English has always been a very important subject to me. When
I was in primary school, I was transferred from EM1 in primary 5 to EM2 in
primary 6, which meant that I dropped higher Chinese. It was not a bad thing
because the English teacher for my primary 6 class was arguably the best in the
school, and if I didn’t transfer I would have missed out on having him as my
teacher. As my command of the English language was barely average, he did his
best to help me. My journey was not easy as he had to constantly correct me,
scolding me quite often because his standard was so high, but I got an ‘A’ for
my PSLE English so he did a really good job.
I got through secondary school English considerably well as I
achieved an ‘A2’ for my ‘O’ Levels. But since entering poly, there were no more
English classes and the use of the language was reduced to writing reports. Because
of that, I can feel that my control of the language has deteriorated. I believe that learning never stops so it is not too late to improve my grasp of the English language.
Updated 10/09/2015
Updated 10/09/2015
Hi Xue Yuan! Well done for the tenacity and effort to achieve grade 'A' for your PSLE and O levels. I am sure that you have put in much effort, improving your knowledge throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteDuring polytechnic, we did not learn the basics of English but, we learnt advanced social skills, report writing and presentation skills which will greatly aid us in our journey in the marketplace. Your attitude determines your altitude and I believe that you will be able to do well.
Hello Xue Yuan! It is really heartwarming to know that English is an important subject to you. You have made a remarkable progress as you manage to achieve an 'A' for your PSLE English when you mentioned that your command of English was barely average. Not to mention the 'A2' that you got for your O Level English.
ReplyDeleteI can relate well to the use of English as we moved on to Polytechnic. Sincer there were no English language classes, we are no longer writing essays and answering comprehension. Even though classes were taught in English and we maybe still conversing with classmates in English, the only time we are using English properly is when we are writing reports.
I agree with you, believing that learning never stops. I hope to continue this journey with you, and improve our English together! :)
Thank you, Xue Yuan, for this highly polished first draft of the reflection. In it you chronicle quite effectively your experience with English, explaining in good detail how one teacher demanded so much from you and then some of your achievements. You also seem to regret not having more of an opportunity in poly to continue your language study.
ReplyDeleteI still have a few questions after reading this. For one, why were you so motivated to study English in the first place. And when you state that your teacher had high standards, what are you referring to? How did he exact such standards (and the accompanying work) from his pupils?
In short, I'd like to see just a bit more detail in this post.
As for language use, this is quite a fluent reflection. One minor problem: But since entering poly, there were no more English classes and the use of the language was reduced to writing reports. >>> (wrong word choice)
But AFTER entering poly, there were no more English classes and the use of the language was reduced to writing reports.
In any case, this is a fine effort. I look forward to learning more about you through your writing this trimester.