Truthfully,
one of the biggest regret I have is that I did not put in effort to improve my
command of English language when I was young. I come from a traditional Chinese
family and Mandarin was the language spoken most often at home. This had a
negative impact on my English language skills since young and I could often be
seen struggling as compared to my peers.
This struggle surfaced as early as when I was 7 years old. During my first week in primary school, I had trouble conversing with my classmates in English and would often have to use a mix of both Mandarin and English in conversations. To make matters worse, curriculum in schools were taught in English and I had a hard time understanding classes. English was my worst subject and I would more than often get bad grades for its major exams.
As I got older, I realise the importance of being proficient in English. In a bid to further improve my English, I set on a mission to read as many English books as I can, both to improve my grammar and vocabulary. Henceforth, the grammatical and vocabulary errors I made reduced significantly. I have also gained the confidence to give formal presentations in English.
This struggle surfaced as early as when I was 7 years old. During my first week in primary school, I had trouble conversing with my classmates in English and would often have to use a mix of both Mandarin and English in conversations. To make matters worse, curriculum in schools were taught in English and I had a hard time understanding classes. English was my worst subject and I would more than often get bad grades for its major exams.
As I got older, I realise the importance of being proficient in English. In a bid to further improve my English, I set on a mission to read as many English books as I can, both to improve my grammar and vocabulary. Henceforth, the grammatical and vocabulary errors I made reduced significantly. I have also gained the confidence to give formal presentations in English.
The
main takeaway from this experience is that English language cannot be mastered
overnight and lots of initiatives and efforts are needed to be able to see progress. As the saying goes,
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out" as
quoted by Robert Collier. I believe that if I diligently work on my English and
be consistent, my English today will be better than my English yesterday.
I like the way Benjamin give a brief background of his English learning journey in his first paragraph, followed by what he experienced in his early childhood and finally talks about what he feels about the importance of English as a grown up matured adult. This smooth flow from young to adult, allows me to understand his grow up process with his struggle of English. Lastly i think he did a good job in his summary, not just giving his own finals thoughts but also quoted a phrase by Robert Collier, which i think made his takeaway from the experience more believable.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin's reflection provided me with a detailed insight about his struggles on handling and coping with English in his early years as child. I can truly relate to that experience as I have gone through the same path as him but fortunately for me, I managed to learn the language much easier due to my interactions and the language environment. Benjamin's realisation of the importance of English is crucial and I am happy for him that he is able to handle the language well now. Like the saying goes, never give up. Especially when it comes to learning as knowledge is power. Great job Benjamin!
ReplyDeleteBenjamin's English learning journey is very similar to mine. After reading his post, I am more appreciated and thankful to my Secondary school English teacher, Mrs Pereira, who prohibited her students to speak Mandarin in her English lessons and will penalized those who broke the rule. I like how Benjamin use the saying from Robert Collier. We have to earn what we wish to equip. Well Done Benjamin!
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