ES1102 is not your usual boring English class as my tutor Brad
livens the class with different methods of teaching such as peer review,
blogging, group presentations and grammar exercises.
I find peer review beneficial. Besides being exposed to ideas
and viewpoints of others, I made extra effort to examine my peers’ work to make
sure that my feedback was constructive and helpful. In the process, it
reinforced my grasp of the English language.
However, I am more comfortable and found it more constructive to
receive feedback from my tutor, Brad as I think that peer feedback could sometimes
be misleading.
In addition, I am particularly appreciative of the grammar
exercises that we undertook in class. As we identified the types of grammatical errors in some passages and corrected them with Brad, I felt that these
revisions reinforced my understanding of the rules of the English language.
Many a time, I used expressions and certain phrases unconsciously out of habit.
As a result, I became more conscientious about using proper grammar when writing.
All in all, after a few weeks of class, I am more mindful of the
grammatical errors that previously plagued my writings. Also I make extra effort
to organize my writing in a systematic and fluent manner by following the structure
which Brad taught us in class. Undoubtedly, the learning methods adopted by Brad has
tremendously improved the overall presentation of my writings.
With the lessons, I feel more confident about writing in English.
With further practice, writing in plain, concise and grammatically correct
English is a skill that can be picked up and trained over time. The skills which
I have picked up in class can definitely be applied to the written reports for
my other modules. Undoubtedly, these skills will also benefit me as I enter the
workforce in the future.
Thank you very much, Paulette, for this well organized and comprehensive reflection. I like the way you've focused on grammar revision, within the scope of the feedback given. You also address peer feedback, noting that "I made extra effort to examine my peers’ work to make sure that my feedback was constructive and helpful. In the process, it reinforced my grasp of the English language." Allow me to hazard the guess that if more students were as skilled and as conscientious as you during the peer review process, the benefit would be even greater.
ReplyDeleteIn this regard, I do wonder what areas of feedback given by students to students is the most useful. I also wonder how any of this will play out as you address future writing assignments.
In any case, thank you for your great effort during the term, and all the best as you continue your learning journey!