Reflective Writing Assignment

During the short duration of about 10 weeks, the course on academic English writing has introduced various forms of essays and some basic aspects of English such as grammar usage. We were taught the format for reader’s response, problem-solution and critical reflection essays. 

These were useful as I was previously inexperienced in writing and was unaware of the different types of structures present. Now, I am able to apply the method to compose a concise text by including an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences, and ending with concluding sentences. Although the context of this course was comprehensible most of the time, I found it most challenging when tasked to construct my critical reflection essay. Despite being able to grasp the general outline, I still find critical thinking quite incomprehensible. This could be due to insufficient practice and exposure to critical analysis in application to academic writing, and has led me to conclude that there is a substantial area that needs to be improved on. 

Therefore, consistent practice and application of critical analysis will be required in order to develop better writing skills.

Globalisation_Problem-Solution Essay_Final draft

Globalisation has facilitated the connection of citizens across the world and has enabled dynamic exchanges in communications and cultural mobility. However, such a process also entails negative effects to its consumers. In an open talk organised by TED (2009), Goldin addressed key issues that the world faces as a result of globalization. While creating opportunities for development in areas such as technology and genetics, globalization has also accelerated inequality and complexity.  Among the difficulties mentioned by Goldin, inequality is probably the most eminent issue that would continue to plague societies if it is not managed well. At present, inequality is experienced by many societies around the world and is not only limited to the less developed nations. America, for example, is a well-developed country which is known for unequal income distribution and education opportunities (Stiglitz, 2013). In assessing the issues of inequality, education and political policies may be crucial factors that will aid to eradicate this problem. 

Equality in a country might still be difficult to attain, despite careful planning and execution of comprehensive policies. Taking Singapore as an example, mandatory education is a highly relevant policy which may aid in achieving social equality; such fair education opportunities create a homogeneous and knowledgeable pool of talents. However, as globalization and advancing technologies continue to push the speed of progress and development, it becomes more challenging to produce enough qualified talents to cater to the expanding economy. To relieve the situation of an insufficient workforce, many countries like Singapore, introduce foreign employees to help steer their economy. Although this may enhance economic progress, the social competition it presents might deprive locals of employment opportunities. Unattended, domestic growth may proceed at the expense of individuals who are unable to catch up, hence tipping the balance of social and economic distribution. Therefore, a balance between achieving national growth and ensuring social equality is usually difficult to attain.

Even with these challenges, an egalitarian society is still attainable if the appropriate development schemes are executed. Inequality is often experienced when wealth distribution within a country is uneven; this could be due to high unemployment rates or more fundamentally, insufficient access to opportunities for development. To avoid such situations, policies could be designed to nurture more local talents by providing quality education and technical experiences to improve employability and not just by expanding a talent pool quantitatively. By boosting the competency of local individuals, employment rates would increase and social inequality within a country can be largely minimized. Therefore, a focus on internal progression would ensure accessibility to employment opportunities to a wider local audience so that balanced social distribution could be attained.

Besides the application of policies, social and income gaps can be mitigated by implementing a strong education plan. Emphasis on education can diminish inequality by equipping people with knowledge so that they have better, and equal, standing in industry. With globalization driving the expansion of the technological sector, it is easy for a society to fall behind without the resources of a knowledgeable workforce. Only a nation strongly equipped with a literate and skillful workforce would be able to drive a relevant economy with emphasis on technological advancements. Hence, policies could be formulated to look into introduce novel industrial technology during the course of education and provide specialist training for prospective employees. This is exemplified in the Japanese education system which incorporates ‘school-to-work transition’ (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010).With this, more citizens would be readily equipped to participate in the economy and demands of the future could be better anticipated. This in turn may increase the productivity and efficiency of the economic sector, which would contribute to financial growth of the nation and enable the government to distribute funds to help the needy who are struggling financially in the society. In this way, the repercussions of inequality and widening social gaps can be minimised by strong emphasis on education.

A well-educated workforce also enhances self-sustainability as it reduces a nation’s dependency on foreign employees to drive the economy. With this independence, more opportunities are created for the locals in the areas of education and work, which increases employment rate of the locals. This may also reduce conflicts frequently faced by a heterogenous labour force, as shown by Garnero and Rycx (2013) that labour diversity in a working environment can negatively affect work productivity due to disputes in communication and increasing competition. Therefore, instead of focusing on increasing the diversity of human capita in a country, policies could seek to enforce employment stability for the locals so that more individuals can contribute to the economy and the number of idle citizens would be reduced. By motivating citizens with the assurance of education and employment opportunities, a country may build a highly self-dependent society which is also crucial in achieving a well distributed society in terms of social standing and wealth.

