What should we do?

Due to the great distinction between different cultures, it is very hard to avoid the misunderstandings and conflicts. How can we deal with them?

Here is the true story I was told by my history teacher in secondary school. It is her own experience. She also taught some international exchange students during the time she taught me. When she told them about Yuan dynasty to those foreign students and introduced Chinggis Khan, she did not expect that this would lead to a disagreement. She taught her students that Chinggis Khan is the greatest emperor in that period, but then a Mongolian student stood up and said, ”Madam, the teachers in my country said that Chinggis Khan is an Mongolian.” My teacher became wordless the moment when she heard that, she wanted to argue against it, but she could not. Chinese think that Chinggis Khan is a Chinese and Mongolian consider Chinggis Khan as a Mongolian, we cannot say which is right or which is wrong because both are reasonable, but either does not agree with the other.

This kind of culture shock is differ from those on food or habits, it is more serious and unlike you could the food problem by adapting it, this kind of cultural difference cannot be solved easily. You could be very open-minded and accept that Chinggis Khan is a Mongolian too (I am on the point of a Chinese), but the conflict is still there. So that can we do about it?

Whether to have a religion

Whether to have a religion

I astonishingly find that nearly everyone in this country has a religion. It comes to me as astonishment because in China seldom do we believe in a religion. And I think people here may also feel astonished when they are told that Chinese people even don’t have a religion. So you see it is culture difference that distinguishes people’s view on religion. Now we have come to a world with different culture backgrounds from China, and we should blend ourselves into the new culture. But does that mean we should have a religion? I think it depends.

I will first say something about the two main factors that contributed to the forming of religions. The first one is that the science in ancient times was not advanced as it is today. As a result, there were many natural phenomena that people couldn’t explain at that time. So they began to imagine that there gods control all of these phenomena. The second one is that people then were not equipped with modern things, and they appeared to be weak in front of the nature. So they believed the existence of gods and prayed for safety.

But now, both the science and the technology are advanced. As a result, human beings can explain most of the natural phenomena, as well as fight against the nature. So why do they still have a religion? In my opinion, the meaning of a religion has changed. People now believe in a religion because they want something to attend to their souls. So if you need to entrust your soul to something, you can believe a religion. But if you think your mind is strong and you can be independent mentally, perhaps you don’t need to believe in a religion.

Money-the byproduct of your dream

When looking back to Bill Gates and Buffet who have donated majority of their money to charities, we may come up with the question: why did they do this? They make money through hard working and worth all of it. And no one would blame them if they chose to keep their property. So are they stupid or crazy?

Well, from my point of view, this is because money is just the byproduct of their dreams. They cherish the business-which is their dreams-more than the money. Since they have got enough, sharing with the less fortunate people brings them more happiness and fulfillment. And that true happiness and fulfillment are their final harbors.

Do not let money be your main focus in life, because there are plenty of things which are more significant than it, like friends, family and dream. Perhaps in most cases, money is no more than a byproduct of your dream.When you have poured passion, time and energy into the work you love, money will come naturally. All your effort will be paid off.

I always feel sorry for those who make money their life goal. Of course, you can collect all the money you want, but at the end of that day, what will you do next? Keeping collecting more paper? Yes, you can. But does it make any sense, since you cannot bring it if you are no longer living? So in order to avoid being a slave of money, position your dream the first, and then wait for the coming money.

I would like to end this post with a saying I read : The main thing is to remember to keep the main thing as the main thing. And that “main thing ” will never be money-it is just a byproduct of your dream.

Something about Culture Shock

Culture shock means a feeling of upset when you are away from your own country. When you are abroad, you may find that the lifestyle, the language spoken there, the customs differ from those in your country. Then you may feel uncomfortable, as you are not used to your life in a different country, for example, you may find the food tastes strange. Or you aren’t able to understand easilywhat the locals are saying.

Generally, everyone can be a victim of culture shock in varying degrees, depending on many factors. For instance, the extent of the similarities or differences between your own country and the one you are now living in. Singapore has a similar culture to China. More than seventy percent of Singapore’s population are Chinese; so we may not feel the effects of the culture shock that much. But, my friends living in the US are facing a different situation. Also, our personalities have influence over culture shock.

