I could say that I have always been weak in English Language. It all started when
I was in Primary 5, where I felt that the English syllables became really tough.
I was struggling to cope throughout my Primary and Secondary days, hoping to be
able to pass this subject so that I can move on to the next phrase of my education.
My weaker areas for English Language were vocabulary, sentence structure and
comprehension. I usually could not score for inferential questions, thus leading
to my failure in English paper 2. There were also times where I failed due to
the oral and writing components. Knowing my weaker areas, I have tried to put
in more effort and time to improve them. I was able to complete my Primary and Secondary
education smoothly. However, I did not manage to overcome my “final” exam as
I did not pass the GCE ‘O’ level English Language examination. This had changed my life in
a certain way as I was struck with limited choices to choose from to pursue on with my studies.
But my English Language learning journey did not stop here, knowing the importance of
English Language in our society, I went on to retake this subject as a private candidate.
With sufficient effort and determination while handling Polytechnic education, I managed to pass the subject.
I believe that failure will bring people who are determine a step closer to
success. I am glad that despite facing several failures, I have not once given up.
I will continue this learning journey and seek for better improvements. I am also really thankful to
my teachers and peers who have walked and is walking this learning journey with me.
I do understand that English has been one of your weakness throughout your studies. I empathise with you and I am impressed that your consistent motivation and striving for passing GCE o level English, which is well known for being hard to score, made you to achieve your goal. However, i am inquisitive of your future plans like how you are going to persist your English journey. Although i appreciate your effort, i would like to know more specific and concrete details for your future plan.
ReplyDeleteHello Hui Ping. I faced similar problems as you during primary and secondary education. It was definitely tough. I strongly agree with you that "failure will bring people who are determine a step closer to success". Being not conceding to defeat easily will surely lead you to success as hard work pays off. I hope that your English language learning journey continues even after Polytechnic education.
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiring essay, Hui Ping. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Please keep the momentum going!
ReplyDeleteLet's continue your learning journey with the following items:
1. "...when I was in Primary 5, where I felt that the English syllables became really tough."
"where" is used to refer to a location. "when I was in Primary 5" is not a location. It is a point in time. Therefore, use "when":
"...when I was in Primary 5, WHEN I felt that the English SYLLABUS became really tough."
Note: The word "syllables" refers to the sounds in a word. For example, "apple" has two syllables (ap-ple), and "information" has 4 (in-for0ma-tion).
When referring to the contents of a learning programme, we use "syllabus".
2. "I could say that I have always been weak in English Language. It all started when I was in Primary 5, where I felt that the English syllables became really tough."
"It all started..." - what does "it" refer to? Your weakness in English? Or the realisation that you're weak in English? Part of writing clearly is to be accurate in our references. So, perhaps rewrite this sentence as:
""I could say that I have always been weak in English Language. I became aware of this when I was in Primary 5, when I felt that the English syllabus had become really tough."
In English, the tenses tell a story. In the sentence above, "had become" is used to show that you're saying the syllabus had become tough, and as a result you became aware that you were weak in English. When two actions happened in the past, the first action is described using the past perfect tense (had become), and the second the simple past.
To learn more about these tenses, please see: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
3. "I was struck with limited choices to choose from to pursue on with my studies."
Do you mean "stuck"?
"limited choices to choose from" sounds redundant. Perhaps it can be more concisely written as: "I was stuck with a limited choice of courses"?
Ok... that's a lot for now. Hope it's helpful.
Anita
Your never give up attitude throughout your journey so far is quite impressive. It's good to be able to move forward despite facing setbacks. I hope that you can continue to keep up with your efforts and benefit from this module.
ReplyDelete