a language problem that i have..
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Hi everyone , im currently doing JC 1st year and hope some1 can help me with this problem i have..
when i reply my friends sms , they said i was not answering their qsn.. for example they ask what time i am free, i would say im doing homework..it may sound stupid but i sometimes felt im answering them..
Same goes with reading.. when i read comprehension passages , i have no idea what im reading.. same goes for my mother tongue comprehension texts too... As a result , maybe because of these 2 factors, i always failed the questions section of the english comprehension in my secondary school , it was due to compo and oral that i managed a pass in O levels.
Now , im beginning to struggling in GP lessons , when my teacher flashed other people's work for us to read , i was totally shocked that what i wrote was like totally out of tune compared to the others. i could not understand how my classmates can pick up points from a passage for discussion in class which seemed oblivious to me.
As other jc people are doing , we are currently writing a proposal on preliminary ideas for our PW component , and i am struggling like hell... this is the 3rd time im writing the proposal... and my teacher is going to send a report to cambridge for rendering too much help in my proposal if my proposal fails again
Any1 can give me advice on what to do?? im very depressed by this problem i have.. -
What do you think is the problem?
Are you just weak in languages
or
do you find it extremely difficult to understand things and write no matter how hard you try, or no matter how slow you read something, or no matter how many times you write and correct a piece of work? -
should be the latter.. no matter how slow i read i easily forget what i read before...and my answering always stray away from the topic discussedOriginally posted by MooKu:What do you think is the problem?
Are you just weak in languages
or
do you find it extremely difficult to understand things and write no matter how hard you try, or no matter how slow you read something, or no matter how many times you write and correct a piece of work? -
You might want to try thinking like an idiot when you approach those comprehension passages (ie.assume your knowledge of the external world is irrelevant and focus on nothing not mentioned in the passage) - that way, you might be better able to get a grasp of what the passage is about and what the question demands, rather than allow your head/intellect to start digressing to other things not found in the passage which clouts the picture in question...
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How did you get past O Levels?Originally posted by lavastar:should be the latter.. no matter how slow i read i easily forget what i read before...and my answering always stray away from the topic discussed
I was going to suggest a rather remote possibility of some learning disorder like dyslexia, but you've gotten pretty far. -
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Ask missqi to teach you english..
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get straight to the point.
sometimes, the shorter the answer, the clearer it is.. -
when your friend asked what time will u be free u could have tell the the time.why did u tell him u r doing your homework?he is asking for the TIME not wad were you doing.you have to ans the question
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Hmm... more or less like me, but still made it far.
It's very hard to overcome it. You have to literally go through a piece of text hundreds of times (maybe more, I've done thousands) just to understand one part.
During reading, also make an effort to memorize... I know it's idiotic to suggest, but when you can't comprehend something, better get it to your head, so you can make a link later when you have some ideas... then you will understand it...
And a lot of times, you have to rely on common sense and your own understanding of things to make some sense. But it will have a side effect - it can make you stubborn. That's because your perception has narrowed.
Since it's PW, try getting your team mates to write down the main points and from these points given, write the proposal. That's how I do it despite failing to understand any written text. -
from the look of this, i can see you think 1-2 steps ahead of the question.Originally posted by lavastar:Hi everyone , im currently doing JC 1st year and hope some1 can help me with this problem i have..
when i reply my friends sms , they said i was not answering their qsn.. for example they ask what time i am free, i would say im doing homework..it may sound stupid but i sometimes felt im answering them..
when your friends ask you what time u free, you sub-consciously programme yourself to get ready to answer the linking question. somehow, your mind links to other questions or situations that is related to the first question.
like the compo situation, u read and forget about what u just read. probably because u are too eager to read the next part of the story and instead forgotten about the previous sentence.
my advice is to do things step by step. don't think about the next step or anything related to it. you are like tian ma xing kong-ing....focus on the current job instead of wandering your mind elsewhere... -
Omg, I have the same problem as you. Thank god i was stronger in my compo and oral that i was able to get As most of the time or in my Os, a B3. It was only during the prelim that i found out that i could actually lift the passage off the passage.
So maybe you can try to pay more attention. Cause we might actually not know that the answer is infront of us. And i dont think those 10 yr series got help also la...i got them all wrong btw...
only summary can.. -
absolutely. Dont think out of the box. My teacher always say: (name)....dont think too much...Originally posted by walesa:You might want to try thinking like an idiot when you approach those comprehension passages (ie.assume your knowledge of the external world is irrelevant and focus on nothing not mentioned in the passage) - that way, you might be better able to get a grasp of what the passage is about and what the question demands, rather than allow your head/intellect to start digressing to other things not found in the passage which clouts the picture in question... -
Originally posted by LetMeThink:
Yah i do know that but my mind sometimes tell me im answering their questions.. this could be a reason my comprehension suffer..
when your friend asked what time will u be free u could have tell the the time.why did u tell him u r doing your homework?he is asking for the [b]TIME not wad were you doing.you have to ans the question[/b] -
U need to understand wat the passage is talkin about and than summarize on it in the shortest way as possible. Sometime the shorter the answer the clearer it is.