Since everyone can experience culture shock, there is no need for us to take it too seriously. In my opinion, all of us can overcome culture shock in the end. A lot of things can be done to relieve culture shock. We can go out with our local and get familiar with local culture at the same time. Also, it is great for us to communicate with the locals more. We can introduce our own culture to them and learn something from them in return.

In conclusion, culture shock is a normal thing, so we should not be panic about it but just embrace it.

Far away from home

One day I woke up founding that it was 7:30 already and the other people in my dormitory were still sleeping, so I declared loudly that "It is 7:30 alresdy, get up, otherwise we will be late." I had said it three times before I suddenly realized I was speaking in my dialect. The feeling is really complex, and I realized I was far away from home.

I am far away from home. I have to stand on my own foot and take care of myself. My mother had done a lot for me which I took for granted, but now I have to do it by myself. It may be a little difficult at the beginning but after I make it I feel a sense of achievement.

I am far away from home. I looked through the newspaper for something about my motherland, sadly found that my motherland is not that pleasant in the eyes of other countries' people. We do know a lot of bad things in China. However we would not love to admit it anymore, for we are far away from home. We represent China now and bad things about China are bad things about ourselves.
I am far away from home. The Spring Festival is coming and I am still far away from home. This will be the first time I spend my Spring Festival without my parents and relatives around me. I thought I would be very homesick at this time but actually I am not that homesick for there are always a lot of friends here and they share the same life with me. Far away from home, we are brothers and sisters. I feel not a bit lonely although I am far away from home.
Far away from home, I learned a lot, found a lot and got a lot.

The disadvantages about starting a business for the young

Today I want to talk about a common phenomenon that there are so many people giving up education in order to start a business when they are young . Of course referring to it , different people have different ideas .now I just come up with some of my thoughts.

Personal, I think the disadvantages take the most part in the development of children . first lots of parents  argue that the young that go out for business will not get higher education at the same time ,because the business takes them most time . What is more ,without the further education, they will not think deeply in certain field ,which is really bad for the development of their business . And then ,they are still children without enough survival skills ,so they are easy to be cheated and failed. Sometimes, while they who do not realize it may get in trouble in some big issues .

 Above all , starting a business when young is still a controversial topic , however I still prefer that we make our living by the start of learning  , getting a good education is the basis of doing anything .   

Reading extensively or selectively

Reading plays an important part in our life. With reading we can extend our knowledge, know more about the current events and keep in touch with many worthy ideas. However, there are so many things we can read, should we read selectively or extensively?

Some people think reading should be extensively, because we need knowledge in different domains. We should not only be proficient in our majors but also have some realizations of other fields. Then we will not be embarrassed by having nothing to say when chatting with others. What is more, with the extensive knowledge that we gain from reading, we can get more chances to achieve successes. For example, when we hunt for a job we will not be limited in the domain we major in.

On the contrary, some people suggest reading selectively, for the reason that it will save time. During reading we always come across the situation that the contents are unnecessary for us. If we persist in reading them it will cost lots of time but make little sense. Furthermore, as there are so many books published, it is impossible for us to read all of them, even though not all books are good ones.

To my point, both kinds of reading are necessary. We need touch upon different parts of knowledge and accept new ideas, so extensive reading is necessary. Meanwhile, we also need reading selectively, because reading without direction will waste time and we will not able to master all the chaotic knowledge. Then what could we do to solve this problem? We can distinguish if one book useful to us or not by reading the brief instruction or a section of the book, then we select whether read it or not. By this way we can acquire knowledge as much as we can without wasting too much time.

