Reflection (7/1/13-11/1/13)

 discussion study guide

This week in English, we did a lot of poetry and kicked off the week with a nice game of 1 truth two false. I had been given an interesting word, "diction", and I had no idea what the theme of the game was as there was even "Kalashnikov" in it until we read the poems in our anthology. I had a newfound appreciation for some poems such as "Fatima" and "Clearance" as I analyzed the backgrounds of the poems (e.g: "Fatima" had a background of the Sarajevo war and ethnic segregation in it) and I learnt so much about "Clearances", the poem which I was most unfamiliar about, until Ms. Abena told us about the culture of Irish cuisine and its familiarity with potatoes. I found the poem really heartwarming after I  found the key behind the symbolism of potatoes within it and I could almost vividly imagine the poem inside my head. Out of all the poems, "Fatima" and "Clearances" have to be my favourite.

I chose to write on "Clearances" for my analysis essay as I felt that it was a breakthrough revelation after understanding its symbolism with potatoes. However, besides the symbolism, I also learnt to compare the writer's perspective and talk about the emotions that the poem carries in my essay as I feel that I could imagine the poem in my view.

We also played out the poems, which I initially thought it wouldn't be helpful but at the end, had indeed helped me in understanding the poems better. While acting out "For Rita With Love", I learnt that "Rita" could possible have Down's Syndrome and when I tried embracing my classmates, their genuine reactions of being freaked out was unfortunately real. I would not be able the situation of the poem ever  if I hadn't seen the faces of my classmates. This gave me an appreciation for the poem as I really learnt more of it's subtle significance. I saw how by being kind, people actually think of it as an odd manner because it's uncommon to be nice and kind. To hug other at random. To say, "I like you" to strangers.

Lastly, we discussed about our Study Guide project and I felt that questionnaire helped us all to see how we REALLY felt about working on the project. I was glad that we were all honest about how we weren't putting enough effort into the project but at the same time, we were not going to give up as we knew it would be beneficial at the end. We had a productive discussion and concluded that each chapter will be worked on among pairs. I think that as soon as we finish the project and put it aside, we will be able to focus on preparing for the exam.

reflection (2/1/13-4/1/13)

Another year unfolds and what better way to celebrate(for us students) than to hand in our first coursework! Apologies to Ms. Abena who has to mark a mountain pile of it though. :( The week kicked off great with us organizing ourselves to collaboratively work on the study guide and we've to play our part as everyone has a role. Our discussions resulted in a productive timeline and a division of tasks for the study guide. However, some did not participate in the discussion and were insensitive towards others such as Afifah who has too many tasks for herself to do.

I really hope that we could care for others and not wander off during important discussions as the study guide is for the benefit of all of us. I'm looking forward to the weeks to come where I could finalize my second essay and count the time ticking away to my secondary school graduation. May this be a start to another productive year in English class!

Reflection (26/11/12-1/12/12)

 This week, it's been great to finish off our essays on Saturday. I thought it was better to just focus on the language essay on saturday as juggling both essays at once would be an arduous task. The reference samples that were given to us were really helpful but I wish I had it earlier to clear some of my confusion on how to write a sophisticated commentary, producing annotations and elaborating on my chosen sources.

However, I think we all did great and I felt supported by my teachers and peers. I really appreciated the fact that Ms. Abena and Ms. Sandra was willing to spend half of their Saturday to help us as well. With this, I felt like our class have worked together as a team to help each other.

Reflection (19/11/12-23/11/12)

verb noun collocation, poem , kathy tommy, lit circa, trello 

This week in English, we learnt about verb+noun collocation. Collocation is an expressive phrase that determines which words go together. But before that, I've always wondered what's the difference between 'learnt' and 'learned'. I hope that my fellow peers could shed some light on this if anyone has any idea. 

From our previous meetings online, when we were asked to collaborate on the Tommy essay, my group and I instinctively remembered to set up discussion times. This proved that our communication skills improved with the help of one another and we became more initiative when responsibilities are shared.

