At
some point in life, it is common that people are faced with difficulties to
progress and improve through their own effort, and there comes a need for
someone else to help guide and overcome the obstacles. The same goes for the learning
any languages. The reasons why I am attending this module mainly stem from the
difficulties that I have in spotting my own errors, and also because of the
problems I have in understanding the reasoning behind these errors. Coming to
end of the course, although I still have slight problems in spotting those
errors, I am definitely more confident in my writing skills and have became
more conscious of my writing.
I
was expecting the format of learning in ES1102 to be adamant in drilling us
with grammar and vocabulary activities but I am glad that it was not the case.
ES1102 lessons have been really enjoyable and the employed method of teaching and
learning was able to help me develop the necessary writing skills that are
required in writing a proper academic essays. I believe that the course was
able to achieve this mainly through the practice of giving peer reviews to
other students and also receiving reviews and feedback from the tutors.
The
practice of giving peer reviews had several advantages. First, the process of
reading helped me to expand my lexicon and also broaden my knowledge. It was
interesting to read about the opinions, and interest that my peers had and how
individuals developed the content of their writings in different manners.
Second, the ability to give a proper peer review required me to posses a
respectable standard of the English language, which I obviously did not have. I
was initially not very comfortable with the practice, but it did not take long
for me to realise the actual value of giving peer reviews. Writing peer reviews
allowed me to spot errors more easily, and I started to get a clearer idea of
the common mistakes made in sentence structures, subject-verb agreement,
verb-tense etc. I learned to make awkward sentences sound right through the
practice of giving peer review. At the same time, I was able to look through my
own writings and spot the similar errors that I had. Presumably, I was able to
be more critical in reading writings that did not belong to me, and in that
way, I did not have a self-bias in thinking that the sentences were
grammatically and structurally correct. There was an element of realisation,
when I finally understood the mistakes that I had made.
However,
I would be really delighted if I was able to receive more reviews and feedback
from my tutor, Brad. The feedback from the Brad was really what helped me clear
up my doubts and confirmed the corrections that I made were right.
The process of learning does not stop here and I am happy to have gone through this module to make me a better writer!
The process of learning does not stop here and I am happy to have gone through this module to make me a better writer!
Thank you, Chuye, for this well crafted reflection. You contextualize the course, the writing and the review process quite clearly. Then you focus on how you found value in the actual review process. I appreciate it when you note that " I was able to be more critical in reading writings that did not belong to me, and in that way, I did not have a self-bias in thinking that the sentences were grammatically and structurally correct. There was an element of realisation, when I finally understood the mistakes that I had made." In short, it seems like you are suggesting that you have been able to transfer the skills that you were applying to a critique of your classmates' writing to a review of your own.
ReplyDeleteI also like the fact that you realize that the process doesn't stop with the end of ES1102, but I would like to know just how you plan to implement effective change into future writing assignments.
In any case, thank you for all the hard work this term, Chuye, and all the best in your future!