Learner Perspective: “I was worried that I would
only blame and complain about my past language
learning experience instead of realizing that I need to
listen more and improve my own poor speaking habits.
I know that I can’t always have native speakers who
will correct me, so I know I have to rely on myself to
change and improve.
My professor reminded me to be aware of my own
errors and bad habits, to learn to do self-correcting, and
to pay more attention to what I say. It took me awhile to
grasp her advice before I tried to do it. Over time of
being consistent with self reminders, I have noticed that
I have an alarm in me to pay more attention when I
speak or write. I understand that I am still learning to
develop awareness, so it will take time. I now slow
down when I speak and hear myself. I self-correct when
I am wrong in my English usage. I am more aware of
my need to own the learning process so I decided to
practice English for my personal usage, such as writing
my personal journal, emailing people in English,
speaking in English with native speakers, and listening
to English stories, songs or movies. That has been
helping me to be more careful of what I say or write.”