to get a place in universities. Therefore, young people must

work long hours; some even have no choice but to sleepover in school to work hard in their

studies to attain a place in a university. A report shows that over half of students (53%) agree

that since being in university, they feel more stress than before. Their stress levels have

increased tremendously since the start of their university life (Student Living Report, 2002).

Besides, in some countries, the government has increased the time of study program in order

to improve the educational level of young generation (Chunguyen97, 2014). Some countries

also put much pressure on the young people to study and work hard in order to improve their

skills and knowledge on technology to improve the economic system of the country

(Borumalau, 2012). This will affect the students’ health issues, illness and more.

Furthermore, competition among students is one of the main factor young people

undergo. They have to face a lot of pressure to work hard in their studies and have very little

leisure time. Most students concentrate on their academic performance only to make sure they

get good results in the end. Then, they compare it with friends around them. There are students

who will look down on the other students who are weaker in their academic performances.

These weak students will be bullied, teased, and become the laughing stock of the school.

Some of the smarter students even keep a distance away from the weaker students. One of the

reasons this happens is because the smarter students think the weaker students are an

embarrassment. As a result, students work very hard in their studies to avoid such troubles in

school.

To sum up, facts which indicate little leisure time and under pressure to work hard may

concern with parental pressure, education system of country and competition between

students. Young people should make a personal timetable for themselves. By doing this, they

will be able to balance out their leisure time and study time. The ministry of education should

build more in universities in the country. Thus, student will not be pressured to achieve high

grades to achieve a place in university. Students need to realize competing is not learning.

Plus, a competitive environment is not educational. This is because competition will lead to

conflict, and conflict leads to disunity. The smarter students should assist the weaker students.

Young people should learn how to handle stress and pressure in such situations so that they

do not get depressed easily.

(796 words)

References

1. Borumalau. (2012). ‘In some contries young people have little leisure time and under a lot

of pressure to work hard on their studies’ Website Retrieved 22nd March 2014 from

http://borumalau.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/in-some-contries-young-people-have-little-

leasure-time-and-under-a-lot-of-pressure-to-work-hard-on-their-studies/

2. Chunguyen97. (2014). IELTS Task 2: Young people now have a lot of pressure . Website

Retrieved 22nd March 2014 from http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/task-

young-people-now-have-lot-pressure-56165/

3. Real Fog. (2011). In some countries the youth have little leisure time and are under a lot of

pressure Website Retrieved 22nd March 2014 from http://www.essayforum.com/writing-

feedback-3/some-countries-youth-have-little-leisure-time-under-lot-28230/

4. The UNITE Group. (2002) Student Living Report Website Retrieved 22nd March 2014 from

http://www.unite-group.co.uk/binaries/525/934/the-student-living-report-2002.pdf

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