I recently discovered that all the hours and effort we have been putting into our work is paying off...big time! Last week we assigned a journal prompt based on PRIME the PUMP, an idiom we presented the first week of class showing 10 ways students could augment their exposure to English and enhance their English skills.
I'll let them "tell" you:
Seven said:
"First, I want to say I am honored to have such a wonderful foreign teacher. This is not flattering, it true. Every time when my journal was handed back, I found its mistakes were all pointed out and corrected. I can see the enthusiasm and passion you've put into my work. I really appreciate it. After getting my journal I looked through it again and again, especially focusing on my mistakes. I try to bear them in my mind and avoid repeating them again. I love committing mistakes. Writing becomes easier. It is not so boring any more. I'm making progress."
Vicky wrote: "In the past I was always afraid of writing in English. Writing seems difficult to me because I often don't know how to express my ideas and feelings exactly. But this semester, with the help of Mrs. Kuzmich and writing class, my attitude toward writing has been improved a lot.
Hermione wrote:
"Though I major in English translation in university, I was upset to find we didn't have any course related to translation and interpretation. The school dean finally realized this problem and set the course - English Writing for us sophomores. To my excitement, the teacher has an unusual, extraordinary teaching style which inspire the enthusiasm in the whole room.........Fortunately, the teacher helped us to distinguish the "a" and the "an" in terms of pronunciation of nouns, which mad it much easier to remember it, though it's still a very big problem......By the way, students in English major often showoff when writing, writing long and complicated sentences to indicate they are expert in English. However, that makes English native speakers confused to understand. After learning 'how to make your sentence *Better', I have learned to get rid of rambling sentence and make it clearly.....Reading journals from my classmates helps me to pat attention....The teacher has taught many idioms and famous sayings which makes writing colorful...I am very excited to find that I fall in love with pondering English writing and keep writing fluently. I owe my happiness to Mrs. Roslyn. p.s. I love your smile."
Cola wrote:
"At the TEM-4 (Test for English Major grade 4) last semester, the writing part accounted for 25 point and I only got 17 points. That's such a poor grade I knew that to write a good composition, I still have a long way to go. Luckily, this semester we have a really excellent English Writing teacher. She works hard and teaches very well. I really appreciate her help. In addition, I prime the pump after class in order to improve my writing skills."
Dora wrote:
"I can well remember that last year when I prepared for CCTV Cup English speech contest.....My teacher helped me with that and told me that when I became a sophomore, we could have a new course, WRITING, where I could learn how to write article systematically. Now, one year later, I have taken this course for nearly two months and I really learned so much from our writing course.....Three days ago, I wrote two article entitled: 'Australia With my Eyes" and My View on Social Networking" which both gained high praise from my teachers who said that my writing skills had improved quite a lot. I know that it is what I've learned from writing class."
Indigo wrote:
"Thanks to the constant writing practice, now I am able to express myself and write down my own words freely. Beside, 'mistakes are the portals of discovery'.** When I write, there are still some mistake, but now I am much more confident to accept my mistakes and correct them. To some extent, this may well be one of the most important improvements.....Two English websites our teacher gives us help me a lot."
Susan wrote:
"I had been always satisfied with my English Writing skills sine I learned English as a foreign language, for my composition had been read and appreciated among my classmates. But this changed after I took English Writing class this semester. Though I felt frustrated when my mistakes were picked up by my teacher, I realize that my composition needed to be better and then best."
* I taught them how to write good - Better - BEST sentences. They actually listen and apply !!
** This was one of the quotes I presented, we discussed and then used as a journal prompt the first week.
All the time reading and correcting every journal entry and every quick write is worth the effort when you see the dramatic improvement in their writing in just 2 months.
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