Discussions on the poem "Base Details" were also intense and I enjoyed it very much as we concluded from a light squabble among our peers about the 'real' meaning, there IS no exact meaning. The point is to analyze and interpret it with evidence and explanation hence it could possibly mean anything, as long as you could support it. This gives me an idea about our essays as there is never a right or wrong essay, but it all depends on how we use our explanation to further support and concrete our ideas.

Reflection (12/11/12-16/11/12)

This week in English, I think our class did really well in working together outside of school. We definitely made an effort to support each other by meeting on Skype for our literature circle and Edmodo definitely keeps me on track with work while Ms. Abena was away. It feels like any ordinary week and there's actually more work than any other normal week.

Communication was definitely important this week as we have to keep in touch with our literature circle members and help each other for the presentation. I think Edwin did great and was glad we were able to meet up to help him. It was the only arduous task of the week as some members forgot to come online for the meeting and we encountered some technical difficulties on Skype. However, I hope after this week, I am able to spend more time finalizing my essays.

Reflection (5/11/12-9/11/12)

This week in English, we talked about idioms and creative writing. These happen to be one of my FAVOURITE things in English as in my opinion, makes everyday conversations and pieces of writing more interesting. I can remember vividly when I first came across the idiom "raining cats and dogs" a few years ago as it completely baffled me. Why on earth would people describe the pouring rain as a weather with cats and dogs falling out of it like a scene from cartoon? That was probably the moment that piqued my interest in using idioms and bombastic words to make my writing like a piece of puzzle for the reader to slowly unravel.

I had fun to writing about a boring everyday event, which was waking up. As I listen to my classmates read, I realize that there's a lot more depth to them that I've never noticed before. I realize that some had effortless wittiness and some talked about their everyday event so meaningfully I felt as though I've gotten to know a part of themselves. Their stereotypical image are erased into oblivion as I hear Chua talking about 'waking up' as well but contained a depth that I never saw.

By sharing, I noticed how different each of us think, which the thoughts then are put into a piece of writing. There were honest reflections, poems, stories and even comedic writings from all of us in that circle and I could possibly say that by being exposed to different writing styles, the world of writing expanded in my mind. We should definitely find time after the essays to have a creative writing session again and also a carpet sharing session as all of us really do have a piece to share. Through peer support, we could help one another get inspired to produce great writings and also enhance oratory performance.

Reflection (29/10/12-2/11/12)

This week, I have been trying to apply what I've learnt from writing my research essay onto the my first comparison essay draft. I realize that a lot of what we practiced on the previous essay flowed smoothly- I naturally remembered to cite every source, I tried to keep my sentences simple and understandable, and applied the P.E.E.(Point, Evidence, Explanation). I remember that creating a bibliography absolutely fazed me when I wrote my research essay but with practice, it has now become a skill.

However, I still feel that my P.E.E. is still weak as I did not write my plan orderly. The same mistake is now repeating itself but through reading a few examples of comparison essay on http://www.writework.com/ , I became inspired. Questions like 'what are the ideal paragraph sizes?', 'what is a good essay?" and "Am I not following the format?" just diminishes as I compare the similarities and differences of my writing style and others. The 5/5 grading on every paper also gave me a rough estimate on what is 'good' or bad'. I really suggest this website to other learners if they would like to see examples of well written essays NOT TO COPY, but to get a little inspiration from.

The anthology session we had in class on Thursday was really fun. Those poems were honestly really interesting to read especially Latitudes. I felt as though I have a newfound appreciation for poetry after reading the poems in my booklet. They weren't boring and through discussions, I was able to interpret these poems into many different ways. Our discussions were also constructive as we open ourselves to each other's opinions and ideas. Our brainstorming time on the carpet felt really nice as a sense of community existed and most of us tried to share ideas. The idea of passing a 'speech turn' was also really useful as we all tend to talk at the same time resulting in a lot of us not listening. I think that discussions are just really engaging and I hope we are able to do more cozy carpet discussions during anthology lessons.