My Personal Financial Princeples

I always believe in a Chinese old saying:" The stronggest one is the one who wants nothing." So my primary princeple is Never Be Materialize. I try to make best use of every items I own and focus my mind on my belives rather than things.
However, I still have several secondary principles which are easy to understand.
The first principle is Never Dry Up. If I dry up, I use all my money up. Then, what if I need a new pen? What is my shoes broke? What if an old friend come here from China? I need money but no money in hand. It's totally unacceptable. So, never dry up.
The secound principle is Choose What I Need. When I want something badly, I just write them down. Sometime later, I calm down and select what I really need. I'll only write down the selected ones on my shopping list. Actually, I find that I don't really need numerous things.
The third principle is Buy When Unhappy. Assuming I'm happy, life is enough and I don't need any more. If I really needed something, I won't be happy without it. And sometimes, I may feel unhappy for other reasons. However, shopping always cheer me up. Whenever I'm unhappy, I'll check my shopping list and buy something. Expensive ones for very unhappy time and little ones for slight unhappy time. This way, I buy not only material but also mental pleasure.
The last but not least, Be Generous. Camaraderia is priceless.
That's all, thank you for your time.

My learning style

Yesterday I did a questionnaire to learn more about my Learning Style. I was very surprised to find that I could identify perfectly with the conclusion. For the first time, I have a clear idea of my Learning Style, which will prove very helpful for my future studies.

There are four kinds of people categorised on the basis of their Learning Styles- theorist, activist, pragmatist and reflector. After I finished the questionnaire, the result showed that I am a pragmatist.A pragmatist is keen to put new techniques, ideas, theories into practice. I think it is quite true for me. For example, after I have learnt something new, I am eager to know how it can work in practice. If it is not practicable, I cannot be bothered to memorize it.

This may not be very good for my study. I remembered once I had a disagreement with my Chinese teacher after the exam. He gave us the standard answer, and insisted that all other answers were  wrong. Since the question was about the understanding of a passage, I thought it was impossible for every student to get the same understanding out of the passage. Different people have different understandings based on their different backgrounds. But the teacher cannot bothered to explain to me further , saying “Why don't you just remember it?”. Feeling rather frustrated, I did not want to do this exercise. For a time, I just felt forced to do it only for the college entrance examination.

I think being a pragmatist has both advantages and disadvantages, and what matters is to make a balance or not. Every learner shares those four styles at the same time. The most successful person is the one who knows how to balance them properly.

Since I have learnt my learning style, I will choose  things that are suitable for me. For example, later I have to decide my major in university. Then I will choose a practical one instead of a theoretical one. Now I know studying learning style is as important as studying itself.

Reading Books (400 words)

This is a 400-word blog, similar with the 150-word one I uploaded last Friday

Reading Books Tuesday, January 18, 2011 fine
Reading books is a very useful learning strategy, and I love reading very much.
Reading books is a very good habit. This habit is no doubt a life-long treasure. When reading, you can easily pick up some useful knowledge. For example, when you are reading a English book, you may meet some new words. And if you try to guess the meaning of these new words according to the context, you will learn the meaning and how to use it.
What’s more, when you are reading, you concentrate on a certain thing and feel like you were standing in a beautiful garden without the interruptions from the outside. And when I feel unhappy about somebody or something, I always turn to my books for help. When reading, I become calmer and calmer and then start to ponder the unhappy memory.
In addition, reading books blesses you with a broader horizon. When reading different books written by different people, you absorb different opinions of different individuals. After so many opinions in your mind, whether they are similar or inverse, objective or subjective, you will no doubt begin to contract them, distinguish them, reason them and form your own opinion.
However, some people think reading is out of date. As for me, watching TV or movies wastes us a lot of time. For example, a TV series adapted from a novel may have a 40-hour-long content, but if I go to read the original one, I may just spend no more than ten hours reading it. Also when you choose to read a novel, you will protect yourself from the massive frustrating advertisements. But I do not think TV and movies are useless. For example, we can not get to know the news conveniently just by reading newspaper once a day.
All in all, the habit of reading benefits all of us a lot. And everyone should develop the good habit of reading books.

my own experience about learning strategy

It is tough to come up with a learning strategy that is suitable for everyone and for all the subjects, while I believe all the strategies call for patient and constant transformation to adjust brand new situations. As for English study, the most effective approach for me is tireless accumulation.

There is no doubt that learning language requests non-stop accumulation, so what matters is how much time we spend on English learning and how vital we treat it. When I was in high school, I always kept a vocabulary notebook and grammar notebook, and I managed to scan and revise them as much as possible. Day after day, I established a flowing system of vocabulary and grammar, and I was stunning for the progress I had made. All in all, I shall apply this kind of method into my intensive English course, and I do hope everyone can go with a suitable approach in his own studying.

