Final Reflection on Learning

First, I took this module to fulfill my unrestricted elective. It was recommended by a senior of mine that this module change her “whole perspective of education in NUS”. Basically, what I am majoring in is very theory based and I do agree with my senior that it does not really equip us into the working world.

I was quite afraid of taking this module initially though there is no examination. Due to poor command in English language, my assignment such as letter writing and proposal will be affected. However, I learn what to look out for when writing and how to check through my errors. Out of the 7Cs (Courtesy, Correctness, Conciseness, Clarity, Coherence/Cohesion, Concreteness, Completeness) in writing, correctness, clarity and coherence were my weakness when it comes to writing and I make the effort to practice them. It would come handy not only in cover letter but in report writing as well which will be done very often in future.

Non-verbal communication is one of the most important parts in this module. “Picture speaks a thousand words”, and this is depicted throughout facial expression, actions etc. This make me more conscientious when making certain remarks and conversing with my friends. This would also prepare me when I step into the society as I was known to be “oblivious to my surrounding”.

Another important “take away” from this module is learning to be assertive. Being assertive is not only applicable in working society but it also applies to our daily lives. I recall how I was enduring the nonsense from my classmates during my junior college days until one day I exploded in class. Ultimately, my relationship with those male classmates of mine turn sour and we hardly keep in contact till today.

The last 2 important lesson I take away are intercultural communication as well as how to give a good presentation. I hope to work as an educator and thus intercultural communication is important. Dealing with people from all walks of life every day, we had to learn to respect their culture and not give offensive comments especially in Singapore. On top of that, I also receive a lot of feedback on how to improve on my presentation skills which thus boost my confidence level when presenting.

I would also like to take this chance to thank all the people I have work with as well as Radhika’s guidance. Overall, this module is just awesome! J

Reflection on Oral Presentation

"Practice makes Perfect."
This is an important quote to me when it comes to presentation. Although I can be very verbal when conversing, this does not makes me a good presenter. I was afraid of talking in front of a large group of people and thus not able to bring my points across clearly.

From my first peer teaching, I had to say I was not at all prepared and had to start off impromptu using a whiteboard. With subsequent practices, I feel more confident speaking in front of people and less nervous. I took note of all the common mistakes that I tend to make through my fellow classmates' presentations. I have also know the pros and cons of memorizing the script. As I have the tendency to use fillers such as "actually", "okay", by memorizing the script, I can eliminate these fillers. However, it appears to be very obvious when I cannot remember certain contents. I also learn that different tones is required when presenting to different groups of audience. This is an area which I also feel that I need to work on as I sound monotonous. Lastly, I need to learn to give purposeful pauses and eliminate that "staccato" when presenting.

In addition, through my experience of working with my peers through this project on "Autism", I have gain a lot of insights about the situation in Singapore. By presenting it to other peers in my class, it is a small step to increase the awareness about this community. On top of that, we are able to exchange pointers regarding the way we present when practicing for the presentation. Overall, I feel that oral presentation should appear to be natural when delivering any information and proposal and this comes with ample of practice and experience of giving presentations.

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

 Wouldn't it be nice to see everyone with different cultures coming together and unite as one as shown in the commercial?

Tensions and conflicts around the world are being portrayed on the media in our daily lives. In this fast-paced globalised world, most of us will encounter people of different backgrounds and cultures in one way or another. Hence, to have a better understanding of the other party with different culture, one must learning and acquires the knowledge of the other cultures to ensure effective communication and interaction.

Being a Singaporean, most of us will be exposed to different cultures due to the demographic of the country. However, how many of us have really gone deeper to understand the other people's culture? As a Singaporean myself, I do admit that I am shallow when it comes to the understanding of other people’s culture within our own country. I always assume that "No pork and lard" is equivalent to halal for the Muslims but it is not. Halal is more than just not taking pork but the ritual perform before slaughtering animals for food. I learn this through a Muslim friend of mine as we always have to take into consideration of his diet when planning an outing. In addition, I also know that not all Malays' religion is Muslim. My sister ever told me that her Malay classmate's religion is Catholic. From here, I learn the importance of going in depth to understand the other cultures so as to communicate and interact better with the people around me. With the influx of immigrants to Singapore, it is important to respect each other’s practices and culture so as to avoid conflicts within the society.

Lastly, I like to end of with another video whereby it illustrate that intercultural competence has been practiced for a long time and I feel that it should be carried on into the future.

Review of application letter

Xie Xinfang Valerie

Address

Contact Number

Email

September 17, 2012

Mr. Roland Khoo, Deputy Director

Ministry of Education, Singapore

Address

Dear Mr. Khoo,

Re: Teaching Position under Ministry of Education

I am interested in the position as an educator (full-time teacher) after seeing several motivating commercials that were published. Currently, I am pursuing a degree in Science (Chemistry) at National University of Singapore and will be entering my final semester in the coming year.

