Office hours
What it really means
Set times each week when a lecturer is available in their office (or online) for any student to drop in with questions. You do not usually need an appointment — going is normal, not rude.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Office hours are time your lecturer has already set aside for students — going is using the system as designed, not bothering an important person, and staff privately note that too few students come. In cultures where approaching professors is unusual, this one adjustment pays off more than almost any other study habit.
Make the visit work: bring a specific question, your attempt so far, or a draft paragraph rather than 'I don't understand the module'. If the posted slot clashes with your timetable, email and ask for an alternative; that is normal. And use office hours in week three, not just the week before the deadline, when the queue suddenly exists and everyone gets five minutes.
Example conversation
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.