How can interest be aroused?

It has been years since I first realized this: interest in a certain subject can be aroused by good grades.That is to say, one may not like or have no idea about one subject at first, but once he(or she) gets pretty good grades and is praised by the teacher in front of all classmates, he(or she) will begin to have interest in it.Usually, better the grades, more the interest.

In my opinion,this is because good grades inspire students by giving them a positive hint that they can do well in this subject, which makes them confident.And considering the reputation and approval they can achieve through good grades,they will work harder to satisfy themselves.This is how the interest comes into being.

As time went by,I found not only good grades, but relationship can stimulate interest for learning a subject.For instance,one of my friends once fell in love with a girl in my class.Like many movie plots,she was so good at English while he hated it.However,with strong desire to caught that girl's eyes,the boy became crazy about everything to do with English.And at the end of that term,he stunned all of us by getting the highest grades.I won't tell the ending because the story is still going on.But from it, I learned that interest really can be aroused by love.

In fact,besides good grades and relationship,interest can be inspired by many other factors.And I'm waiting to find them in the future.

First Blog

What a lovely weekend! I finished some work this morning, and had a wonderful lunch in McDonald. After the meal, I even eat a pack of wafers! Now I take a seat, open my mind and start my first blog.
Blog should not like an essay or a oral-presentation. I don’t think grammar, vocabulary and calculations training should be pay much attention when writing an blog. Instead, I prefer to take it as a discipline for English thought processes, albeit trying some interesting expressions.
Actually, I love to write what I was thinking about. Do some free-writing with no topic, no sequence, and no conclusion. It seems I’m just writing for fun. I really enjoy it very much especially when I don’t have to make it into an essay . Some good ideas may be developed into an essay one day. But for today blog is blog . I love the freedom.
However, in many situations, working without any purpose can stimulate creation. Maybe no purpose means no pressure, which make human brain happy to work. thus being more creative.
But purposeless work cannot change anything. When we are in depression, we tell ourselves that do not take life too seriously. It’s not true. Life is serious. Of course I enjoy writing this blog and benefit from it a lot. But for a real life, I must go back to recite the page34 of Longman Dictionary.
That’s all. Thank you for you time.

Blog one

Learning strategies
Each of us has been learning for at least twelve years.Unconsciously,we have our own learning strategies.
Learning strategies are numerous among us.A overwhelming majority of students prefer to do a lot of exercises after class to practice the knowledge they have learnt before.Some students would like to preview before class and review after class,while others used to take notes in class.Some people always think that the methods of the students getting good grades must be the best.For the sake of promoting their grades,they have a good mind to imitate these methods.But I do not think it is a good strategy,because these methods may not be suitable for them.
There is not a exactly definition of good learning strategies.However,it is whether the method is suitable for you or not that really matters.So find your own strategies and hold on,little by little,I am firmly convinced of that you can win your own success one day!

Stretagies I have learned

We learnt some stretagies in study this week. And through the oral report ,we shared
other's stretagies . So I'd like to take down some of them in my blog.

Ordinary speaking , stretagies vary from person to person . So if we already have
adapt to a kind of stretagy , you do not need to change and take others' stretagy.
If you just follow a particular learning stretagy without consider your own personality,you will not benefit from it ,instead , it will do harm to you.A classmate share a story : a boy usually study late to night,and he do well in his study ,while anotherstudentimmitate him ,but she can't be energetic in daytime after a long time work during nignt,so she failed .It is really a tragedy ,but the story telirl us not to force ourself to follow others' stretagies.

Though we should find a stretagy according to ourself personally , but there are still some stretagies which is suitable for most people.
Yu Chen provide us a stretagy to take down notes . First we divide a paper of our notebook into several parts .One part is to take down key words , another is to put questions , some part is to write down some important points. And other parts to take down other things. Thus ,you make your note clear enough to review ,it cansaves time for you and really does a lot of things to your study.Many of us share our ideas on stretagies on learning English . And we have the same point is to use it- read,listen,speak and so on.So I make a decision that I would use English as usual as
posible to improve my English .

