Reflection

1. Please offer your suggestions as how we can grade your performance better?
2. Based on the criteria you suggested in Q1, please give a score to yourself and explain how you’ve earned it.
3. Based on the criteria you suggested in Q1, please give a score to your partner and explain how s/he has earned it.

First, I want to say “thank you.” to my key pal, who writes and responds our blog diligently and teachers, who give us this chance to learn much without respect to English writing or life experiences. Second, I have to offer some suggestions about grading our performance. In my opinion, we can grade our writing as following items: grammar, contents, manners to our key pal, punctuality (if we write blogs regularly.) and creativity (if someone has special ideas toward a task or writes his or her blog with originality.) In addition, I think that our key pal and classmates can participate in grading. Since our key pal knows our performance thoroughly and our classmates can make comparison with themselves’ as well as others’ blogs, I think key pal and peers are essential in our grading.
If a full mark is 10, I think that I can get 6. As I mentioned in the previous task, I do not response my key pal on schedule sometimes. I often owe my key pal responses. When I see “one response” in our blog and there is no my response on it, I always feel guilty to my key pal and myself. But at least, I follow the time of each task (from Wednesday to next Wednesday) regularly. I think that I can get basic points. Besides, the four points I cannot gain respectively belong to grammar, contents, and creativity. I dare not say that I have no grammar mistake in every task but I do my best to check my writing before posting on our blog. I hope that I can make my key pal read my writing without difficulties as far as possible. Moreover, in contents, I must frankly say that in my first task, I write insufficiently. I should write much in order to show respect to my key pal and myself. Therefore, in the following tasks, I gradually learn to control and enrich my contents. In the process of writing our blog, I really acquire many internal and external skills.
I think that Faith can earn 8. Firstly, she always responds to my essay instantly. Never have I seen that she forgets her responses. Furthermore, Faith not only posts her responses but her writing on her blog. I can feel her great earnestness in this part. Secondly, Faith is a person who has ability to point out my faults and teaches me how to correct it with patience and manners. For example, in self evaluation and peer review, she uses “dear Tina” to call me. It really makes me feel her kindness and faith. I have to say that Faith is faithful indeed. Last but not least, regardless of her abundant experience in teaching and learning, her punctuality and her enthusiasm, Faith is not the stereotype of people who have worked for many years in society. I mean that I do not feel age gap in our interaction. Also, I know that she must have much zeal in learning since she has children but she is still willing to learn. It makes me think of one of the principles in our department—life long learning. Faith is really a excellent demonstration to this principle.

Ps. Hello, Faith. Do you receive my X’mas card? Hope you will like it.

Learning activities and Learner Types

1. Based on your preference, what kind of classroom activity do you like most and which one do you like the least?
2. Can you recall some very fun activity you experienced recently in class? Please describe it.
3. When encountering some kind of difficult knowledge, do you have any strategies to process it?
4. Based on your responses to Q1, Q2, and Q3, can you tell the type of learner you are? Why?
In the six kinds of classroom activities (reading, listening, watching, hands-on activity, discussion or reflection), I personally like discussion or reflection most. To me, it is interesting to listen to others’ viewpoint toward the same topic. I am curious about others’ thoughts and creativity. Also, in the process of discussion, I am always surprised by peers’ good ideas and wonder how she or he comes up with those amazing ideas. After all, a man couldn’t see completely than a group. On the other hand, trough reflection, I can gain much opportunity to organize my idea into words. During discussion, I can exchange my opinions with friends and clarify my thinking at the same time. I can learn something good from others and change into mine or improve what I lack. When it comes to the activity I dislike, I think reading is my answer. I feel a bit annoyed when I read something but can not remember, especially in tests. Besides, I can’t bear to read materials I don’t like or have no interest.
I think learning could be an enjoyment rather than torture. For example, in my German class, the teacher usually teaches and plays a German song. If someone forgets to bring textbooks, the careless classmate has to sing a song. I am glad to learn German in such a natural way. Furthermore, the German teacher even teaches us how to say four-letter words in German. In my opinion, maybe I will forget some German words or dialogue after several years but thee song will help me recall of something.
Difficulties are inevitable in learning process. Learning in fun is not synonymous with learning in laziness. Take myself for example; I have difficulties in one of my general knowledge course about multimedia web design. I am clumsy when dealing with computers and have no experience of web design previously. I feel anxious not only in class but after class particularly in handing assignment and test paper. I always afraid of forgetting steps of web design and have no confidence to do well like predecessors or peers. To overcome these hardships, I watch the video the teacher provides on the e-course and learn to do as good as demo steps by steps. If I have problem, I will ask my classmates. I don’t have excellent learning strategies but I believe learning steadily and surely is the best way for me.
According to my learning methods, I think I am an individual learner. That is, I learn independently. I have my personal thought and I am stubborn in it. I seldom ask to others and show my confusion in appearance. This learning type is not fine actually. However, I think it can become my unique learning way if I can ask questions or discuss with others regularly.

Self Evaluation and Peer Review

I will give us 6 points. To be frank, I feel ashamed not to respond and write my blog as soon as my key pal, Faith. I am lucky to have Faith as a key pal. She has long period of English teaching experience and mature viewpoint. Through reading her paragraph, I can see things in different ways. Her writing often regards of her life experience about children, her teaching experience, and her goal in pursuing life long learning. I admire her perseverance and diligence to return school even as a mother. I hope that I can have the same learning enthusiasm and write experienced essays as her after several years.
In the case of my writing, I think that I tend to write my personal experience into blogs but forget to convey my opinions. Furthermore, after seeing other classmates’ blogs, I find various merits I can learn from them. Firstly, some of my peers use Q and A writing style. It can classify questions provided and avoid losing focus. When writing a long paragraph, sometimes, I will drop the questions provided or don’t explain it clear. Next time, I have to examine my paragraph carefully when writing lest I should make the same mistake. Secondly, I find out blogs have a function called “follower.” Most of my classmates might have read others’ paragraphs through this function. And, their blogs almost have more than one follower. I think my informative ability should improve since I have not used this function to read others writing. Thirdly, some people post their videos or composition practice related to this course on their blogs. Moreover, some use creative titles in their essays. For me, originality is what I need to strengthen.
In the remaining times, I hope I can write smoothly, constructively and creatively. Besides, through writing blogs, I find I can expand the length of my paragraph freely rather than not knowing what to write. I believe over these days, we two must learn much other than competition writing. Last but not least, I have to say thank you for my key pal,Faith,who doesn’t feel tired to read my writing and response.