Thanks to the internet my learning journey are boundless. I often find myself communicating or chatting up with people who are not Singaporean and they are somehow amazed to how I could speak the language fluently with them. It is strange to how a minority of them still thinks that Singapore is a part of China.
Anyway, I do not consider myself fluent as English is not my native language. "Read more books." That's what majority of my teachers told us to do so that we could improve our English. I hated that. Just reading a paragraph will give you an impression that I took some highly dosage of drowsy pills. Most of the time, I find myself reading the newspapers and watching American TV series. It might not be the most effective way to others but it got my attention and definitely keep me off the bed.
Well, those were the later part of my learning journey. I could not remember much of my earlier learning days. I remembered listening to lots of local nursery rhymes and reading lots of Enid Blyton books just because it has pictures(I am visually inclined).
To end off, I feel that reading articles has helped me a lot in improving my English in the past. Maybe, through the Effective Communication lessons in SIT, I could improve further. For now, I will continue doing what worked out for me. Why change a winning strategy?
Edited : 11/09/15 12pm
Hey Raddy, very relatable reflection you have there. I like how you expressed reading a paragraph with taking drowsy pills because that is exactly how i feel when i read books. I guess we somehow share the same methods of improvement for our English language. Overall, great writing skills you have there and very well structured reflection. Hope we will all improve further on our English with the help of this module.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Sandra
Hey Radhi, I appreciate you penned down that you dislike reading but still make the effort to read books rich in illustrations when you were younger. I had slight difficulties reading your reflection due to the punctuation. Cheers! :)
ReplyDeleteHello Radhi, I realised that Sandra, you and me have the common issue which is that reading does not interest us. I often try to read articles or books with topics that is of interest so I will be able to focus on it more. I like watching American TV series too, maybe reading subtitles is also some form of reading too. Overall I think your post is precise and let's just work hard in this modules and have fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Radi, for this honest reflection. I appreciate the use of concrete details to illustrate the various aspects of the journey that you've chosen to share. A few bits resonate with me as well, for example the idea that for many foreigners Singapore is part of China (I hear this in the US a lot). Actually, your various habits sound fairly effective. One that you might consider adding to your toolbox is the editing function of the brain. If you are similar to many of the students I've worked with, you probably read through what you've written fairly quickly. Slowing down that process can work wonders. Try that on these parts of your reflection:
ReplyDelete1) Thanks to the internet my learning journey are boundless. >>> (subject verb agreement problem)
2) I often find myself communicating or chatting up with people who are not Singaporean and they are somehow amazed to how I could speak the language fluently with them. >>> (word choice)
I often find myself communicating with people who are not Singaporean, and they are amazed at how I could speak the language fluently with them.
3) It is strange to how a minority of them still thinks that Singapore is a part of China. >>> (needs simple editing / subject verb agreement)
It is strange, too, how a minority of them still think that Singapore is a part of China.
4) Just reading a paragraph will give you an impression that I took some highly dosage of drowsy pills. >>> (level of formality_ avoid using "you")
Just reading a paragraph can give a person the impression that he took some high dosage of drowsy pills.
DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR INTEREST IS, OF COURSE. :)
5) . It might not be the most effective way (TO DO WHAT?) to others but it got my attention and definitely KEPT me off the bed.
6) Well, those were the later part of my learning journey. >>> (level of formality) These were the latter stages of my....
7) I could not remember much of my earlier learning days. I remembered listening to lots of local nursery rhymes and reading lots of Enid Blyton books just because it has pictures(I am visually inclined). >>> (inconsistent verb tense usage)
8) Maybe, through the Effective Communication lessons in SIT, I could improve further. >>> (verb tense)
Let's see what works best for you this term since you'll have plenty of opportunities to write.
Hello Radhi,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, thanks for visiting my blog. Appreciate it!!
Secondly, why didn't you leave a comment for my post ? :/ :(
Moving on.. ok so i've read your post and i'm happy to know as much as you hate reading books, you still put in effort into reading the newspapers as to improve your english! Hopefully this class of effective communications will help us all in improving our english language. (;
Bye! (:
Nurul
Hello Radhi,
ReplyDeleteWhy haven't you visit my blog yet?
Anyway, i hate reading booking just like you hate reading them. To be honest, i had to learn the hard way of not reading to improve your English and i am still learning that lesson now. Sometimes i really wish i could have taken the advise from my teachers seriously. As a result of that, it had affected my life greatly. Thank you for your reflection and i hope work closer with you.
Nathanael