I also get a lot of information about stretagies on our materials or textbooks.When you read a text ,there are 4 steps to take:previewing,reading,writeing,reciting.When you preview, you should first pay attention to title and headings that will give you a lot of information.Then have a look at the first and the last paragragh . And you will know the main idea of the text.You should also pay attention to some key words that in special colour.And the second step -to read,you need to read a lot of times , so don't expect to understand everyting when you first read.
Thirdly , you were to take some notes ,the method is a little complex,and it is almost the same as Yu Chen's,so I am not to write.The last step is to recite , it will make you much more familiar with the text and strenghthen your memory of it.But I am not willing to recite passages myself but it may be a good method to many students.

I will develop my stretagy of learning in the following days.

Study strategy (1)---why should we arrange our time

The first question is why should we need to arrange our time?

Time is very important in our daily life. When we want to do something, we will have to spend time. No one can do things without spending time. Time goes by, regardless of anything.Everyone just has 24 hour a day, and it is justice to all of us. However, in every day, we have so many things to do, so, how to deal with all the things in the shortest time and do effectively counts a lot for us all. In my opinion, if an individual who know how to deal the relationship with time, the individual can control his/her own life.

If we can’t arrange our own time, we will involve ourselves into a big mass. Take myself as an example, during my summer vacation time, I used to sleep at about 2 a.m. in the morning, and get up at about 12 a.m. around the noon. It is absolutely a kind of bad lifestyle, and I think I am too crazy at my childhood. However, even if I have got up, I still feel sleepy sometimes, or maybe the last whole day , and then ,I do everything careless. Yes, I do not know what to do ,because I know I could make up my summer homework at the last few days. So, during a long period of my summer vacation, I am always at loose ends. Actually ,before every vacation, I make up my decision to do a lot of things ,but when it really comes, when I have lots of free time,I can do the things that I have planned before freely, I become very passive. Facing the time,I should do not know what to do .What a ridiculous, and I just waste such a golden time, and do nothing in the end. When I look back at that time, I really think it is a huge waste of time. It is a big pity for me.

As far as I am concerned, we should learn how to arrange our time so that we can make up time for the things that we are interested in .We can enjoy our life easily. If you really want to make good use of your time, you must know how to arrange your time. Only in this way, can we surely learn something effectively, lead your life in a wonderful way, and life a healthy life.
So, we know the importance of arranging our time in a good way now.

The first blog about learning

       It has been a month since we came here ,and we also have been taking our courses for nearly three weeks ,what is the result ? what is the feeling ? I think it depends .

As for some people , they just stay at the same level as before ,I can also imagine the reason that is a kind of negative ,but for other people , they got a lot ,because I have seen the whole progress they have made. On the first day ,they were afraid of saying anything and their speaking speed was very slow ,but after three weeks ,their speed is faster than that before ,and they also have the confidence to speak aloud . I like their spirit  ,no matter what the difficulty is ,what we need to do is to overcome the barrier and go ahead towards our goals.

When we have made up our minds to study English well , we should take some measures to help us get more improvement. In class , the tutors communicate with us ,and they let us try to speak more often ,it is a way to practice our spoken English ,which is perhaps the only way I can think of .after class ,what should we do ? I think there is nothing but reading and writing ,of course we also have to spend some time to memorize the vocabulary , but I think it is not the most important one because when we just memorize the words for themselves  , actually we can not remember so much as what we want ,however ,when we read some articles or essays ,we will absolutely encounter some unfamiliar words and at that time if we look them up in the dictionary ,we will remember them related with the context. I always think that the more you read ,the more you will improve . Then referring to writing ,I reckon that it is also a reflection of reading ,but the difference is just that you become the author ,you are writing novels ,you are using the words to create an environment that can attract yourself or someone else to read .you do not want to use the simple words that even the kids can understand to describe the beautiful things ,and you do not want to stay in a low level ,so practice writing little by little .

I consider that we , the new comers ,have to improve us at all costs ,so learning effectively is pretty important .i have no idea whether I am right about what I have said ,but I prefer .