To sum up, globalization would inevitably aggravate uneven distribution in society due to the dynamics and rapid progress it entails. Despite these difficulties, it may still be possible to reduce the extent of such disparities by collaborating political policies with academic structures.



Citations:

1. Stiglitz, J.E. (2013). Singapore’s lesson for an unequal America. Retrieved from                           http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an- unequal-america/   

2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). Japan: A Story of Sustained Excellence. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/japan/46581091.pdf 

3. Garnero, A., & Rycx, F. (2013). The Heterogenous Effects of Workforce Diversity on            Productivity, Wages and Profits. Institute for the Study of Labour Discussion Paper, 7350, 1-37.

Globalisation_Problem-Solution Essay_Second Draft

Globalisation has facilitated the connection of citizens across the world and has enabled dynamic exchanges in communications and cultural mobility. However, such a process also entails negative effects to its consumers. In an open talk organised by TED (2009), Goldin addressed key issues that the world faces as a result of globalization. While creating opportunities for development in areas such as technology and genetics, globalization has also accelerated inequality and complexity.  Among the difficulties mentioned by Goldin, inequality is probably the most eminent issue that would continue to plague societies if it is not managed well. At present, inequality is experienced by many societies around the world and is not only limited to the less developed nations. America, for example, is a well-developed country which is known for unequal income distribution and education opportunities (Stiglitz, 2013). In assessing the issues of inequality, education and political policies may be crucial factors that will aid to eradicate this problem. 

Equality in a country might still be difficult to attain, despite careful planning and execution of comprehensive policies. Taking Singapore as an example, mandatory education is a highly relevant policy which may aid in achieving social equality; such fair education opportunities create a homogeneous and knowledgeable pool of talents. However, as globalization and advancing technologies continue to push the speed of progress and development, it becomes more challenging to produce enough qualified talents to cater to the expanding economy. To relieve the situation of an insufficient workforce, many countries like Singapore, introduce foreign employees to help steer their economy. Although this may enhance economic progress, the social competition it presents might deprive locals of employment opportunities. Unattended, domestic growth may proceed at the expense of individuals who are unable to catch up, hence tipping the balance of social and economic distribution. Therefore, a balance between achieving national growth and ensuring social equality is usually difficult to attain.

Even with these challenges, an egalitarian society is still attainable if the appropriate development schemes are executed. Inequality is often experienced when wealth distribution within a country is uneven; this could be due to high unemployment rates or more fundamentally, insufficient access to opportunities for development. To avoid such situations, policies could be designed to nurture more local talents by providing quality education and technical experiences to improve employability and not just by expanding a talent pool quantitatively. By boosting the competency of local individuals, employment rates would increase and social inequality within a country can be largely minimized. Therefore, a focus on internal progression would ensure accessibility to employment opportunities to a wider local audience so that balanced social distribution could be attained.

Besides the application of policies, social and income gaps can be mitigated by implementing a strong education plan. Emphasis on education can diminish inequality by equipping people with knowledge so that they have better, and equal, standing in industry. With globalization driving the expansion of the technological sector, it is easy for a society to fall behind without the resources of a knowledgeable workforce. Only a nation strongly equipped with a literate and skillful workforce would be able to drive a relevant economy with emphasis on technological advancements. Hence, policies could be formulated to introduce novel industrial technology during the course of education and provide specialist training for prospective employees. This is exemplified in the Japanese education system which incorporates ‘school-to-work transition’ (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010).With this, more citizens would be readily equipped to participate in the economy and demands of the future could be better anticipated. This in turn may increases the productivity and efficiency of the economic sector, which would contribute to financial growth of the nation and enables the government to distribute funds to help the needy who are struggling financially in the society. In this way, the repercussions of inequality and widening social gaps can be minimised by strong emphasis on education.

A well-educated workforce also enhances self-sustainability as it reduces a nation’s dependency on foreign employees to drive the economy. With this independence, more opportunities are created for the locals in the areas of education and work, which increases employment rate of the locals. This may also reduce conflicts frequently faced by a heterogenous labour force, as shown by Garnero and Rycx (2013) that labour diversity in a working environment can negatively affect work productivity due to disputes in communication and increasing competition. Therefore, instead of focusing on increasing the diversity of human capita in a country, policies could seek to enforce employment stability for the locals so that more individuals can contribute to the economy and the number of idle citizens would be reduced. By motivating citizens with the assurance of education and employment opportunities, a country may build a highly self-dependent society which is also crucial in achieving a well distributed society in terms of social standing and wealth.
To sum up, globalization would inevitably aggravate uneven distribution in society due to the dynamics and rapid progress it entails. Despite these difficulties, it may still be possible to reduce the extent of such disparities by collaborating political policies with academic structures.

