Descriptive Reflection: Strengths and Challenges in Communicating

Rachel Ker
Yio Chu Kang Ave 18
#11-11
Singapore 600100

 12th September 2017

Ms Lim Lay Hoon
Lecturer
10 Dover Drive
Singapore 138683


Dear Ms Lim

Personal Strengths and Challenges in Communication

My name is Rachel Ker. I'm writing to you to introduce myself and to share with you my strengths and weaknesses in communicating and also my goals to achieve in this module, SIE2016 - Effective Communication. I'm currently majoring in SIE (Building Services). I've graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic, Diploma in Electrical Engineering with Eco - design, specialising in Green & Smart Technology. Upon researching what is in trend for Built-Industry, that spurred me to further my studies in the related course in university. Learning that BIM (Building Information Modelling) is an important tool for the Built-Industry, I have gained interest in knowing how BIM is going to affect the way I work in the future. My course of study in University will allow me to deepen my knowledge and understand the importance of utilising BIM.

My strength in communication lies in my ability to communicate and react appropriately to different situations. I have always been proficient in speaking Mandarin since young and Chinese was my best subject. This came into good use when I was in Xiamen, China, as it was the best time for me to utilise my Chinese while communicating with the locals. They were impressed by how I was able to communicate so well in Mandarin, and were even able to communicate and understand them in their local language as they thought Singaporean could not speak Mandarin properly. Other than speaking Mandarin, English is equally important in Singapore and is used daily as a main channel of spoken language. Most of us, with me as no exception, usually speak proper English in a more formal situation and revert to a more casual speaking Singlish when I'm with my friends and family. I reckon that it is very important to react differently in different situations, such as speaking in a different manner depending who your "audience" are. Only when both parties are on par in building the same level of respect and understanding would there be effective communication.

That being said, I do have to work on my English written and spoken skills, especially on vocabulary. Even though speaking English during presentation, interviews or even when meeting new people is a norm and is necessary, I do view my abilities to communicate in English to be less expressive than in Mandarin. Personally, I have more Chinese friends which allows me to communicate in Mandarin more often, this in turns neglects my practise at expressing myself in English. Multiple blunders in expression has reduced my confident level in speaking English, which led me to my reluctance in speaking English unless necessary.

I hope to fulfil two goals in this module. The first is to build up my confident level in English speaking and to overcome my shyness in public-speaking. Other than building my confident level and learning vocabulary through reading books, I hope to gain confident through the presentations and group discussions which allows me to speak up more, and me to overcome my shyness in speaking to more people. I hope to learn more in this module in terms of communicating with confident.

Yours Sincerely,
Rachel Ker

Student from SIE2016

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building)

Comments

  1. Winfred14 September 2017 at 06:03

    Hi Rachel

    Winfred here, i have discovered some mistakes in you letter.

    1) Your address is missing
    2) Spelling error - confident level should be confidence level
    3) You did not sign off

    In conclusion, a wonderfully crafted letter and great work.

    Thanks

    Winfred
    Fellow Student

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mindy14 September 2017 at 07:24

    Hi Rachel,

    Mindy here, perhaps you may want to spell out the full name of SIE, and a few minor grammar mistakes. However great insights given on your past experience in communicating, as well as the misuse of singlish in Singapore. All in all great effort, able to relate to your post! Thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arabella17 September 2017 at 01:47

    Hello Rachel,

    Arabella here. I think that your letter is neatly structured, strength and weakness are also well elaborated. I do agree with you on the importance of reacting flexibly in various situations. Other than the points Mindy and Winfred pointed out, do avoid using contracted forms of words such as "I've" and write it as "I have". Overall, i think your points are very relatable and the letter is well written. Great job! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown17 September 2017 at 05:40

    Hi Rachel,

    Amelia here. I loved the examples you gave. It was almost like reading a short story called "A trip to Xiamen". Are you sure you need improvements on your vocabulary? From this letter it seems great to me!
    "...presentation, interviews..." Do take note to standardise plural or singular forms to such things.
    Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ms. Lim17 September 2017 at 07:49

    Dear Rachel,

    I see good effort on your part to share with your readers your learning journey in communication. You touched on why you decided on your course of study at SIT, your strength in communication, as well as your lackluster command of the English language as compared to Chinese, before concluding with the two communicative goals you would like to fulfill. Your writing is descriptive, and at times offer readers insights into your takeaways from your communicative journey.

    While the content is captivating, the organisation of ideas could be enhanced to give your readers a more coherent read. As a writer, you will need to conscientiously draw links such that your readers can connect the dots in the ideas you intend to share - for example the first and the second paragraph seem to be distinct entities, so are paragraphs two and three.

    Also, as there is no mention of the module at all in the opening, the conclusion seems somewhat detached from the reason for writing – what module are you referring to, and why are you looking at fulfilling the two goals? In addition, the second goal on overcoming your apprehension in public-speaking seems abrupt given that no prelude has been given in the preceding paragraphs.

    Once you have tightened up your writing, it should make for a more coherent read.

    Thank you for sharing, Rachel, and I look forward to reading more of your blog posts!

    Cheers,
    Ms. Lim

    ReplyDelete

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