I was born in a Mandarin speaking family where usage of English is hardly around. I learn how to speak and write English during the school periods but i could not make use of them at home. The only time when I get to use them was with my friends because they are English-spoken people, apart from that I practice them by reading books.
I recall thinking that I am actually pretty good in English but I actually failed to understand them fully. There are lots of things that I still need to improve like Grammar, Vocabulary ,usage of past tenses etc. I thought that English was so simple that I can just practice by reading essays and stories then go for exams. But my result confirms that I did not fully understand English and I failed my O's English. I was panic because English is very important for my future studies. In order to get in certain courses, passing English is a necessity.
Thankfully, I got accepted into the Polytechnic and course that I wanted but my worries did not subsides. I am afraid that I could not get into the University that I wanted but I did not give up, during the time in Polytechnic, I get to know people who has the same situation as me and get to know how they overcome their fear and that leads me to try very hard in scoring well for my English during Polytechnic and eventually I managed to pass it.
I did well for my Polytechnic and got into the University that I wanted but English learning never ends, I took a qualifying English test before admission and although I did not fully passed it, in exchange I get to attend an English class which it can help me improve my English even further. I am hoping to learn as much as possible.
Hey Junsheng! That definitely sounded like a rough journey but it's really good to see that you've persevered through this :) let's hope to improve ourselves in ES and as well as the other semesters!
ReplyDeleteP.S. If you don't mind, I can lend you my copy of the History of Love!
Hi Jun Sheng,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with us your fears and thoughts throughout this whole journey. I'm glad that you're looking at ES1102 very positively :)
From your writing, the one thing that stands out is inconsistent use of tenses. Remember, when writing about the past, use the past tense.
1. " I LEARN how to speak and write English during the school periods..."
You're writing about a past event, so use the past tense: learnED
2. "The only time when I GET to use them WAS with my friends because they ARE English-spoken people, apart from that I PRACTICE them by reading books."
Same thing here. You got the "was" correct, change get to GOT and are to were.
The right expression is "English-speakING people".
"I practiced THEM by reading books." You've used THEM to refer to ENGLISH. Should use "IT" instead, or write ENGLISH: "I practiced my English by reading books."
3. "I AM afraid that I COULD not get into the University that I WANTED but I DID not give up..."
Again, use WAS instead of AM. The other verbs are correctly written in the past tense.
So, if you have time, take another look at your descriptive reflection and see if you can rewrite the tenses so that they are consistent.
More on tenses at www.englishpage.com
Anita
Hey Jun Sheng, nice to know that your english journey was quite similar to mine, though mine took on an opposite attitude. But your journey has inspired me to work hard and improve myself! :)
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