The end of ES2007S

‘Congratulations! You have survived through a 13 week ES2007S ordeal!’

This was the very first thought that occured to me when I stepped out of the seminar room on the last ES2007S lesson. Indeed, these 13 weeks of learning were both painful (in terms of all the assignments and blog posts) and tiring for me. Nevertheless, I would still like to say that I enjoyed ES2007S!

To be very honest, my initial intention for taking up this module was not about improving my oral communication skills, but to reduce the total number of examinable modules for this semester. I had to admit that all along I was hesitant on whether I should enroll myself for any ES2007S class. The lack of confidence in my oral communication skill had impeded me from doing so.

As mentioned by Brad, those people who need communication skill modules will never consider taking them. However, I am glad that I have taken my first step in becoming a better communicator, and embraced the challenges along the way.

In ES2007S, I had learnt the proper way of writing a cover letter and resume. This was in fact a good headstart for me in planning my career path. Previously, I had no idea on how to construct a good cover letter and resume that could make me ‘shine’ and stand out from the other job applicants. Also I had gained an insight on how the actual job interview was like, through the two mock job interview sessions. During these sessions, I played the roles of interviewer and interviewee. When I was the interviewee, I felt extremely nervous and stressed up, and I could not answer most of the questions well. I was totally clueless on what the ‘interviewers’ were looking for in me. When I played the role as an interviewer, I sort of managed to see myself through the actions from some of my classmates - the uneasy facial expression, the not-so-confident look, the long and short pause filters within a sentence etc. These in fact had served as a reminder, telling me the importance of confidence in portraying onself in front of the employers.Also, I had a better understanding of the expectations that most interviewers had for the interviewees. I enjoyed myself very much during these sessions.

I had my first ‘public speaking’ through the peer teaching session. Though I had tried to prepare myself adequately the day before, my performance was still not up to my expectation. Through the valuable feedbacks that both my classmates and Brad had given to me, I became more aware of my weaknesses, and had tried to make improvements on it. Also, I had the chance to hone my interpersonal skills, by working with different people for the research proposal and oral presentation (OP). The OP had served as a second chance for me to conquer my ‘stage fright ‘problem and I was glad that I had managed to overcome it. This time round, I felt more comfortable and confident in standing and speaking in front of the class.

What I liked the most from this module was the dynamic class interaction shared between the students and Brad. Brad was an excellent teacher who had selflessly shared many insightful and interesting experiences with the class. Like what Diana (2) had mentioned, he was also not stingy with his praises and was very encouraging. This made everyone in group 8 to be motivated in mastering the ‘art of communication’ well. The classmates in group 8 were very open and receptive to feedbacks. This had in turn resulted a strong friendship being forged in group 8.
Before I end off for this entry, I’d to say a big thank to everyone in group 8 and Brad, for making ES2007S a fun, enjoyable and relaxing module for me. You guys had made every ES2007S lesson less scary for me to attend. Thanks for being a part of my learning journey. You guys are simply the greatest takeaway from this module.

All the best for the upcoming exams, and in your future endeavour, my dear friends!