Citations:

1.  Stiglitz, J.E. (2013). Singapore’s lesson for an unequal America. Retrieved from             http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an- unequal-   america/  

2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). Japan: A Story of    Sustained Excellence.     Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/japan/46581091.pdf

3. Garnero, A., & Rycx, F. (2013). The Heterogenous Effects of Workforce Diversity on   Productivity, Wages and Profits. Institute for the Study of Labour Discussion Paper, 7350, 1-37.

Globalisation_Problems-Solution Essay_First Draft

Globalisation has facilitated the connection of citizens across the world and has enabled dynamic exchanges in communications and cultural mobility. However, such a process also entails negative effects to its consumers. In an open talk organised by TED (2009), Goldin addressed key issues that the world faces as a result of globalization. While creating opportunities for development in areas such as technology and genetics, globalization has also accelerated inequality and complexity.  Among the difficulties due to globalization, inequality is probably the most eminent issue that would continue to plague societies if it is not managed well. At present, inequality is experienced by many societies around the world and is not only limited to the less developed nations. America, for example, is a well-developed country which is known for unequal income distribution and education opportunities (Stiglitz, 2013). In assessing the issues of inequality, education and political policies may be crucial factors that will aid to eradicate this problem.

Equality in a country might still be difficult to attain, despite careful planning and execution of comprehensive policies. Taking Singapore as an example, mandatory education is a highly relevant policy which may aid in achieving social equality. Such fair education opportunities could eventually create a homogeneous and knowledgeable pool of talents. However, as globalization and advancing technologies continue to push the speed of progress and development, it becomes more challenging to produce enough qualified talents to cater to the expanding economy. To relieve the situation of an insufficient workforce, many countries and Singapore included, introduce foreign employees to help steer their economy. Although this may enhance economic progress, the social competition it presents might deprive locals of employment opportunities. Unattended, domestic growth may proceed at the expense of individuals who are unable to catch up, hence tipping the balance of social and economic distribution. Therefore, a balance between achieving national growth and ensuring social equality is usually difficult to attain.

Even with these challenges, an egalitarian society is still attainable if the appropriate development schemes are executed. Inequality is often experienced when wealth distribution within a country is uneven; this could be due to high unemployment rates or more fundamentally, insufficient access to opportunities for development. To avoid such situations, policies could be designed to nurture more local talents by providing quality education and technical experiences to improve employability and not just by expanding a talent pool quantitatively. By boosting the competency of local individuals, employment rates would increase and social inequality within a country can be largely minimized. Therefore, a focus on internal progression would ensure accessibility to employment opportunities to a wider local audience so that a balanced social distribution could be attained.

Consequences of inequality such as social and income gaps can be mitigated with a strong foundation in education. Emphasis in education can diminish inequality by equipping people with knowledge so that they have better, and equal, standing in the industry. With globalization driving the expansion of the technological sector, it is easy for a society to fall behind without the resources of a knowledgeable workforce. Only a nation strongly equipped with a literate and skillful workforce would be able to drive a relevant economy with emphasis on technological advancements. Hence, policies could probably look into ways to introduce novel industrial technologies during the course of education and provide specialist training for prospective employees. With this, more citizens would be readily equipped to participate in the economy and demands of the future could be better anticipated. This in turn increases the productivity and efficiency of the economic sector, which would contribute to financial growth of the nation and enables the government to distribute funds to help the needy who are struggling financially in the society. In this way, the repercussions of inequality effected in the widening social and income gaps can be bridged by a good economic capital built upon a strong emphasis in education.

A well-educated workforce also enhances self-sustainability as it reduces a nation’s dependency on foreign employees to drive the economy. With this independence, employment for the locals would increase, creating more opportunities for locals to develop themselves in education and in the working society. With educational expertise and stable jobs, individuals would be able to better provide the basic necessities like housing, health care and education for themselves and their children. Therefore, instead of focusing on increasing the diversity of human capita in a country, policies could seek to enforce employment stability for the locals so that more individuals can contribute to the economy and the number of idle citizens would be reduced. By motivating citizens with the assurance of education and employment opportunities, a country may build a highly self-dependent society which is also crucial in achieving a well distributed society in terms of social standing and wealth.

