PC1

PC 1 ended to be a disaster… but I will come back to that later.

Well prepared and organised I thought, I arrived at University to get started for the upcoming exam. It was our first PC this year. This is why I wanted to do my best to get an excellent grade at this one and also because I had already failed on it last year. However, PC1 had started and I decided to begin with the vocabulary section. Once I was done with this section I switched to grammar and reading. Well.. the last part to deal with was the writing part. I thought I did a good job on this one and on all of the other parts. That is why I walked home happily after my exam. This would change , though.

Two weeks after our exam we got back our VGR part of the exam. Luckily, I passed this one. I thought after passing this part I was happy… Yeah. Today we got back the writing part and I learned that I didn’t pass the exam. I was so angry at myself and my plan Is to do a better job on the 2^nd and 3^rd PC.

What I want to now to do a better job on the next PC:

•  I want to spend more time on studying for the vocab part so that I can make sure I will not spend so much time on it while sitting this exam
•  I want to improve my listening skills
• I want to do an excellent  job on the grammar part
• And I will count the words and read the instructions so that I can do a way better job on my writing part

Paragraph: Dictionaries

Having looked at a number of monolingual print dictionaries in class this week, I have decided that such dictionaries are not for me. I would rather use online dictionaries for many reasons. Print dictionaries in general are not practical. Every time you want to look up a word, almost the whole book needs to be looked through. With online dictionaries the word just has to be typed in and the information shows up in seconds. Concerning definitions, synonyms, example sentences, and so on, I also prefer online dictionaries because the range of them is much bigger than in printed ones. Another aspect I do not admire is the fact that print dictionaries have nothing like an App you can download on your phone. In case you need to know a definition for a word, you either have to bring the heavy, big book with you or wait until you are at home to look it up. Summing up, I can say that I would not buy a monolingual print dictionary since the online ones are more useful and practical.

(181 words)

 

  

Me as a language learner

Dear Fiona,

I started studying Transcultural Communication two years ago. Unfortunately I have not been as successful as I imagined thought I would concerning my studies. That is why I have to retake this course.

When I started studying I had neither had any special language learning experience, nor had I been to an English speaking country. That is exactly what changed this summer. I spent one month in Vancouver, where I took language courses and also improved my English by just speaking the language.

Concerning my language learning strengths, I am honestly not sure about what they are. Speaking could be something I am good at because I had one month practice in Canada. However, what I definitely can tell you more about are my weaknesses and what I want to focus on this semester, since I am in this course for the second time. Grammar has always been a problem and so it is my greatest concern. To evaluate this problem, my plan is to do some exercises at ‘’engishpage.com’’. I am also way too nervous when it comes to sitting an exam. In situations like that I make mistakes I always regret afterwards.

Summing up, I can tell you that I have high hopes for this semester and year. My plan is to study a lot for the upcoming exams and do my best to pass all of them so that I can take the Kommissionelle Gesamtprüfung.

Best wishes, Irina    (243 words)