My passion in teaching is reflected by the active participation as a student facilitator in National Chemistry Week since my junior college days to guide students so as to ensure more enjoyable learning of chemistry concepts through culinary skills. In addition, I continue as a private tutor in my undergraduate days to help students which are academically weak. I also challenge myself by teaching students of different educational levels to gain experiences of the different teaching techniques catered to them. Furthermore, the inspiring commercial of “Mrs. Chong” leads me to the recollection of my dedicated secondary school form teacher who guided me despite my poor attitude in learning at that point in time. This brings me to the reason for applying the teaching position so as to guide the next generation of students to become better citizens which is stated in the Teacher’s Pledge

Working as a telemarketer in R3 Mortgage Consultancy, communication is an important tool for me to deal with people from all walks of life which allows me to clinch several deals for my company by engaging the customers with detailed and clear explanation of the packages offered by different banks in Singapore. This skill has enabled me to engage my students during tuition lessons, giving them a not only clear concepts but at the same time arouse my students’ enthusiasm in the particular subject through simple experiment carried out using things found I out daily lives. This coincides with the vision of creative learning and values of passing on the learning to students of upcoming generation.

All in all, being an educator allows me to fulfill my values of contributing to the society and set a meaningful career path. With my passion and willingness to take up any challenges, I sincerely hope that I will be able to take up the position and work towards imparting knowledge and values through creative learning, moulding the students to accomplish our mission of shaping Singapore in the next generation.

I look forward to hearing from you and I appreciate for your time.

Yours Sincerely

Xie Xinfang Valerie

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

"Speak when you are angry and you will make 
the best speech you will ever regret."
-- Ambrose Bierce.

How many of us has experienced of what is meant in the quote? To be honest, I am both the culprit and victim of this quote. Due to anger, I ever said hurtful things which resulted in a detrimental effect on my friendship. Hence, I put this quote here to act as a reminder not only to myself but also to those who are reading.

Anger is one of the biggest barrier that causes unhappiness and conflict among people be it in the professional platform, between friends and even family members. As mention in the lesson, most companies in Singapore have this hierarchy culture of superior and subordinates. When the superior is angry as he/she could not clinch a deal from the client, a small mistake made by the subordinate might cause the superior to explode instantly and cause a conflict between them. This is also viral as subsequent levels of employees below this subordinate will be affected, creating an unhappy working environment and also reduce productivity. Hence, I feel that controlling anger and not let it cloud our vision is the key to resolving conflict.

The willingness to take responsibility is also crucial in resolving interpersonal conflict. I recall that there was once a file containing important documents went missing in the company I was working with. I vividly remember one of my colleagues from another department borrowed from me and she has the habit of placing it below her desk after using it instead of putting it back to the original location. As the auditor was coming the next day, my boss told me to make sure all this documents are in place. So I did a search and found that one of the file went missing. I wanted to confront that colleague of mine but I did not have her number and it was late at night (I happen to work overtime). I went home and talk to my mum about the issue. Knowing my character of not being meticulous, she advice me to own up to my mistake as I might not have search thoroughly. So I took my mum's advice to admit my mistake to my boss that I did not handle the my task properly. True enough, I found that file in time and it was my fault for not checking thoroughly. If I had confronted my colleague the previous night, the consequence will be atrocious. Thus, it is very crucial to admit to our mistake instead of pushing the blame to avoid conflict. 

Finally, I feel that to resolve conflicts is a challenge to a lot of people. To resolve conflicts, we have to know that everyone is not perfect and learn to compromise, communicate and accept these differences. 

Effective Communication Skills

What comes to our mind when someone says effective communication? In my opinion, most people would think that it is to speak with clarity so that the other party is able to get the point that is being delivered. This point is only partially correct as effective communication not only focuses on speech but also listening and non-verbal communications. 

Through the lesson, I feel that effective communication skills is not just a skill applicable to professions but also in our daily lives. I can still recall that there was once I was having lunch with my friends and I started a new topic about which area has nice "Frog-leg porridge" when they were previously talking about how yummy "Frolick" yogurt was. It does sound like a joke but this situation occur as I did not finish listening to what my friend was trying to say and started interrupting the conversation. If she was trying to convey some important message, I could have missed it. From here, I learn from my mistake and train myself to listen attentively and also not coming up with thoughts before someone finishes their speech. It did help me as I had applied it in my lecture and I am able to gain a better understanding what the lecturer trying to teach. ( I took down more notes than usual. :P)

On top of that, I also have the tendency to use very technical words especially during presentation. I'll either read off from the slides or memories a script. However, the use of stories to illustrate is really useful. For example, during today's National Day rally, I realized how Mr Lee Hsien Loong uses many stories to get his points across to the audience. In addition, he also uses a lot of pictures which is also part of non verbal communication. As there is a saying " A picture paint a thousand words" and for that I totally agree. Hence, I feel that I can acquire this skill and maybe someday I can become a leader too.