I just Sincerely hope seven months later ,we will get what we want today .

learning strategies

As an old saying goes, there is even no two identical leaves in the world, so everybody must have their own learning style. And here are some of my own learning strategies.
First, of the four parts of English learning, I always treat listening as my best part. Maybe it’s because I had had some training about it when I learned about performing musical instruments. In my leisure time, I am keen on watching American TV series or movies that are also in English. Those are the precious access for us to listening to some typical English. Besides, they also provide me with a large amount of collocations and some idioms which may be used in daily life and they had certainly helped me a lot with my oral English.
As far as I am concerned, output depends much on input, namely, we tend to interpret what we have just heard. So in terms of my learning strategies about speaking, on top of what has been mentioned above, I would also like to remind you that if you would like to improve your oral English skills by watching those programmes, you need to be picky about your choice. Try more programmes like friends rather than house, because the latter contains too many words about specific subject. Moreover I grasp every opportunity to talk to native English speakers as well as read my texts out aloud so that I would be able to have my pronunciation get corrected.
When it comes to reading, I would recommend books such as Harry Potter series and Twilight saga. Because they are interesting enough to capture our attention so that rather than fall asleep while reading, we would try to remember more new words. And expanding our vocabulary would certainly help us accelerate our reading speed.
In addition, to be frank, I always find that writing is my weakest part. When I was writing, there would always be a period when I found it hard to express my point clearly, logically and precisely. As for the learning strategies, I simply recited some brilliant essays and some fixed patterns. So I am looking forward to knowing more ways to improve my writing skills from my dear tutors.
Last but not least, we all know that there’s no short-cut for success, that is to say, no pains, no gains. In order to achieve academic accomplishment, we definitely need to keep working hard.

Some Feelings About My Life in Singapore

I have just arrived in Singapore recenty.As my life here goes on, many things beyond my former expectation come to appear to me.Some are in interesting while some are annoying.

I used to think that singaporens are relatively blacker in skin colour than typical Chinese simply because Singapore is located right by the side of the equator.The weather here which I used to consider as hot as the hotest days in China is also much more pleasant than i have expected.One notable thing is that the weather here is so changable. Ten minutes ago there is no sign of a rain;ten minutes later it can be raining heavilier than i have ever seen in my life.

As the area of singapore is quite limited,i took it for granted that singapore was mostly urban because the people's demand for living areas.But soon i was amazed by the luxuriant forest by the road sides,which looks like singaporens simply cleared up some trees in rain forests to make out a way.

I also find that all shopping malls are carefully decorated,with a delightful fragrance all around.What is more, most toilet offers toilet paper,which is quite rare in china and means i do not need to bother carrying it all the time.

Another thing that surprises me is that people's aptitude for language is quite impressive .I used to think that all people will mostly speak english,but actually I have been asked several times to speak chinese either by a shop assistant or a taxi driver,the reason is simply that”we are chinese”,and newspapers in chinese can be seen everywhere on the MRT trian.Sometimes some large advertisement posters in Chinese can give me a illusion that I am somewhere back in china.



I am very depressed by the English spoken here,which almost sounds like an other language,just like the difference between cantonese and Chinese .The rhythm and the stress are dramaticly different from the english i heard through radios or films.it is quite common that when i go out to buy something or ask about the place i need to go,the locals can roughly understand me but i can hardly understand them.

I think I will find out something more.

My study experience in Singapore

My study experience in Singapore
I have been here in Singapore for one month and I have study here for about three weeks. During these days I got on with new people and made many friends here. Besides I also need to study here. The biggest challenge for me is English.
I was usually annoyed by English study before. I did not fond of English at all. I just learnt it for examinations as a subject. The exams before did not demand our speaking and listening ,as a result I did not care about the adhibition of English. But now I am living in an English-speaking country and I will take my classes in English, so English is the basic of my study here and I have to speak out and should be able to understand what people say. At beginning I was confused because I have no idea to learn English well and I was afraid of communicating with others in English.But I know I have to confront this challenge, so I try my best to learn English.I do preview before class and do review after class. When I read I underline the difficult words and write them down after class, then I can remember the new words to extend my vocabulary. Besides I also do some listening everyday ,listening to the BBC news to improve my English. In the first week I am not confident to speak in class , But during these days I try to express my ideas in English , though the sentences are not fluent and sometimes have some mistakes in them, I think it will be better if I adhere to my plan. Now I learn English as a language instead of a subject, and I feel it is not dull any more.
In my view, if we accept the things which we do not like but we have to be faced with, and we try to change our opinions about them, then gradually we will love them from the bottom of our hearts. I hope with hardworking I can improve my English after the six- month preparation corse.

