Assignment: English Self-Analysis

 Our third writing assignment is a self-analysis of each student's individual English strengths and weaknesses. They focused on the general areas of speaking, comprehension, reading and writing. Each student was asked to write two paragraphs - each paragraph dealt with a different English weakness, explaining how that weakness affected their current lives, and how that weakness could be improved upon.

SPEAKING by Paola

   My purpose is to learn to speak English. I have some obstacles to achieve my purpose of learning more vocabulary. I am very ashamed of making mistakes when speaking English with only Latin people. At my job they don't speak much English, I spend time alone on a computer.

   In order to improve my English I am going to start recording ten words a week. I am also going to look for another job where they speak more English to learn more. I also want to work as a dental assistant to learn English and to learn about dentists in this country. I am going to overcome my fear of making mistakes in speaking English by talking to American people.

SPEAKING by Mona

   My biggest problem is speaking English. First of all, when speaking English with other people, I often have to repeat the same word. Sometimes I don't even know how to pronounce the word I want to say. For example, when I say the words "can" and "can't", I make the same sounds. I have been looking into how to improve my problem. First I'll try some tongue twisters. Second, I'll listen to some podcasts. Third, I'll speak slowly. In addition, I'll watch TV in English. To sum up, any English exercises that I do will help to improve it and be better.

    English grammar is something I need to improve to perfect my second language. First, when I am talking I say sentences that don't even exist and also there are some words that have many meanings, and I don't know how to use them. In addition, I have a hard time understanding and communicating with someone who only speaks English. There are many options to learn English grammar. I'll do grammer exercises, learn the grammar of words, and read a lot of books and newsletters in English. In short, if I do the exercises and practice everyday then I'll get it.

SPEAKING by Nataly

   I need three important skills to speak English well. First of all, I need grammar to be able to apply it in forming sentences. Second, I need to learn vocabulary to communicate effectively and clearly. Third, I need to pronounce correctly so that they can understand me and so that I can communicate at work and school.

   In order to master the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, I must do things like listen to music in English, watch movies in English, with or without subtitles, and practice in class and at work. In conclusion, in order to speak English correctly, I must learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and, above all, practice.

MY ENGLISH PROBLEMS by Katrina

   My biggest problems with English are idioms, pronunciation and reading. When I'm at work I can't understand well when my coworkers talk a lot or quickly. Also when they talk about any topic I am always stuc in the middle of the conversation. The best solution is to read more books, watch or listen to YouTube and talk with people in any place. Also leaning vocabulary is very important to gain my English speaking skills.

   One of my problems with English is also writing. I have a very small vocabulary and am not good at grammar rules. I have some solutions for writing. First, no matter what you have in mind. just write it down without thinking of too many grammar rules. Second, try to write an easy essay and need practive a lot of grammar rules (?) It would be good if you have the habit of writing a diary to improve your English as well.

MY WEAKNESSES IN ENGLISH by Alina

   In my mind I have a few weaknesses with English. They are speaking, reading and writing. For me, my main weakness is speaking. I work with American people. Sometimes in my work I have situations when peole are waiting for my explanations or my opinion, but I cannot explain, because I don't speak English  enough. One of my strongest points is comprehension. Personally, for me, I use a few ways to improve my English. I like to visit class offline. I very often listen to the radio in my car. and I always try to read something new and translate new words. I want to speak correctly, learn more English and grammar. I want to become literate.

    I like this class. We don't have many students in class. That's why everyone in class has the opportunity to work on their weaknesses. Some of the things I enjoy doing in class are listening to audio lectures and practicing writing short paragraphs about different topics. I would like in the future to read more and have discusssions about what we read. This way we can increase our vocabulary. I hope this helps develop and improve our weaknesses.