When i was little, my parents were afraid that i was mute because I never spoke till the age of 4. I was very bad with pronunciation and attended many speech therapy sessions.
During my primary school days, I learned most of my communication skills from my mother. When I went to school, people around me would start to giggle and laugh at me whenever I said the word "alarm". I didn't know why until I was in primary 5. A friend told me that i was pronouncing it wrongly. At first, I didn't believe him and stood my ground, insisting what my mother said was correct. Over time, I knew it was wrong and became embarrassed over the whole situation. I started to put in more effort to pronounce words correctly from then on.
In secondary school, I spoke often in English and got better at the language. My teacher had high expectation of me and pushed me for a better English grade. But I did not do as well as she expected me to be and felt guilty that I had disappointed her. With that at the back of my head, I told myself that I would do well in JC.
In JC, General Paper (GP) was on a totally different level. We had to paraphrase sentences instead of just copying it. To make things worse, my GP teacher wasn't dedicated in teaching this subject at all. My passion for learning the language plunged. However, since GP was a compulsory subject for the 'A' level, I studied on my own and managed to scrape through.
When I entered NUS, I thought to myself: HOORAY no more GP anymore! And that's when i saw the QET. I knew I can never escape from my nightmare of learning this subject. I went for the QET hoping to pass it. But guess what? Here I am in class ES1102 learning English again.
(322 words)
PS: I am looking forward to face my nightmare once and for all.
Edited ( 8/28/2014)
Hi Javier,
ReplyDeletea very interesting and comical read where you captivated me in trying to find out the next event as your article goes on.
The first person narrative gives a fresh perspective to your every day life leading to present time.
Thanks for the enjoyable read.
Thanks, Javier, for your honest reflection. This short essay has very clear, concise organization. The content is, as expected, appropriate. What seems to be missing is not a level of fluency but a modicum of attentiveness to editorial details. Please see below:
ReplyDelete1) I am very bad with pronunciation and attended many speech therapy sessions.
My teacher have high expectation of me and pushed me for a better english grade. (tense inconsistency)
2) In Secondary school (caps?)
3)... that I've disappointed her. (tense)
4) I told myself that I will do well in JC. (tense)
5)
In JC, General Paper (GP) was on a totally different level. (explain! how? why?)
6) To make things worst, ... (wrong form)
7)
When I enter NUS, I was thinking... (tense)
8) And that's when i saw QET I knew I can never escape from my nightmare of learning this subject. (comma splice/run on)
You have great potential, but you need to **think more carefully** as you reflect on what you write: Your errors here are all easily edited out of the paper, with a bit more noticing.
Hi Javier,it is a very interesting journey, though there were some tough times. The flow of language is quite fluent and the content is quite easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your story.