Learning Is an Attitude

When it comes to my first blog writing, especially when I am restricted to a certain theme, I find it hard to write something new after the journal and the oral report. Finally this title appears in my brain quietly and I decide to write something about learning.

I have been learning for many, many years. Now I am fully convinced that, learning is an attitude, or to say it exactly, learning is a habit. You have to learn as long as you are conscious, as long as you have breath. Just as the famous saying goes, “you’re never too old to learn”. It shouldn’t be painful or hard to focus your mind on learning , it should be a spontaneous process without hesitation. I even feel a sense of guilty when I am at a place of entertainment if I don’t study something that day. Learning helps us keep a positive mind and arouse our awareness of the beauty of life. If my life is filled with recreation, I won’t feel satisfied. Because I must learn everyday to improve myself and it has become one part of my routine life.

I enjoy acquiring new knowledge every day. Though I might feel sleepy sometimes, I can’t emphasize my deep love for learning in NUS too much.

Be yourself in learning

I was once quite confused when I was in secondary school. I met a classmate who had a very special patten of study. After I became a close friend with him, I found that he almost never did his homework and just went to school early in the morning and copied others’. However,what made me feel astonished was that he ranked first in most of our examinations. I became to imatate him by playing together with him as long as we were not at school. But things then turned out depressed me deeply. My grades in exams began to decline. I went to my headteacher and requested to be deskmate with him and afterwards I found his secret. He always concentrated highly on what the teachers said and did some exercise as long as there was some time in class. I decided to conscientious in class and finish the homework as well. Finally I got what I wanted, I replaced his position in ranking!

What I want to express is that each of us is unique, so there is no need to imitate others. It is helpful to draw lessons from others’ advantages but finally we should develop our own ways. So, be yourself in learning and both in life.

Reading books

Reading books is a good learning strategy. And I benefit a lot from it.
For example, today I read an essay about proverbs and idioms. In the first paragraph, it gives a clear explanation to the differences between proverbs and idioms. In the past, I thought proverb and idiom refer to the same thing. After reading this essay, I know that I am wrong. And then the essay introduces several useful idioms or proverbs, for instance, saved by the bell, bury the hatch and so on. But until now, I still do not know how to use the idiom----shed crocodile tears. I will be grateful if you can give me an example sentence.
What’s more, after reading this essay, I come to realize that English can also be interesting like Chinese and everyone should form the beneficial habit of reading books.

Learning Styles

  The text from our supplementary “An Introduction to Learning Styles” introduces the four stages of learning. It is the first time I have ever heard about it and I find it interesting that the personality of a person influence the study method he tend to use. The activists tend to have many experiences which is the first stage of learning, and the reflectors all well in the next stage reviewing the experience. Theorists do well in the third stage conclusions when the pragmatists are good at planning the next steps. After knowing that I am a reflector from the questionnaire, which I do not think so, I am able to make my learning strategies more effective because according to the text I am weak in stage1. I think it is helpful to following the suggestion this test give us and I will have a try.

My problems in studying English

We have come to Singapore, an English speaking country. So it is very essential to master English. To achieve this goal, we should listen, think, speak and write in English. And I have already set down to study in this way. But you know that nothing is easy to achieve, so it is the same with my studying English. I have come across some difficulties and I will write them down here.

The first problem is the management of my time. I know vocabulary is of great importance, so I keep on keep a logbook of new words every day. But collocations are also very significant, so I also note down the collocations I come across in the reading materials. Then the problem comes. I only have time to note them down in a book, but have no time memorizing them. I once tried to spare some time memorizing them, the result was that I did not have time to note down all the words and collocations I had come across.

The second problem is my familiarity with the words I have memorized. When I want to speak to someone and express myself in a proper way, I find that I cannot think up of a suitable word. Sometimes I can remember the words, but they just come like a flash and then I forget them. As a result, seldom can I speak fluently.

