What have I learned?

Basically, this course has taught me how to write a good research paper. Although we have gone through many written assignments before, this course has taught me how to organize ideas in a correct way. For example, we learned how to come out with a good thesis statement and the supporting points. Based on my experience, to come out with a good thesis statement was not that easy...there are many dos and don'ts. This position paper is a good practice before we can start our research paper. Besides that, we learn about the use of tales, legend and myth and fables in learning English. One of the methods that I will implement in my future English classroom is to summarize a text so that it becomes short and simple. This is a great method to use especially when we teach low and some proficiency students. As we all know, most Malaysian students do not find literature as a fun and interesting subject…so by simplifying the text, students can comprehend it better. Apart from that, I learned about letter written by a few prominent figures such as John Keats and Vincent Van Gogh. The fun part was we learn about Andy Warhol’s diary and by reading his diary, we can know something or two about him. So, basically, this course has introduced me to many prominent figures related to literature and arts. Others…we learn about Nelson Mandela’s autobiography and how to use it a literature text. Personally, the text that I liked the most is Martin Luther’s speech. I knew about his speech before but I had not read it. So, learning about his speech was exciting and what I like about his speech is the repetition of ‘I have a dream…’ It is so dramatic and it gives the whole speech a strong impact. All in all…Dr. Edwin is a great educator that helps to open our eyes to appreciate literature.