Reflection:

Time has passed very fast, before I knew it, this is my sixth week in school. I have gone through half of the semester and have attended countless of Maths and Science tutorials. Well, this is what I should have expected when I have chosen to study Engineering. It’s quite tiring for me to take six modules in this semester. Luckily for me, out of these six modules, one of them is EG1471. This is the only module which is not totally related to Math and Science.

Although it is true that all the research and essays that I have done in EG1471 is related to engineering, at least I do not have to crack my brain and use equations to solve the problems in my work. EG1471 has given me the opportunity to read up on up to date information with regards to engineering and also taught me the essential skills to write an essay. It has helped me in many areas especially for writing my laboratory reports for Chemistry. In order for students to have their own self pace learning, CELC has provided a study place, called the SELF, which allows student to study and to build up their English foundation. This environment has all the necessary reference books and other facilities just for us.

All in all, it has been an enjoyable lesson for these few weeks in EG1471. It is not only a place for me to brush up my English but also to engage some cultural exchange with all the different nationalities in my class.

Writing Assignment 1: Disadvantages of focusing STEM education rather than language arts.

Over these years, the advancement in technology and science is very remarkable. Science and technology have helped us in many ways and our need and desire on them will continue to expand. In order to sustain this continuing advancement, more emphasis is placed on STEM education rather than language arts. However, focusing more on STEM education instead of language arts will cause some disadvantages which will be discussed in this essay.

Language arts may be deemed as the capability of writing and reading, but it is more than that. According to Homeroom Teacher (2006), language arts can be demonstrated in “poetry, plays, song lyrics, screen plays, novels.” It is a form of communication which we cannot neglect.
Focusing more on STEM education, it will cause the students to be “unbalanced”. Students have minimum exposure of literature and poetry; therefore, they do not have the opportunity to apply and practise their creative style of writing. There will be a drop in the literacy skills of the students and their command of language and usage of grammar will deteriorate. Moreover, famous poetry and novels may lose their values and will not be well-appreciated by the younger generations.

In addition, language arts play a big part in plays, screen plays and song lyrics. Without providing a proper platform, we will not be able to cultivate and unveil potential students who have talent in songs or script writing. The proportion of such talents may diminish in time to come.

Furthermore, emphasising on STEM education may cause the loss of traditions as well as the opportunity to build up the character of the students. For instance, Chinese calligraphy is an important art form for the early Chinese civilisation. According to an article (n.d) from ChinaConnection, “Chinese calligraphy can bring physical and spiritual benefits to the practitioner, and can train one in discipline, patience, and persistence.” Therefore, language arts can build up the personalities and inculcate correct values into the students.

In conclusion, STEM education may seem to be of more importance than language arts, but it does not equip us with the essential writing skills and building up our characters. Equilibrium should be reached between STEM education and language arts so that the students will have a more balanced education system.

Reference:
Homeroom Teacher. (1998-2006) Teacher supplier info center: Language Arts. Retrieved
September 2 2008, from http://www.homeroomteacher.com/infolanguagearts.html
ChinatownConnection. (n.d.). Chinese society, traditions: Chinese calligraphy. Retrieved
September 2 2008, from http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese_calligraphy.htm

Item 2, Common grammar mistake

One of my common grammar mistakes that I have made in my first assignment will be the inaccurate use of preposition. What is a preposition? A preposition describes a relationship between other words (noun, pronoun) in a sentence. It is often used with other words to form prepositional phrases and preposition normally comes before the noun (Learn English Language, n.d). A preposition usually indicates a logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. For instance,

I placed my laptop on the table.

The preposition, on, locates the noun “laptop” in space or in time.
Preposition can be simple (in, on, into) or compound (in between, because of ). They can also be classified under preposition of time and preposition of space. Sometimes a preposition can be used in both ways. For example,

The bus will be here shortly in a minute or two.

Please help yourself with the food in the kitchen.

In this case, the preposition, in, was used in preposition of time and preposition of space.

Preposition can also be found in parallel form. The preposition will not be repeated if two phrases used in parallel require the same preposition to be idiomatically correct (Capital Community College Foundation, n.d). This can be shown in this example,

You can wear this outfit in summer and in winter.

On the other hand, there are cases which requires different preposition to make the sentence correct. Look at this,

The children were interested in and disgusted by the movie.

Here are a few questions to try out (ESL English Quiz, 2001,2004):
1) ________ my stay in New York, I have made a lot of friends
2) The library is open _______ four to nine.
3) There will be a concert ________ in the evening.
4) We will have a party _______ Christmas Eve.
5) Classes begin _______ nine in the morning.

Referenes:
Learn English Language (n.d). English Grammar: Prepostion. Retrieve September 13, 2008,
from http://www.englishlanguageguide.com/english/grammar/preposition.asp
Capital Community College Foundation (n.d). Preposition: Locater in time and space.
Retreive September 13, 2008 from
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm
Kelly, C. (2001,2004) Activities for ESL students: ESL English Quiz. Retrieved September
13, 2008, from http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz98bck.htm