The Ladybird Key Words Reading Scheme was the book series I
hated the most. It was torturous and boring being forced to read them every night.
As a 3 year old, I only wanted to play. Reading only took time off from the
various things I could have done, such as building a bridge with my Lego set.
Ironically, my arduous book battle nights made me very
interested in reading. Library visits became something that I constantly look forward to. After each visit, I would come out from the library with at least 20 books in my bag.
With each book I read, I realised that I was subconsciously learning
and absorbing new vocabulary.These new words would be translated into my essays or conversations. The new words I learnt made me feel smarter and increased my self-esteem.
In secondary school however, things changed. There were
vocabulary tests, grammar tests, journal entries and daily readings each week. I
felt so overwhelmed and unlike before, I had difficulty absorbing and was often
frustrated. This was when I felt that I had reached a plateau in my english language journey.
Till now, one of my constant frustrations is the inability to translate my ideas into words. I am always amazed by those who are able to
write well and structure their writing in such a coherent way. I hope that in
ES1102, I am able to learn new things and be able to portray my thoughts and
opinions better. Being a good writer is
one of the things I hope to be able to achieve and eventually cross out from my
personal bucket list.
Hi Diyanah,
ReplyDeleteI can relate with you on the part about having to do daily readings, journals during secondary school times. And for the most part of my life till recently I did not quite enjoy reading books as I thought I will be better off doing other activities.
And yes , like you , I am also looking forward to learning new things and acquiring the skill of penning down my thoughts in a better way.
Cheers,
Pavithra
Hey Diyanah!
ReplyDeleteI feel so happy for you to be able to convert from "hate reading" to loving the library! I personally still detest the library though.
I guess one thing we have in common is that, all the secondary school tests are exhausting and haunting in a way.
Love,
Joan
Hi Diyanah!
ReplyDeleteI like the way your start your essay! The first sentence has easily caught my attention as it is comparatively interesting to the introduction of others .
I agree with your point that reading is a great way to improve our English as we actually learn more vocabularies and enhance our writing skills by reading.
I can understand your frustration for not being able to express your idea well through writing.Such feeling gets worse when we have to finish an essay in a limited time! Hopefully we can improve our writing skills by taking ES1102!
Love,
Jianing=)
Thank you Pavi, Joan and Jia Ning for your kind comments! :)
ReplyDeleteI really like this post, Dyanah. You draw the reader immediately into your reflection by mentioning the Ladybird series as a burden and your desire to play rather than read. This is something each of us can imagine from our childhood. Your narrative proceeds from there in a balanced fashion with more vivid use of specific illustrations and concrete language (20 books in my bag, a plateau in my English language journey, my personal bucket list).
ReplyDeleteThere is a minor language error to take note of: Library visits became something that I constantly look forward to. (tense)
But overall this is a very fine first assignment. Terima kasih!
Terima kasih for your comments Mr Brad! I will take note of your comments and edit my reflection :)
ReplyDelete