One
meaningful experience I had with the English language was studying Literature
in Secondary school. I was brought up in an English speaking environment
whereby English was the first language that I was exposed to. From the first
words that my parents taught me to say, to simple words and numbers in
pre-school as well as watching television shows in the language. Thus, I never
knew that English could be expressed in a different way when I first took up
Literature.
There
are many forms of Literature, ranging from poems to plays and short stories.
Literature not only represents the language but also the culture and history
behind these works. The teachers taught us how to interpret the authors’
message behind these works through the way they were written. Moreover, these
works can be interpreted in many ways depending on how an individual is
studying it.
Through
this experience, it made me realized that English is not just a language to
communicate or write in. But also, Literature can help an individual express
his feelings through creative imagination. Thus, I feel that this is one
meaningful experience I had with the language.
Thank you, Chelsea, for creating your blog so punctually and making your first post so early. I really appreciate your effort. I also like the way you have focused this reflection mainly on your experience taking literature courses. I have a few questions, however, about your study of literature and how that impacted you.
ReplyDeleteWhat literature did you study? Was it poetry, novels or short stories? Rap songs? Did you read American, English, Kiwi, Nigerian or Singaporean?
Did you have any teacher who especially inspired you in the manner by which she helped you learn about literature?
Were there any works of lit that particularly inspired you? And if you were inspired, why was that the case? What makes a book or poem or song inspiring? How does something like a work of literature ever impact a person's life?
If you used the answers to some of these questions within your reflection, it would be more effective. We readers would then get a deeper impression of why the study of literature i meaningful for you.
In the spirit of helping you improve your language expression, I also have a few comments:
a) confusion between common and proper nouns:
Literature >>> literature
Secondary school >>> ?
b) sentence structure issues:
- From the first words that my parents taught me to say, to simple words and numbers in pre-school as well as watching television shows in the language. >>>
- Through this experience, it made me realized ... >>>
- But also, Literature can help ... >>>
Once again, I thank you for your effort!
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your write-up on your English experience, as it was something I could relate to. Also, you go beyond describing what literature is to describing what it means to you personally. That gave a personal touch to the reflection.
Some areas of improvement:
1. You can be clearer in your writing. For example,
"From the first words... Thus, I never knew that English could be expressed in a different way when I first took up Literature. "
-I was confused about what you were trying to say. Instead, maybe you can phrase it this way:
I always thought english wasn't expressive as it was only used in teaching, expressing my thoughts and on entertainment sources like television shows. This thought changed when I was exposed to literature in secondary school.
2. You can be cohesive in your use of words.
"...realized that English is not just a language to communicate or write in. But also, Literature can help..."
-Instead, maybe you can phrase it this way:
English can be used in literature, which can help….
Overall, I really enjoyed your writing and good job done! (:
-Gio
Hi Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post! I agree with you that creativity is crucial in writing novels. You certainly have brought about an important point about literature. You also chose a very focused and unique topic to illustrate your english learning experience, and it definitely captured my attention!
Here are some comments:
1. "From the first words that my parents taught me to say, to simple words and numbers in pre-school...thus I never knew that english..."
I thought it would be better if you replace the word "thus" with "but" because you are emphasising that you had never been exposed to literature before.
2. "these works can be interpreted in many ways depending on how an individual is studying it."
In this case, the "is studying it" seems redundant. Perhaps you could change it to "studies it".
Thank you for your post! We could share our reading experience if we have the chance!