To sum up, globalization would inevitably aggravate uneven distribution in social and wealth due to the dynamics and rapid progress it entails. Despite these difficulties, it may still be possible to reduce the extent of such disparities through the execution of comprehensive collaborations between political policies and academic structures.

Citation:

1. Stiglitz, J.E. (2013). Singapore’s lesson for an unequal America. Retrieved from       http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an- unequal-america/

Globalisation Essay _ Draft 1

In an open talk organised by TED (2009), Goldin addressed key issues that the world faces as a result of globalization. While creating opportunities for development in areas such as technology and genetics, globalization has also accelerated inequality and complexity.  Among the difficulties due to globalization, inequality is probably the most eminent issue that would continue to plague the global society if it is not managed well. At present, inequality is experienced by many societies around the world and is not only isolated to the less developed nation. America, for example, is a well-developed country which is known for unequal income distribution and education opportunities (Stiglitz, 2013). In assessing the issues of inequality, education and political policies may be crucial factors that will aid to eradicate this problem.

Equality in a country might be difficult to attain, despite careful planning and execution of comprehensive policies. Taking Singapore as an example, mandatory education is a highly relevant education policy which may aid in achieving social equality. Such fair opportunity for education could eventually create a homogeneous and knowledgeable pool of talents. However, as globalization and advancing technologies continue to push the speed of globalization and technology, it becomes more challenging to produce enough qualified talents to cater to the economic market. As globalization facilitates the convenient exchange of human resources, many countries, and Singapore included, introduce foreign employees to help steer their economy. Although this may enhance economic progress, the keen social competition it presents might deprive locals of employment opportunities. Unattended, domestic growth may progress at the expense of individuals who are unable to catch up, hence tipping the balance of social and economic distribution. Therefore, a balance between achieving national growth and ensuring social equality is usually difficult to achieve.

Even with these challenges, an egalitarian society is still attainable if the correct schemes are executed. Inequality is often experienced when wealth distribution within a country is uneven. This could be due to high unemployment rates or more fundamentally, insufficient access to development opportunities for the locals. To avoid such situations, policies could be designed to nurture more local talents by providing quality education and technical experiences to improve employability and not just by expanding a talent pool quantitatively. By boosting the competency of local individuals, employment rates would increase and social inequality within a country can be largely minimized. Therefore, a focus on internal progression would ensure accessibility to employment opportunities to a wider local audience so that a balanced social distribution could be attained.

Social and income irregularities can be mitigated with a strong foundation in education. Emphasis in education can diminish inequality by equipping people with knowledge so that they have a better, and equal, standing in the industry. With globalization driving the expansion of the technological sector, it is easy for a society to fall behind without the resources of a knowledgeable workforce. Only a nation strongly equipped with a literate and skillful workforce would be able to drive a relevant economy with emphasis on technological advancements. Hence, policies could probably look into ways to introduce novel industrial technologies during the course of  education and provide specialist training for prospective employees. With this, more citizens would be readily equipped for participation in the economy and demands of the future would be better anticipated. This in turn increases the productivity and efficiency of the economic sector, which would contribute to financial growth of the nation and enables the distribution funds to help the needy who are struggling financially in the society. Thus the gap in income inequality can be bridged by a good economic capital built upon a strong emphasis in education.

A well-educated workforce also enhances self-sustainability as it reduces a nation’s dependency on foreign employees to drive the economy. With this independence, employment for the locals would increase, creating more opportunities for locals to develop themselves both in education and in the working society. With better jobs, individuals would be able to provide for themselves the basic necessities like housing, health care and education for their children. Therefore, instead of focusing on increasing the dynamic and diversity of the human capita in a country, policies could seek improvements in the educational environment and employment stability for the locals so that more individuals can contribute to the economy and the number of idle citizens would be reduced. Thus, a highly self-dependent society is also crucial in achieving a well distributed society.

To sum up, globalization would inevitably aggravate uneven social and income distribution due to the dynamics and rapid progress it entails. Despite these difficulties, it may still be possible to reduce the extent of such disparity by executing a comprehensive collaboration between political policies and academic structure.

