My name is Stephen Allen and I am from Sacramento, CA. I came to Humboldt in order to study Kinesiology, get away from home and experience a different way of living. I have chosen to major in Kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science, primarily because I feel that health should be the foremost concern in our mind. I take living a healthy lifestyle very seriously, and it's my goal to make others aware of the benefits. Studying Kinesiology would allow me to find new ways to improve on health for myself and others around me.
English has never been my strong point, probably because I don't have enough practice at it. However I always give it my best shot and if I'm wrong, hopefully I can learn from it. The story of my writing experience is a sad one, because I never wrote anything until sophomore year of high school. I struggled through English my junior year, writing papers that were poorly put together. I found that one of my biggest weaknesses is that I do not convey my thoughts easily. In addition, I tend to add unnecessary words and half formed ideas, which makes everything confusing for the reader. My senior year was spent analyzing poetry, and I never wrote a single paper. Now, my goal is to get past that handicap and hopefully English 100 will be able to help with that.
Contrary to my feelings about writing, I thoroughly enjoy reading. Reading has always been one of my strongest skills. In the fourth grade I was reading at the level of a freshman in college and it has improved with time. To get lost in a good book is one of my greatest loves, because it's a great way to relax and take my mind off stressful thoughts.
In addition to my odd relationship with reading and writing, my views concerning English are mixed. On one level I feel that it's a crucial element in sharing ideas or furthering an education. There are many benefits to using proper English. One can show an employer how much he or she knows and the how they will benefit the company, for example. It is crucial that we can communicate and share thoughts. But at the same time I feel that deep involvement in the subject is not necessary. Much of the general population is not concerned about structure or grammar. I feel that it is useful, but not crucial, to living everyday life. As long as one is able to communicate accurately their thoughts to another, I am not sure why deep study in this subject is essential. Whether it be required by a college, high school or work, the ideas are more important than how it's said or written.
I'm a determined person and despite my feelings about English, I will try my best because that's the only way to improve.
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You wrote: "I found that one of my biggest weaknesses is that I do not convey my thoughts easily. In addition, I tend to add unnecessary words and half formed ideas, which makes everything confusing for the reader."
ReplyDeleteWell, you certainly don't have those problems in this post!
Your "mixed" views on English are very interesting and thought-provoking. I agree that communicating accurately is what really counts, but like it or not, other things are communicated by the *way* we speak or write.
And sometimes, more than accuracy is necessary. Sometimes the best persuasion is not simply well-reasoned facts. Emotions guide our actions and beliefs too, so evoking emotions in a reader can be very persuasive, and often far more effective. Humor, for example, is one of the most persuasive techniques in our culture.
But I have to agree with you that "deep involvement" with learning structure/grammar is not necessary-- unless you are going to be a teacher, i.e., someone who needs to explain the reasons why the language does what it does.
The structure of English is already located in the minds of native speakers; structure/grammar classes are about bringing that knowledge into your analytical consciousness.
On the other hand, grammar is a very useful thing to know when you're trying to learn a second language, though, and that is often when grammar takes shape for some people.