Comn 155- All Journal Entry PDF

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Consolidated all the journal entry required for completing the course...

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Learning Journal #1 Question: By the end of this course, your language proficiency should be at benchmark 8. Look at the CLB Can Do statements for benchmark 8 (reading and writing). What do you hope to achieve in COMN 155? Due to the fact that my language skills should be at benchmark 8 by the end of COMN 155, I still have some problems when it comes to writing section. For instance, it’s really challenging when I attempt to write a sympathy letter to someone, who has passed away, so I hope to obtain a tremendous range of vocabulary during this course in order to express my feelings appropriately in this scenario. Also, I hope that I’m going to learn more useful structures in expressing the information from charts, diagrams or graphs. About the reading abilities, I’m still struggling with reading 8-15 paragraphs and summarize the whole text into one or two paragraphs. Besides that, I feel uncomfortable and unconfident when facing this task because I’m not good at skimming the text properly and collecting main points in each paragraphs. If I had good strategies for this matter, my reading skills would be enhanced considerably.

Learning Journal #2 Question: Refer to the CLB Can Do statements for benchmark 8. What are some challenges you face when interacting with others? How do these challenges affect your day-to-day life in Canada? By double- checking the CLB Can Do statements, I notice Interacting with Others is the topic that I still have some challenges which need to be solved at the end of this course. For example, writing an email giving reassurance and responding to sympathy are quite challenging for me at the moment because I’ve never done those type of tasks before, even in my first language. Therefore, I lack the ability to express the ideas related whether in a reassurance email or a sympathy letter. Also, I have troubles when I try to find appropriate words to fit in those particular tasks. I think learning those things brings me more problems since I attended the ELF program, and I’m still adapting the environment in Canada. Because of that, I usually describe some expressions, which are frequently used in Vietnam, but it’s really awkward in Canada. In conclusion, I need to find a way to deal with my challenges in order to improve my English skills.

Learning Journal # 3 Question: What did you learn last week about giving and receiving constructive criticism? How can you use this understanding to improve your experience at school and in the workplace? Last week, I was taught how to give and receive constructive criticism in class. This will happen if someone has a poor performance in the workplace, so I need to give them some feedback. However, I’m not able to complain about their personality and the only thing I can do is talk about their working behavior. To be honest, I think this act won’t help solving the problem, and it may cause conflict between two people. Therefore, the best method to avoid making conflict and keep good relationship is stating the facts about the problems without attacking the person. In Canada, I believe that everybody tends to

keep their relationship strong, so the idea of constructive criticism is very beneficial and essential for my life here. This idea is the tool to help me maintain good relationship with my classmates or colleagues.

Learning Journal #4 Question: Why is goal-setting an important part of the learning process? How will you use goal setting to improve your English communication skills? Setting goal is a significant factor in the learning process, and it also helps me to achieve a certain learning level that I desire if I want to be successful in the future. By making the goals, I’m able to recognize my abilities at the moment, and the goals motivate myself to expand my skills to a higher level. My goal in studying English is to be able to communicate with the people without making too many mistakes. In order to achieve my goal, I usually note down new expressions I’m interested in or the vocabulary that I’ve never known before when I’m in class. After I accomplish my homework, I spend at most one hour to look up the definition of the new words I’ve taken in my note, and try to remember it, or use them in my journals. By doing that, I’m going to obtain more knowledge and ensure to reach my goal easily.

Learning Journal #5 Question: Look at the CLB Can Do statements for Benchmark 8. What are some challenges you face when comprehending instructions and reproducing information? How do these challenges affect your day-to-day life in Canada? After looking at the CLB Can do statements, Comprehending Instructions is one of the category in the reading section that I should be capable of comprehending a much complicated procedure. To be more specific, following extended instructions, which might up to fifteen paragraphs, is an obstacle for me at the moment. I think everybody has a certain knowledge on one or two particular areas but not all of the fields, and the process of learning can be last a lifetime. If someone asked me to program a small electronic item in Canada, I would be nervous and afraid of failure because there are some definitions that I don’t understand. With regards to reproducing information in the writing section, I should be able to make two pages summary of a text or take notes to prepare for writing instructions. Those skills are still concerning me. In order to produce a well- organized note, I must have a fair amount of knowledge about one specific topic. When I listen to the Calgary news on the radio or on the TV, they just speak so fast that I’m not able to catch every word they say, although I try my best. In conclusion, those challenges will be a huge impact in my life if I don’t figure out some relevant solutions.

Learning Journal #6 Question: Think of the expression “time is money.” What do you think this says about how Englishspeaking Canadians understand time? I would like to analyze each of the word in the definition first. In general, “money” is an item that can be banknotes or coins, and people always use it to buy and trade for almost everything. “Time” has a limited period, and everybody owns the same amount of time. By saying “time is money”, they symbolize time as a valuable resources in our life which is money, and so that’s why time management is really important to each of us in order to generate benefits. Having lived in Canada for almost two years, I believe that most Canadians extremely values their time and always being punctual all of the time. As a result, they have been learning lots of time management strategies throughout their life. I think they can control the time well, and they’re able to gain more experiences or bring in more benefits for themselves.

