Fourth semester (Spring 2024)

Reading

In the last two entries, I described what kinds of texts I can read and understand. This term I will concentrate on the quality of reading. I know that I can read fast but sometimes I tend to skip over less interesting parts of a text, which might hinder my understanding. On the other hand, I feel I can tell when I can afford to be less thorough in my reading. Nevertheless, I do pay special attention when reading school assignments.

Listening

When listening to spoken language, I am usually more successful with GA accent which I ascribe to the higher exposition to American speakers. With GB accent I really have to pay attention to the broadcast or a TV show and do nothing else.

Writing

My writing has been improving steadily since I started the programme. Unfortunately, my performance depends on my mood or state of mind. When I am tired, my brain refuses to cooperate and does not come up with a suitable word or an expression. Consequently, there have been some setbacks. My performance oscillates around a curve, but hopefully with an improving tendency. I often misspell words, use wrong forms of words or my writing does not make much sense. To avoid unnecessary mistakes, I look up words in an online dictionary and use spellcheck included in the computer programme I am currently writing in. Recently, I have discovered Grammarly, but I use it only mostly as a spellcheck and to place commas correctly.

Speaking

It is clear to me that my speaking is still very much in need of improvement and as in the case of my writing, my performance is influenced by many circumstances. What I find incredibly frustrating is how I sometime start in GB accent and finish in GA accent. I believe my difficulty with GB is partly psychological. I am of the impression that my GB accent sounds very fake and pretentious. Nevertheless, I am still set on learning it. On the other hand, I cannot expect to improve without actually participating in spoken interactions which I have to seek out actively as they are not part of my usual day.. In any case, I believe my speaking skills have been improving, even if not linearly, and I can recall and use expressions that I knew only passively a while ago. Moreover, I have made progress in my pronunciation, and I pronounce /ð/ more frequently and also /ɜː/ in words like first, purpose etc., which in my opinion makes me sound a little more sophisticated.

According to my practical language teacher who assessed my performance at the end of the last term, my vocabulary is quite broad, grammar reasonable, however, I should work on linking and intonation.

Third semester (2023)

In my self-assessment I will concentrate mostly on my speaking and writing skills for they are still very much in need of improvement. That is not to say that I neglect listening and reading, I would say the opposite is true for I still read in English and watch TV in English every day. Nevertheless, in comparison to the other two skills, I value my listening and reading skills much higher and I haven’t noticed much change.

My speaking skills have definitely improved since the beginning of the first year, I’m more confident in oral interactions, can recall words more easily and even my pronunciation has progressed. However, I’m still not satisfied and can be overwhelmed when I don’t have a good day. Also, I cannot decide which accent to speak in, I still tend to use GA when I am not properly concentrating. What is more, I was made aware during my last year Practical language and Phonetics examination that I don’t properly pronounce “th”.

I am happy to say that my writing skills have also improved, although it takes me some time to finish assignments. I still need to check spelling on many words I need to write, nevertheless I have been getting more and more sure. Also, my active vocabulary has got broader, I feel surer in using certain expressions. I still need to work on learning more linking words and interpunction.

Second semester (2023)

I will start with what I consider to be my strongest discipline and that would be reading. I reckon my understanding of the written word is very good, I’m able to absorb text of various lengths and topics. I can read without problem books, magazines, newspaper, extraits, articles, … fiction or non-fiction if they are written in common language. I might have problems with other dialects or variations of English but given enough context, I’m often able to deduce the meaning of the words I don’t know of any provenience. I’m familiar with some technical and medical jargon, nevertheless if the text becomes too technical, I may not be able to understand much, though I can guess the gist of it.

Next, I will assess my listening skills. I watch tv shows or listen to podcasts while doing housework. All of them in English, when possible. I am able to understand General British and General American and probably other accents as spoken in school, official media, podcasts and most of the shows. I have a problem with very thick accents such as Southern American, Cockney, Scottish, Irish …

At the beginning of my contemporary studies, my English writing was basically non-existent. I handed in my first assignment for intercultural studies late because I wasn’t able to finish on time, I was so rusty. This first assignment and others that followed gave me the much-needed push to work on my writing. From not being able to put 2 words together I’m now able to write more or less coherent text with a clear structure and appropriate vocabulary. Nevertheless, I need to work on spelling, interpunction and I need to broaden my vocabulary. Also, the use of cohesive structures could be better.

As one of my teachers once wrote, I’m good but slightly hesitant speaker who needs a relaxed environment. I think this is still valid, under pressure I get very stressed and self-conscious and my speaking is influenced accordingly. I believe my pronunciation is comprehensible, if not very good. I tend to speak in American accent, although not exclusively. As we are required to choose an accent and stick to it, I want to learn the GB accent.