Having
learnt English for more than 19 years, I had always thought that it is a
subject that only people who have a natural flare in it will do well. I came to
this conclusion after I saw some of my classmates who did well for English
right from the start and continue doing well in the following semesters. However, I was wrong. There are others who are
not doing well due to the lack of practice. Therefore, just like any other
subjects, practice is the key to master them.
Since
I come from a Chinese-speaking family, I rarely converse in English with the
people around me except in school. My results for English were not particularly
bad nor were it good, therefore, it was never a concern to me until I reached
secondary school. I realised that my foundation for English was not good. It
was reflected by the lack of variety in vocabulary and the numerous grammatical
mistakes committed in the essays I wrote.
Subsequently, I tried to do plenty of vocabulary and grammar exercises
and indeed, it helped to improve my writing skills. However, I still have
difficulties framing my sentences well, which makes it a problem for readers to
understand what kind of ideas I am trying to illustrate.
In
the module ES1102, we are expected to write a few essays and to give feedback
to the essays that our peers have written. I find that the feedback I have gotten from my
peers helped me tremendously in the problems I faced. Their comments usually
point out some of the grammatical errors I have made and also identify the
sentences I wrote that are not well explained. Most importantly, what I love
about this module is that, it gives me opportunities to improve my writing that
my other modules do not have. Practice is important in improving writing skills
because I am actually applying what I have learnt from the module to my essay.
During this module, we also learnt research skills that were not taught back in
junior colleges that are crucial for university education. Thus, I am glad that
I have taken this module, not just because it is compulsory but also because I
have truly benefited from what I have learnt here.
After
this module, I would continue my writing journey by posting more responses to
articles or subjects that I am interested in on my own personal blog. Quoting
from Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live
forever.” This journey does not simply end just because the module concluded.
Learning should always be an essential part of us even until we grow old.
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