Reflection on ES1102 journey

When I was informed that I had to take this compulsory module, instead of feeling dreadful, I was rather glad that I am given another opportunity to learn and improve English under the guidance of a professor. Indeed, after the whole course, I reflected and realised that I have really learnt and benefitted a lot from this module.

From young, I have low confidence towards my ability to write and converse in English language. Being afraid of making a ridicule of myself in front of others, I hardly talk to people who speaks English and will never post on any social media websites. This module enabled me to step out of my comfort zone by posting comments on the Facebook page as well as creating a blog to post my own article. Initially, I found it uncomfortable and was very conscious of my English Language. However, as time past, I realised that I could post and comment things more comfortably and I felt more confident about my English language. I feel that having confidence is the first step to improvement. This is because with confidence, it will then encourage me to write more and improve from my mistakes.

I feel that the whole idea of posting my essay on the blog as well as commenting on my peers’ essay is really beneficial to me. Not only did I have the opportunity to receive feedback from my teacher and peers, I also can read and comment on my peers’ essay and learn from it. Through identifying their mistakes, I became more critical towards the language of my own essay.

After writing the drafts and receiving feedback from my teacher and peers, I feel more at ease to construct sentences. In the past, constructing a smooth sentence is the most difficult part in my writing. I could not phrase my ideas in proper sentences and connect my ideas, making my essay seemed disjointed and unpersuasive. As I edit my essay drafts after drafts, I realised that I can write in a way such that my ideas flow more smoothly as compared to the past. This can be attributed to the class discussing on my peer’s essay where I learnt the various ways to construct sentences. By learning the errors and correcting them, it can make a difference in my own writing.

Although I have improved a lot in terms of constructing sentences, I feel that this is not enough and more improvements are required. I realised that the sentences I constructed lacks complexity and the vocabulary that I have knowledge on are very limited. Without the guidance of Brad as well as the comments from my friends, what I can do after this module is to read up more articles especially the newspaper to learn the language and vocabulary they used. I believe that the most effective way to learn English language or any type of languages is through practicing, reading is not sufficient as we need to apply what we have learnt in order to ensure that I my learning is fruitful. What I will do is that I will continue use a blog as a platform for me to post my articles and essay.

I am very grateful to have Brad as my mentor and the feedback he gave me really helps me to improve a lot not only in terms of language but also ideas. In conclusion, I feel that learning to step out of my comfort zone is one of the fastest way to learn and to learn English well, I know that I need to speak up and practice writing more in the future.