English language has always been
my ‘enemy’ since young. I was never good in all aspects of English, from grammar
to vocabulary to writing. I got the lowest mark for English prelims across the
level when I was in primary 6. It was a devastating and embarrassing
experience. At one point of time, English caused me to hate school so much.
When I was a secondary student, I tried many ways to improve my English
language. One of them was to make reading as my hobby. However, there were many
failed attempts. As a result, I got the mindset that I will never improve my
English no matter how hard I try. I lose the motivation to keep going. I stop
trying then. My grades for English were always either a C or a fail. Nothing
above B. So at every exam, rather than aiming to get an A for English, I felt
satisfied when I passed the subject, even with a merely 50 marks.
There were incidents that made me
realized that English is important and that I have to improve on it. As for
example, when I was attending a meeting, I have many ideas and suggestions in
my thought. However, because I could not phrase what I have in mind into words,
I ended up not voicing it out and it was as if, I did not participate in that
meeting. I realized that in order for me to be proactive, I have to work on my
English language. Writing essay is something that I dreads the most. I can
spend the whole day writing just one essay. In NUS, it is impossible to escape
from writing essays. Just 2 weeks of school term and I have four essays to
complete.
I never thought that I will have English
module in my university life. The last one I had was 3 years ago, when I was in
secondary school. I hope that this module will be a platform for me to start
improving on my language especially my writing skills.