Citation:

1. Stiglitz, J.E. (2013). Singapore’s lesson for an unequal America. Retrieved from       http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an- unequal-america/

Reader's Response Assignment_Final

In an article published in The Guardian (2009), de Lotbinière voiced his opposition to the Malaysian Government’s move on halting the 2003 PPSMI policy. The policy, which aimed to improve Malaysia’s global trade and technology by enhancing English communication, stalled due to the Government’s claims of its under-achieving results. Grades for Mathematics and Science subjects have declined, and the use of Bahasa Malay prevailed despite the policy. In addition, Malaysia also faces a widening gap, between rural schools with less fluency in English and urban schools with a better standing, because of the lack of English teachers. Despite these difficulties, there may be hopes of improvements if Malaysia can persevere in pursuing the English language.

The above results stated by the Malaysian Education Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, are not, in my opinion, unexpected findings. Children of different ethnic groups in Malaysia integrate into schools which conduct curricula in their individual mother tongues. Since language proficiencies require nurturing from a young age, it will be hard to go through a transition from an established education system based on various mother tongues into an English-focused system. Singapore, for example, has made English the primary mode of teaching since early education and mother tongues are taught as second languages. Despite emphasizing English at an early age, many students still find it challenging to do well with the bilingual system. Thus, the abrupt transition from native languages to English could explain the fall in results and the possible difficulty that students face in coping with the subjects.

Moreover, the unfavourable widening gap between urban and rural schools mentioned by the author seemed to have strained further by the resource distribution and interchanging education policies. The disparity in staff distribution is an evident impediment to achieving a uniform academic result since rural schools are likely to be under-staffed – by seeing how the “education authorities outside the major cities failed to find enough staff able to teach in English”. Besides this disparity in English proficiency, the amendments of policies against a unified English education might discourage people to speak a common language. This might affect Malaysia's progress towards a cohesive nation and aggravate the segregation between the majority Malay Muslims and the non-Muslims. Thus, instead of making amendments to existing policies , the Government could have implemented an education system based solely on English to unite their citizens and better anticipate their long-term economic goals.

These situations could have been avoided if only Malaysia had persevered in using English since the British colonial rule. English could have been the unifying factor for the multicultural nation; or could have given them a better foothold in international commerce otherwise. With on-going concerns that an English education system might dilute the Malay-dominant culture, the advancement of the English language as a tool to gain commercial strength, it seems, could be impeded by Malaysia’s persistent struggle to preserve its Malay-nationalist heritage. 

In all, the PPSMI policy is a good initiative to move Malaysia’s education and economy forward, but it could be better if the Government persists in their efforts to emphasise English in early education so that students can benefit from a stronger foundation in the language.

Reader's Response Assignment_Draft 1 (Updated)

In an article published in The Guardian (2009), de Lotbinière voiced his opposition to the Malaysian Government’s move on halting the 2003 PPSMI policy. The policy, which aims to improve Malaysia’s global trade and technology by enhancing English communication, was stalled due to the Government’s claims of its under-achieving results. Grades for Mathematics and Science subjects have been shown to retreat, and the use of Bahasa Malay prevailed despite the policy. In addition, Malaysia also faces a widening gap, between rural schools with less fluency in English and urban schools with a better standing, because of the lack of English-teaching staffs. Despite these difficulties, there may be hopes of improvements if Malaysia can persevere in its pursue of the English language.

The above results mentioned by the Malaysian Education Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, find no surprise. Children of different ethnic groups in Malaysia had has  been known to integrate into school which conduct curriculum in their individual mother tongues. Since language proficiencies require nurturing from young, it will be hard to go through a transition from an established education system based on various mother tongues into an English system. Singapore, for example, has made English the primary mode of teaching since early education, and mother tongues are taught as second languages. Despite emphasizing on English at an early age, many students still find it challenging to do well with the bilingual system. Thus, the abrupt transition from native languages to English could explain the fall in results and the possible difficulty that students face in coping with the subjects.

Moreover, the unfavourable widening gap between urban and rural schools mentioned by the author seemed to have strained further by the resource distribution and interchanging education policies. The disparity in staff distribution is an evident impediment to achieving a uniform academic result since rural schools are likely to be under-staffed subsequently– seeing how the “education authorities outside the major cities failed to find enough staff able to teach in English”. Besides this disparity in English proficiency, the amendments of policies against a unified English education might discourage the emphasis in speaking a common language. This might withdraw citizens into their isolated ethnic groups and drive a subtle agenda in discriminating other ethnicities from the majority native Malay Muslims. Thus, instead of making amendments to existing policies, the Government could have implemented an education system based solely on English to unite their citizens and better anticipate their long-term economic goals.