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hmmz as a test lets have the TS summarise the advice hes gotten so far.
i want too do this cos hes problem is supposed to be comprehension and langauge but hes asking for advice in a written forum
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I wish you luck...Hard work can make up for ....A lot of things...
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answer TO the qn.
be straightfoward.
ppl dun wan to know ur stories.
they wan to know the answer. -
When writing a GP essay, to at least get a B or a C standard essay, always follow this rough structure:
Point of view on issue.
What are your reasons for supporting the issue?
Then for each reason, use this outline:
- Topic sentence (a short sentence which says quickly what you want to say like "Cars should be banned because they pollute the air" )
- Elaboration (eg "Pollution of the air causes health problems which may result in higher medical costs for the public" )
- A 'closing-up' statement (eg "Due to the possible air pollution resulting from cars, we should ban them" )
Then after you have elaborated and listed all your reasons, just state a conclusion (eg "In conclusion, cars should be banned because they bring great harm to our society and offers little or no benefits in return" )
Also, try to stick to simple words that are clear but concise in transmitting your meaning to the reader. Instead of having sentences like "Cars are the omnipresent scourge that should be purged from the very society we live in", try writing "Cars, whose presence can be felt everywhere, is a source of harm to our society and should be removed"
When writing a piece of writing, remember that it must sound logical. Flair can come in as an accessory to decorate your writing but logic must always come first. With a logical and concisely written piece of work, you cannot go very wrong with it.
As for PW preliminary ideas, just use the above guideline with the topic being the topic you chosen and the reasons are just the ideas you have for that particular topic.
For GP comprehension, always look out for topic sentences. Often, a chunk of words can just be summarised into the topic sentence. Highlight them and you should get a pretty good idea of what the whole passage is talking about. Do not fret if others get it faster than you. The most important thing is to understand it yourself.
Also, if you feel that your vocabulary is a bit weak, try having a habit of reading newspapers everyday. Pay extra attention on the "Insights/Review" section. This section have commentary articles which usually highlight a pertinent issue and offer relevant examples which you can use in your GP essays. The other articles are also worth to read. If really in doubt of any new word you do not understand, try going to google and "define: {insert unknown word here}" like "define: quagmire". If all else fails, just fall back to your trusty dictionary.
You are still in J1 and it is not too late to start getting used to practising good writing. Work on the basics first and make small but stead progress towards a logical, fluent, coherent and concise piece of writing before going on to higher levels like adding a bit of your individual flair and balancing your arguments with opposing views.
and yes of course, when answering questions, ask yourself, what do the person asking want to know, or rather, if you asked that question, what do you want to know. -
mm maybe u don't have a problem.... probably out of bad habit and impatience when answering your friend sms? Did you replied without thinking/considering the position ur friends are.. when they are asking your question?
Yup i think you should just answer straight to the point and give what the other person/question wants and not what you want. That is answering to the point.
But i think u may want to seek professional help on this and see what they say if it is still seriously affecting you. Have u spoken to your parents or friends about your problem? i think you should, if u still find it troubling you emotionally. Don't keep it to yourself too much.
For ur info, i also have problem with "language" but then i have been functioning ok and living ok as an adult now. I also have problem with GPs compo but not comprehension.
BTW how was chinese or mother-tongue? It is as bad as english?? -
Chinese i could get around 65-75% for my compo , but as usual i do very badly for the comprehension questioning part...the most i could do was barely pass that section for chinese..while english i never passed the questions section before..Originally posted by Isis:mm maybe u don't have a problem.... probably out of bad habit and impatience when answering your friend sms? Did you replied without thinking/considering the position ur friends are.. when they are asking your question?
Yup i think you should just answer straight to the point and give what the other person/question wants and not what you want. That is answering to the point.
But i think u may want to seek professional help on this and see what they say if it is still seriously affecting you. Have u spoken to your parents or friends about your problem? i think you should, if u still find it troubling you emotionally. Don't keep it to yourself too much.
For ur info, i also have problem with "language" but then i have been functioning ok and living ok as an adult now. I also have problem with GPs compo but not comprehension.
BTW how was chinese or mother-tongue? It is as bad as english?? -
Go see a doc in a polyclinic and tell them ur problem. They will refer u to a specialist which can help to assess ur condition.
Or practise doing lots and lots of comprehensions.
Meanwhile, don't get depressed. U r only in jc 1. Still have a year to go before A'level
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time passes fast ok....last yr i said im onli in jc 1...now its gona preparing for prelim 1 liaoz....Originally posted by Isis:Go see a doc in a polyclinic and tell them ur problem. They will refer u to a specialist which can help to assess ur condition.
Or practise doing lots and lots of comprehensions.
Meanwhile, don't get depressed. U r only in jc 1. Still have a year to go before A'level
n TS i tink its mainly ur comprending problem not exactly language...as in its not that u dun understand what each word means but u dun understand what its referring to, which means u dun reali knw the way of inferring...i tink u shld spk to ur teacher abt it, or someone whose english is not bad n has the patience to slowly teach u coz seriously its not gona b done in 1 or 2 sessions n after some time there may not b any improvements....n in gp u reali need to understand well...otherwise gp essay ur topic sure out of point...