Final Reflection

Initially when I was introduced to this module by my friend, I was hesitant in taking it up. As this module is an English module, I felt that the proficiency of English plays a large role in our assessment. Due to my poor command of English, I was afraid that I may score badly for this module. On the other hand, I was really keen to try this module out as the content that will be taught to us is very practical and useful. After much consideration, I decided to give this module a shot.

Ever since when I was young, I was not very confident in communicating in English because I spoke Mandarin most of the time with my family and friends. As a result I felt inferior when communicating with people who are fluent in English. When communicating with them, I would be very conscious with the words I use as I was afraid that I would make a fool out of myself in front of them. Sometimes, I would even stutter in front of them. Due to my incompetence in English, I would always be nervous when I have to speak in front of a crowd.

After taking this module, I realized that communication is not all about the proficiency in the language. There is actually a lot more than the message itself, like the nonverbal and Para verbal. Weak command of English should not obstruct people from communicating with others. Instead of shying away from communication, people with weak command of English should communicate more and try to learn along the way so as to build up their confidence in the future.

Unlike other modules that are very theoretical, this module is very practical and realistic as there is a lot of hands on activities. What I benefited most from the module is the practical assessment of peer teaching and presentation. I feel that the feedback session after each presentation is very useful. It allows me to recognize my strengths and weaknesses. Knowing my strengths has increased my confidence level as it gives me an assurance by making me believe that I am capable of doing more than what I think I can. I will also try my best to improve on the things that I am weak at.

The learning process of this module had also been an enjoyable one too. I am very grateful that I took this module despite the fact that I had a dilemma of not taking the module at first. I would really like to thank Dr. Radhika for providing us with an excellent learning experience. I will definitely introduce this module to all of my other friends.

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Presenting to a large group of audience has never been an easy job for most people, and I’m no exception to it. Ever since I was young, I would always panic and get all tensed up when all eyes are placed on me. I would also stutter and it resulted in me not being able to convey my message across clearly to the audience.

During the peer teaching and mock oral presentation, several feedback that I received was insufficient eye contact, limited gesture and the tendency to end my sentence with a higher note. As such, while practicing for my oral presentation, I paid extra attention to these points to make sure that I do not make such mistakes again during the actual presentation.

In the past, I would always memorize my script by heart as I was afraid that I might forget my points during the actual presentation. I would also always hold a copy of my full script. However, after the past few assessments, I realized that memorizing my script by heart could be the main reason for the lack of eye contact. As I try to recall every word of my script, my eyes tend to roll upwards which then makes it difficult for me to make constant eye contact with the audience.

Holding a hard copy of my script also restricts my hand gestures. Therefore for this presentation, I have decided not to hold any script and not to memorize any script by heart. Instead of memorizing, I kept practicing my presentation with the slides concurrently. I also made it a point to not look at my slides unless if necessary, for example, when transiting between slides. I feel that this have helped in reducing my reliance on the slides and I was able to have more eye contact with the audience. I also made it a point to vary my intonation. For example, when asking a question, I tend to end of my sentence with a higher note and when affirming a point, I end my sentence with a lower note.

Although there is more room for improvement for my final performance during the actual presentation, I am glad that my practices paid off well. With sufficient practices, I realized that I was able to hide my fear from the audience and calmly bring across the message that I want to convey. Without the restriction of holding a script, I was able to present myself better with more gestures too.

This presentation was a good experience for me and I will practice more to improve my presentation skills further.