Above are my two major problems in studying English. I hope the one who have read my blog can give me some ideas. Although there are problems, I still have confidence and take an active attitude in learning English.

Dealing with distractions

When I was in high school, I observed that some of my classmates preferred to listen to music while doing homework. They were so immersed in it that they sometimes moved their bodies in tune with the rhythm of the music, holding a pen in hand. When I asked them why they like to listen to music while studying, they said that music made them excited, which helped them finished their homework faster. Well, I cannot understand their logic because to me, listening to music is really a distraction when I am concentrating on my studying.

Maybe for those who are used to listening to music when they are studying, if they could put away their headphones and begin to write, they might discover that with less distraction, they can make more progress.

Distractions exist almost everywhere in our lives. Music is a distraction of course. Computer games can also be a kind of distraction, likewise, food and drinks, other people's conversation can be a distraction too. Even the sound of the wind and moonlight can sometimes make you unable to concentrate on. In my opinion, distractions can be divided into two categories:

The first kind of distractions is the controllable distractions. For example, computer games, music,interesting novels, delicious food, etc. These distractions are usually easy to deal with. That means you can deal with them simply by removing them, or wiping out them. Before you study, put away your laptop, turn off your mp3 player and finish drinking your Coke. Congratulations, you have successfully overcome these distractions, and this is your first step on your way to success.

However, the second kind of distractions is quite hard to cope with, the uncontrollable distractions. The singing of the birds, the footsteps,etc, are quite hard to stifle. We cannot wipe them out, so what can we do? Getting away from them is a possible answer, but we would be better trying to put up with them, if the distractions aren't too strong.

Some students are uncertain whether they are able to handle the uncontrollable distractions. In their opinions, when they are studying, there should not be any distractions. No wonder many students prefer studying in the library, which is indeed a quiet place. I do not object to going to the library to study. What I am concerned about is being accustomed to studying in a place where there are no distractions is not good to further developments, as you may easily be bothered.

Let us suppose that when you have graduated from university and found a job. The place where you work will very likely be filled with distractions which you can't remove. What should you do? Easily affected and cannot concentrate on your work? Of course there exists another solution, which is, getting accustomed to studying with some distractions. We cannot live in a place where we can be free from being disturbed. When you can't avoid soomething, the only thing you can do is to get used to it, or you may find it difficult to make progress.

So, we should try our best to avoid those controllable distractions and put up with those uncontrollable distractions. However, if other people talks too loudly and make you upset,stop enduring, and just ask them to speak softer.

I'm Living A New Life ~

I have been in Singapore for over one month,and I find the life in Singapore is really different from that in China,I'm living a new life.

I arrived in Singapore on December 16th ,2010,when it was winter and there were very little green trees or grass in China,so it really surprised me a lot that there were all trees and grass beside the streets, no wonder Singapore is called "Garden City".I love trees,I have got tired of lots of sceneries but never the trees.I always enjoy the different kinds of trees outside the bus window since they are really beautiful.

Besides,I can learn a lot while playing. On New Year's Day,I went out to East Coast with a group of friends and we played frisbee for some time. At last,Gary, one of my friends, suggested riding a bike from East Coast to Changi Airport and we all agreed. It was so tiring that I even wanted to give up when we had complete half of the way. But I just sticked to the way for there were lots of friends around me, encouraging me. Later on ,I felt better. When feeling the wind blowing across my face and hearing the sound of the wave,I felt wonderful and realized this was the life I had always been wanting. Two hours later we got to our destination. I made it. I had never tried that hard to achieve a sports goal in China in the last 19 years. I felt the energy inside my heart clearly when riding the bike and I found nothing can stop you from achieving something if you really want it and try your best. Moreover, I feel so lucky to have that good friends around me, they are priceless treasure in my life.

As for our English Course, I felt very stressful at the begining, for there were so many outstanding classmates around me and I had to study very hard to keep pace with them. But now maybe I have got used to the stress and I think the stress can help me make bigger progress. I know I have a long way to go but I will always try my best and I hope 6 months later I can become a competent user of English.

Thank God for giving me a beautiful life and I am enjoying the way to my dreams.

My blog !

I'm just having a try ......