Learning Journal #7 Question: Think about some of the mistakes that you made or misunderstandings that you had last week. How did you use them as learning experiences? Learning English is a process that can’t be missed in my daily life since I came to Canada. When living here, I frequently make plenty of mistakes by misunderstanding the Canadian culture. For instance, when I was talking to the Canadian for the first time, I couldn’t understand what he is saying at all, then I asked him to repeat again. Even though the guy said that again, I wasn’t able to catch every word he spoke in the second time. I might have been confused as a listener and I didn’t even know what his reaction at that time was. Had I asked him to say everything again in the third time, I would have felt very awkward. However, mistakes always be a key to success, and my parents told me not to be afraid of failure because it’s a good idea to learn from failure in order to deepen my knowledge. I shouldn’t be embarrassed when I make a mistake. Instead of being sad, I’ll keep moving forward and never stop learning.

Learning Journal #8 Question: What are some of the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? What are your motivations for learning English? To demonstrate in my words, intrinsic motivation is a force that you have within yourselves when you enjoy doing activities such as playing sports or reading books. The rewards itself can be money or compliments from the people, and it doesn’t influence our decision much in doing the activity. Besides that, extrinsic motivation usually affected by the external factors, for instance, promotion in the workplace, raise in salary or having good grades in class. We ought to do one particular occupation if we want something from the other people.

In regards to learning English, my motivations are mostly intrinsic because I want to encourage myself to be fluent in English. I usually find learning English expressions or new vocabulary exciting me. When I hear something for the first time, I usually take note and look up the definition in my spare time. As I frequently watch movies at home, I tend to turn on the subtitle in order to learn some expressions from different type of characteristics in the movie. Not only is watching movies entertaining, but also it’s a helpful tool to study English.

Learning Journal #9 Question: Are there any differences between an effective instructor in your home country and an effective instructor in the ELF program? Explain. Since the cultures in Canada and Vietnam are distinct, there are some differences between the teaching styles in both countries. In Vietnam, we always respect the teachers as ours parents because they support us to become more successful in the future, and they also treat us as their children. They teach the lessons very carefully in order to make the students understand the theory properly before starting to do some exercises related to the topic. In contrast to the Canadian’s teaching method, I believe that the instructors treat the students like their friends. In the ELF program, the teachers usually give me feedback about my English skills, so that I can learn more about my mistakes and improve my abilities. Although the teaching styles are dissimilar, they are both effective in learning and the consequence might be not the same.

Learning Journal #10 Question: Refer to the CLB Can Do statements for benchmark 8. What are some challenges you face when you are required to fill out extensive forms, and how do these challenges affect your life in Canada? I still remember the time when I ought to fill plenty of application forms in order to study in Canada, and I don’t even know which sections in the form I should start first. If the information is lengthy, I’m not able to recognize the important details in the text, and it also makes me frustrated every time before I get started. Besides that, the worst situation I’ve ever faced is complete a complicated form just in a short amount of time, obviously, I feel stressful and lack of confident. As an international student, it’s compulsory to renew my study permit when it expires in order to continue my learning in Canada. I remember one time that I had to fill out a renewal study permit form, and there were some questions in terms of finance in my family. This was my first time doing this by myself, so I wasn’t sure about my responses. After I had accomplished the form, I gave it to my cousin for confirmation, and he said some of the responses were incorrect. I need to redo it again because there was no spot to write the answers. This situation have taught me a valuable lesson which is always ask for guidance before doing something significant.

Learning Journal #11 Question: Review the tasks that you have completed in class in the past week. Which were the most challenging, and why? In the previous week, I finished a variety of tasks in terms of summarizing and outlining. I had to watch a video which was around twenty-five minutes long in the pre-task process. I found the video quite challenging for me when I listened to it because the narrator spoke too fast sometimes. Also, there were some expressions or the idiomatic language in the film that I’ve heard for the first time and I had no idea what they were talking about. The tasks were unfamiliar to me, so that’s why it was really hard to collect the main ideas in the video. Based on the task requirements, I had to take some notes during the video, then, a brief outline or a detailed summary must be completed in class, and this is the stage that I’m struggling with. As I didn’t collect the information from the video successfully, I was not able to deliver the instructions properly to the audience, so I didn’t meet the expectations of the task. Had I looked at the task before go to class, I would have had a better result in my writing.

Learning Journal #12 Question: Do you think that the atmosphere in a classroom makes a big difference in the way that students learn? Give examples to support your answer. I strongly believe that the classroom atmosphere plays a significant role in the way that students learn. For instance, when I come to class every day, I tend to ask questions and participate in the activities in class if I’m interested in the topic or I feel the most comfortable. The confidence and being active will be collectively established from the contributions of the teacher and the students. In order to do that, each student should have a positive attitude towards learning and respect each other. There should be no policies against student’s creativeness and enjoyment. Obviously, memory will never fade, especially when you’re enjoy doing fun and interesting activities in class. Both instructor and students should always be dynamic and open-minded, so that the learning process will be effective.