These situations could have been avoided if only Malaysia had persevered with the English usage since their colonial past. English could have been the unifying factor  for the multicultural nation, if not to give them a better foothold in international commerce by now. With on-going concerns that an English education system might dilute the Malay-dominant culture, the advancement of English language as a tool to gain commercial strength, it seems, could be impeded by Malaysia’s persistent struggle to preserve her  its Malay-nationalist heritage. 

In all, the PPSMI policy is a good initiative to move Malaysia’s education and economy forward, but it could be better if the Government persists in their efforts to emphasise on English in early education so that students can benefit from a stronger foundation in the language.

Reader's Response Assignment

In an article published in The Guardian (2009), de Lotbinière voiced his opposition to the Malaysian Government’s move on halting the 2003 PPSMI policy. The policy, which aims to improve Malaysia’s global trade and technology by enhancing English communication, was stalled due to the Government’s claims of its under-achieving results. Grades for Mathematics and Science subjects have been shown to retreat, and the use of Bahasa Malay prevailed despite the policy. In addition, Malaysia also faces a widening gap, between rural schools with less fluency in English and urban schools with a better standing, because of the lack of English-teaching staffs. Despite these, there may be hopes of improvements if Malaysia can persevere in its pursue of the English language.

The result mentioned finds no surprise as children of different ethnic groups in Malaysia had has  been known to integrate into school which conduct curriculum in their individual mother tongues. Since language proficiencies require nurturing from young, it will be hard to go through a transition from an established education system based on various mother tongues into an English system. Singapore, for example, has made English the primary mode of teaching since early education, and mother tongues are taught as second languages. Despite emphasizing on English at an early age, many students still find it a challenge to do well with the bilingual system. Thus, the abrupt transition from native languages to English could explain the fall in results and the possible difficulty that students face in coping with the subjects.

Moreover, the unfavourable widening gap between urban and rural schools mentioned by the author, seemed to have strained further by the resource distribution and interchanging education policies. The disparity in staff distribution is an evident impediment to achieving a uniform academic result since rural schools are likely to be under-staffed subsequently, seeing how the “education authorities outside the major cities failed to find enough staff able to teach in English”. Besides this disparity in English proficiency, the amendments of policies against a unified English education might discourage the emphasis in speaking a common language. This might withdraw citizens into their isolated ethnic groups and drive a subtle agenda in discriminating other ethnicities from the majority native Malay Muslims. Thus, instead of making amendments to existing policies, the Government could have implemented an education system based solely on English to unite their citizens and better anticipate their long-term goals.

These situations could have been avoided if only Malaysia had persevered with the English usage since their colonial past. English could have been the unifying factor  for the multicultural nation, if not to give them a better foothold in international commerce by now. With on-going concerns that an English education system might dilute the Malay-dominant culture, the advancement of English language as a tool to gain commercial strength, it seems, could be impeded by Malaysia’s persistent struggle to preserve her  its Malay-nationalist heritage. Therefore, although the PPSMI policy is a good initiative to move Malaysia’s education and economy forward, it could be better if the Government persist in their efforts to emphasise on English in early education so that students can benefit from a stronger foundation in the language.

Steps in English language learning journey. Week 2 Reflection

In the last academic semester, I was enrolled on a basic English class.  During which, I was introduced to grammar, body paragraph writing and sentence structuring. Despite feeling slightly disheartened at first, I soon realized that I could take this as a good opportunity to strengthen my English language. These lessons were really helpful as they enhanced my knowledge of grammar and on the ability to craft a concise paragraph. Through this course, I was able to discover the techniques of writing and its importance in the academia; it is the primary tool used to convey ideas and thoughts, as well as being crucial in assessments. Therefore, I have tried to apply the things I have learnt in those classes into daily communications.

In school, I put the lessons into practice when I have assignments that require me to write scientific reports. However, as the technique for writing a report differs from an essay, I find it difficult to apply the exact method. Despite that, my knowledge gained from the course help me to correct sentence structures and basic grammar mistakes, which is also essential in a good report. It also enable me to convey ideas and explanations clearly, as compared to before.

At home, my family members and I try to improve our English by making a point to communicate in proper sentences instead of using ‘singlish’ phrases. By correcting the mistakes as we communicate, we get to learn from each other more effectively. In addition, we are also encouraged to watch more television programmes and news in English to learn from the broadcasters who speak fluently. This way, we can familiarise ourselves with the proper usage of the English language.

Although I feet that my writing skills have improved, there is still a long way to go in order to achieve academic writing standards as I often find expressing myself and formal communication a challenge. Therefore, I hope to improve on my writing skills during the current Academic English class so that I might be more eloquent in communicating ideas through texts.