Monthly Archives: November 2015

Learn Languages Earlier

When I was 3 years old, my parents got me involved in many activities. I went to swimming lessons, dancing and French lessons. I understood why I went swimming, for safety, and then I went to dancing because my older cousins were in it and it interested me but I always wondered why I went to French lessons. After speaking to my parents, I found out it was because my mum was aware of all the benefits that learning a second language at such a young age brings to a child such as it broadens their knowledge of different cultures, improves creativity and sharpens the brain.

I remember being very shy at French lessons and I barely spoke but I took in everything they said. I used to do the homework they set us in the living room with my dad on a Sunday night with the cassette player. I only went to French lessons till I was 7 and then had to stop as I became more involved in dancing. However, I still feel that what I learnt benefitted me when I started learning languages in Primary 5 as I could still remember the basics.

As well as going to French lessons, my grandparents also spoke basic French. We were taught French songs such as “Sur le pont d’avignon” and the well known “Frere Jacques”.  Still to this day, anytime I walk into my granddad’s house, the first thing he says to me is “Bonjour, Comment ca va?” and we are expected to reply in French and ask him back. It might be basic but it has kept the French language fresh in my brain and even though I stopped learning French after Standard Grade 2 years ago, I can still reply to simply questions and answers.

Therefore, due to my early experiences in learning a language, I feel that children as young as Primary 1 and nursery should be learning another language. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a couple of songs and a couple of questions but the soon the language and, in particular, the accent in programmed into their brains the easier it is for them to pick it up again.

Basic Academic Skills

During primary school, I knew that I was stronger at Maths than I was at English. I was in top set Maths but in the second group for English. When I moved up to secondary school, the teachers just assumed that I was good at English as I didn’t struggle in any other subject. It wasn’t until we were streamed in third year that I realised how much I was struggling. With the help of an English tutor, I was able to pass Intermediate 2 and then go on to get a B at higher, however I did have to put a lot of hard work in.

During Advanced Higher History, I was constantly told that I had all the correct information and would get the marks I needed but that my English was “clumsy”, this statement has stuck in my head since.

Due to past experiences, I was slightly nervous that my English skills would hold me back at University but thanks to the Online Module and Study Skills book, I feel more confident. I took my time doing the reading and copied up the notes so I can refer back to them. It has also made me more careful when writing and I now remember to read over my work.

I hope by refreshing my memory and improving my grammar and punctuation skills that I will be at a standard suitable for university level writing.

My reflection on Feedback

Personally, I feel that feedback is very beneficial. Feedback is given to improve you as a person and ensure that you can do the job to the best of your ability. I am a dancer and a horse rider and both these sports involve a lot of feedback. You should not feel embarrassed by negative feedback as it is only being given to make you better. Both in horse riding and dancing, I have had private lessons during which I was given a lot of feedback and criticism to take on board. I have learnt not to be offended by it as my teacher only wants me to be the best that I can. Also in group lessons and classes, we learnt to give feedback to each other to ensure that we were all kept safe and that our group could come out on top and win competitions.

The benefits of feedback is that it helps you grow as a group. It makes you feel that you can rely on others and that they will help you when needed. It also helps you to improve your skills and allows you to identify where more work is needed. Also sometimes, having another person’s perspective changes your view on something and allows you to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. However, a disadvantage of peer feedback is that it could be used incorrectly. Sometimes, people respond harshly when they originally didn’t intend to which can led to disagreements and frustration.

I have found that receiving postive feedback makes me feel more confident in my work. Any negative feedback I receive makes me even more determined to work harder to ensure that I do not make the same mistake again. I feel that when you are given feedback, it encourages you to work harder due to the confidence boost and also because you want to prove to the person that you have taken their views on board and have improved.

When given feedback, I find it easy to give positive feedback but I find it more difficult to express the negative feedback. I have learnt that if you word it in a certain way it comes across better. For example – maybe next time, you should think more about…

Feedback is something which is used throughout life and as a teacher it is important to give feedback to pupils and fellow teachers. As a student teacher, I will be receiving a lot of feedback from lectures and teachers on my placement and I understand that not all of it is going to be positive but I know that it will make me even more determined to succeed and try harder.