Critical Reflection

Looking back to my descriptive reflection at the start of this module, I recall that I aimed to improve my communication skills, specifically when meeting new people. However, during the final presentation, where I had initially assumed that I would be confident when speaking in front of a crowd, I found myself feeling anxious and timid where I needed to force confidence. By doing so, I was unable to be calm and collected, I was unable to be casual and I lost all forms of fluidity during the presentation. This experience opened my mind where I realised that just because I was able to do a certain activity well beforehand, I would not be able to do the same in the future. Furthermore, I had my doubts in this module in terms of improving my communication skills with strangers, but it seems that I was mistaken.

I found that the way the class was held, where we were encouraged to speak up and have discussions, strengthened my communication skills when speaking to strangers. I felt more confident communicating when I was approached by strangers outside of school when they needed help with directions. I realised that I had unconsciously fulfilled my goal of communicating with strangers through this module. Overall, this module has amazed me as it affected me on the personal level. What I believed to be my strengths proved to be my weakness and vice versa. It made me realise that it is this type of unconscious learning that is most effective in improving my personal abilities. This ‘unconscious learning’ imprints new abilities and lessons which will last throughout my lifetime. From the little of what I expected from a simple communication module may very well turn out to be my favourite module throughout my degree.

In terms of writing skills, I feel that I have learned more as the feedback that was given from my reader response writing made me realize certain grammatical structures of which I was unaware such as the ‘dangling modifier’ error I made. In addition to this, I believe that for the first time in my life, I experienced the idea of ‘unlearning.’ Perhaps I had unconsciously encountered it before, but I was still unaware of this idea at that point in time. I had to unlearn and relearn the proper ways of citation. It may seem trivial to some but as I was doing the citations for my reader response writing, it suddenly it me that I was unlearning and relearning. I had to somewhat discard the citation skills which were taught in my polytechnic studies and relearn said skills here in this module. I will try to continue using the skills which I have learnt in any future writings, but I feel that I may continue to make mistakes. I guess that these types of technical learning may not be as effective to me but perhaps the goal is to continue minimising the mistakes made in future writings. 

All in all, I feel that this module has been extremely effective in terms of improving my abilities in communication. From communicating with others verbally to written text, I feel I can convey my thoughts and ideas with more clarity with the skills I have learnt. On a more personal scale, this module has shocked and amazed me as it affected me subconsciously. I was made aware of a way of learning which is currently proving to be effective for me and I was also able to experience what it meant to unlearn and relearn; an idea which I felt was made up. This module has made me more open-minded in the ways of learning and the skills taught in both writing and presentations will be carried on to my future work and learning experience.