Learning Journal #13 Question: Canadians use the idiom “get the ball rolling.” What do you think this says about Canadian workplace culture? I’ve never heard this type of idiom since I came to Canada, so I looked up the meaning on the Internet. After I finish my research, the idiom means making something started and catching up the opportunity. I believe that most of the Canadians really enjoy taking initiative based on the idea of “get the ball rolling”. They prefer finding the opportunity rather than waiting it to come. In the workplace, they tend to work constantly and they always put plenty of their efforts into building a good relationship with their co-workers. In order to achieve the goal, the Canadians will never stop gaining experiences, or expanding the abilities in their profession. I strongly believe that this characteristic is worthwhile for the

people who have a strong passion towards something including myself, so I hope this concept will be my asset in one day.

Learning Journal #14 Question: In the language classroom, are you an introvert, an extrovert, or both? How does this affect your learning? Introverts tend to be quiet and they usually listen to other people ideas, but not sharing their own opinions in class. They spend most of their time alone at home, library or park. Had the class had many introverts, the activities would have become less interesting and exciting. Also, the instructor needs to put some extra efforts in order to make the introverts communicate more in class. On the other hand, the extroverts are typically energetic, and they share the ideas related to the lesson regularly. The benefit of having extroverts is that more engaging ideas will be presented. The class which is full of extroverts will contain lots of speaking and discussion all the time. For me, I believe that I’m a person who has both qualities of an introvert and an extrovert because I want to balance the number of extroverts and introverts in class in order to make the learning environment more effective. Therefore, I usually observe and listen to my classmates’ ideas and speak whenever I have questions to ask, or ideas to share with the class.

Learning Journal #15 Question: What did you learn from completing the culture awareness project? By completing the culture awareness project, I have learned some new knowledge for myself such as how to work effectively in a group or how to find a right fit in a workplace. In terms of the group work, we had been struggling with the reply’s letter because each member had different ideas, so we couldn’t come up with a final decision. It took us a while to come to a consent. We’ve noticed that solving the problem plays an important role in promoting the quality of group’s work and it also helps us to improve our communication. In regards to the assignment, I’ve done plenty of research related to the Canadian workplace, especially how to get a job in Calgary. I found that the only way to look for the right company is by identifying its values before handing in the resume. In Calgary, the recruiting process is really different when comparing to other cities. I also have to understand my roles and expectations properly if want to have a sustainable occupation. Learning Journal #16 Question: Think about the importance of taking risks when learning to communicate in another language. Describe a time when you took a risk in English. What was the outcome? I usually take risks in learning English for the purpose of expanding my English skills, and obtaining knowledge that I’ve never known before. Since Canada is a modern city and everything I bought is mostly purchased by credit card, it’s necessary for me to open a bank account in Calgary. I

went to the TD branch, which is near my house, to open one. I believe that there were many challenges for me because I couldn’t understand how the banking system works or the banking terms on the paper. After much explanation from the teller, I’ve learned a variety of things in terms of Transaction, Maximum Payment, Interest, or Loans. Had I not known about those things, I would have owed the bank a lots of money by now. Also, I’ve noticed the way that the teller interacts with the clients professionally in English and how they make the customers understand the terms easily. Taking risks in learning English is not always give me the negative side, but it also helps me to gain more relevant knowledge in English and life. I’ll keep venturing in order to improve my communication skills.

Learning Journal #17 Question: Are there any differences between the work environments in Canada and in your home country? Explain. Since Vietnam and Canada are difference in cultures, I believe that the working environments are dissimilar between two countries. My country doesn’t have much area as Canada, so we usually work with seven or eight people in a cramped office. Because of that, there are lots of noise and distracting inside the room. We seldom give each other feedback directly about the performance at work because most of them are going to feel embarrassed or stressful. The employees usually agree on the managers or the boss’s decisions despite the fact that they have different ideas. That’s how Vietnamese people obtain long term employment. As opposed to Vietnam, Canada has a huge advantage towards area. The employees have plenty of private space for themselves in the office and each of them has their own room. There are some policies related to noise or scent in the workplace, so it makes the Canadian workplace become securer. Besides that, I think the managers treat the staffs just like their friends and the only thing different is the obligation between them. In order to keep the workplace full of energy, they always contribute a variety of ideas and respect each other.

Learning Journal #18 Question: Look at the CLB Can Do statements for benchmark 8. What are some challenges you face when trying to understand and share information? How do these challenges affect your day-to-day life in Canada? In terms of writing section, I need to have a certain understanding about some particular topic if I want to write a convincing letter to the audience. The difficult part is finding the appropriate ideas to put into this writing, and brainstorming is still a challenge for me up to now. When I have to explain the information that is already presented in the text, word choice would be a challenge in this case because wrong word choice could make the readers con...