Reflection Essay

Believe it or not, this first semester was really challenging, as this is my very first time studying abroad, and it has been a couple of years since I left the education field. Especially, I gotta learn everything not in my mother language. I was not used to the school system at all, and the worst part was that I was working 6 days a week by the start of the semester, so I failed to manage my schedule properly. But after a couple of months, I found out that it’s not possible at all to move on with this schedule, so I decided to focus on my academics and quit one of my jobs. After that, I found myself a little bit comfortable with my studying journey.

Honestly, I am not a big fan of literary subjects, and I more prefer Science majors, like Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, but not Biology. However, to graduate, I need to study those majors as well. This semester, I did not research the classes much before I took them. I only prioritized time flexibility. And I am glad I ended up in this Eng class, that I had a chance to learn a lot of new things, like rhetorical situations that cover Context and Exigence, the investment and credentials of the author of the text, different genres including academic essays, personal essays, poems, and political ones. And now I can think about my intended audience when I am writing something, all thanks to those rhetorical worksheets. I am not in the advanced level of writing, but now I know the purpose, argument, evidence, and citation play important roles in the text. It is good to know about other kinds of English as well, and as I remember, in one of the lectures, the professor asked me why some white and other social influencers use African American Vernacular English (AAVE), I could not respond to that and lately I have been thinking about it and I believed this kind of English is really candid and I think there is no filter like the standard English and the influencers want their audience to indicate their transparency with that kind of English. During this semester, I did something new that I never imagined to, which is writing a poem. After learning Theme for English B, an excellent poem by Langston Hughe, I really like the way a poem conveys a message concisely, so I decided to make a poem for my Language and LLN adaptation, and I am really proud of how that poem turned out. Throughout the semester, there was a text that stole my heart was “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. I really like the way she breaks down the term of Broken English as Limited English and the text was really easy to understand. I also liked that she included the quote about what her mom talked about during the recent conversation, which she recorded. Honestly, I know her mom was not saying Standard English, but I totally got it what she was saying. Concerning the text, my research essay was about accent discrimination because I really admired how Amy Tan described how her life was limited because of her mother’s English so I would like to illustrate the consequences of accent discrimination.

In Essence, although my first semester studying abroad was challenging, it became a meaningful learning experience. Despite language barriers, I gained valuable knowledge and skills from this English class. I learned the importance of rhetorical concepts, audience awareness, and effective writing strategies, while also exploring different forms of English and literature. Through texts like Mother Tongue and my own writing experiences, I developed a deeper understanding of language, identity, and communication, which will continue to help me in my academic journey.