Tuesday, 20 January 2015

My English Language Learning Journey

I came from a chinese speaking family, so I am very used to speaking chinese since young. I only started to communicate in english when I started primary school. However, for most of the times I still used chinese to converse with my friends. Due to this, I did not pay much attention in improving my english in terms of writing and speaking.  It was probably during my secondary school days that I decided to work hard in improving my english as I used to get borderline passes for all of my english tests. My hard work was finally paid off when I managed to pull up my english grade from a C to B.

After I started my studies in polytechnic, I feel that there was lesser emphasize on using good english as the students were only required to give short answers for exams. Furthermore, due to the modules I took during the course of study; I was not exposed to any essay writing. I feel that I wasn’t able to build a strong foundation before I entered university. Hence, it became harder for me when I had to write essays and academic paper in university. For instance, I always have difficulties in expressing my thoughts because of my poor vocabulary and I tend to make grammar mistakes in my paper. This had led to my fear in taking modules which would require me to write essays as I was afraid that I would not do well in it.

I hope that by the end of this module, I can improve on my writing skills and also gain confidence in essay writing.  

4 comments:

  1. Hi Valerie,

    Taqiuddin here. I guess we share the same environment. As for me, I came from a Malay-speaking family and I converse in malay with most of my friends. It is only in NUS that I begin conversing in english more than in Malay language.

    With regards to content, your post is easy to follow as it is structured according to a timeflow. Nonetheless, there are some grammar mistakes, such as in "...I feel that there was lesser emphasize...". It should be "...I feel that there was lesser emphasis..."

    There are some expression errors in this post. Nonetheless, lets work hard towards a better proficiency in english!

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  2. Hi Valerie, your post is very easy to follow and I understand your fear of taking modules requiring academic writing. Like you, I came from polytechnic and I agree that there's a lesser emphasis on using good English. Academic writing then became a struggle as I wasn't used to it. But what kept me going, and what I hope will push you on, is that university isn't just about grades. Most importantly its about learning so don't be afraid to take mods for fear of not doing well. You're not alone in your struggle so keep your head up and keep striving! :)

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  3. Hi Valerie! Similarly, I find myself avoiding modules that require me to write essays because I too fear the possibility of failing in the classes. Overall, I find that your post flows well throughout and it was an easy read. However, I noted a few inconsistencies in your tenses (past/present) and there were some awkward expressions here and there. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading your post and I empathize your decision to improve your writing!

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  4. Thanks, Valerie, for the detailed reflection. It's mostly clear and very concise. Your language is good, except for a few recurring minor errors. You should be able to correct them by now since we discussed these types in class.

    I look forward to reading more of your writing this term.

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