Contrary to other
parents, mine believed that reading is useless in improving my English. Due to
their belief, they tried to hinder my passion for reading, sometimes even using
extreme methods such as tearing my storybooks. I could not understand their rationale
at all. Have they not experienced how wonderful it was to dream about being the
main character and changing the storyline to my desire? Despite this barrier, I
still managed to keep up my interest in reading by becoming a librarian in
primary school. I vividly remember running into the school library during
recess just to grab hold of the latest book in the series I was addicted to.
Thankfully, I did so or else I would have lost touch with English at an even
younger age.
As I grew older,
textbooks eventually started to replace storybooks. Other than school classes,
I rarely use my free time to improve my language. I felt the result of a lack
of a strong foundation in English during narrative writing. Even though I could
think of amazing plots, I found it difficult to put them on paper due to my
lack of vocabulary and atrocious grammar skills. During my time in junior
college, I was lucky enough to find a group of friends who were competent in
English. They often corrected my grammar when I speak, or introduced me to new
vocabulary. My English teacher also advised me to read, listen and write more
regularly. This is definitely easier said than done. Currently, I am still
struggling to make reading newspaper and listening to the radio a daily habit.
With the enrollment
in ES1102, this will mark the start of yet another significant chapter of my
English journey. Within these 13 weeks, I aspire to eliminate my fear of
writing and enjoy all the lessons.
(304 words)
Hi Shu Ying!! :)
ReplyDelete(1) Love how your writing flowed, transiting from your language experience in primary school into your secondary / JC years "... textbooks eventually started to replace storybooks." It's a nice continuation, linking the two separate points together.
(2) "Thankfully, I did so or else I would have lost touch with English at an even younger age."
Slightly odd phrasing and sounds a little conversational for an academic writing. Not too sure how to improve on the sentence though. Let's ask Mr Blackstone haha!
(3) "I felt the result of a lack of a strong foundation in English during narrative writing."
Another slightly odd phrasing. Could actually simplify the sentence... "The lack of a strong foundation affected my narrative writing." (?)
Thanks for sharing your experience! :)
Nice blogskin Shu!
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you persisted with your passion in reading! I never had that kind of urge to want to read a book.
Good job for your reflection! The way you described your feelings is clear and I can put myself in your shoes as I was reading your post. Just a suggestion here, for the sentence “I felt the result of a lack of a strong foundation in English …”, I think it would be better to phrase it as “I felt the result of lacking a strong foundation in English” else the “of a” is a little repetitive.
I feel you. I’m struggling to make reading newspaper and listening to the radio a habit. :/ Let’s overcome this struggle together and improve our English! :D
Li Jun
This is quite a unique reflection, Shu Ying, in that you openly admit that there was tension between you and your parents regarding your love of reading storybooks. It is quite poignant as you explain how that would occur. What might have made the anecdote even more dramatic is if you had tried to imagine the motives that drove your parents to take such action.
ReplyDeleteGrammatically, this is quite fluent, except for the recurring verb tense errors. Can you correct those now that we have discussed tense in our first lesson this week?
Thank you for your willingness to share. I look forward to reading more of your writing.