Saturday, April 19, 2014

Final Critical Reflection

Looking back on how I used to write essays, I am baffled that I managed to get this far. My standard style of writing is basically last minute, with little room for editing and correction. I just get into the mood for writing and then write till I am done. Right before I print my work for submission, I read it once over and that’s it. This has pretty much been the routine that I adhere to whenever I have to write lengthy assignments. This method of writing essays had worked well for me during my polytechnic years. However, in University it was a totally different ballgame and I realized that I could improve my writing process. I also recognized that my haphazard way of writing has made me suffer greatly during examinations. When pressed for time and under pressure, I seem to perform horribly, often regurgitating what I had memorized with little grammatical considerations or structure to my answers. I desperately wanted to improve my standard of English and was looking forward to ES1102, as I felt it would provide the foundation I needed for writing well.

Through ES1102, I learnt how to structure my essay well and also understood the importance of writing drafts. I believe it was my first time writing multiple drafts for an essay, and it truly gave me the opportunity to review my mistakes and improve on them. Besides learning the basics of writing an essay, ES1102 also spurred my interest in improving my grammar. I went on to purchase grammar and vocabulary apps on my phone to practice whenever I had free time.

Even though I felt dreary half way through this module as other heavier modules started to take its toll on me, I am glad I managed to complete this course. There is no doubt that mastery of the English language is crucial for university students who intend to be professionals in the future. I also felt that writing modules such as these should be made compulsory for Arts students, and I would definitely benefit from such modules.

Lastly, it wasn’t just the writing skills that I took away from this module, I also met wonderful people and grew with them throughout the course. I loved how we could display our vulnerabilities in a safe space, where we were given constructive feedback on improving ourselves. For once, there was no judgment and no ridicule; there was just love, compassion and a shared desire to take our English language abilities to the next level.


So thank you Brad and all my other classmates for your effort and determination in completing this course. Hope you guys had as much fun as I did. See you around school.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Presenting in ES1102

When I was told about the presentation, I made a mental sigh. It was not something I was expecting or looking forward to, simply because I had always been fearful about presenting. Up until my presentation day, I was overcome by a paralyzing fear about my presentation and was even thinking of bailing on that day. In order to overcome my fear, I kept repeating mentally what Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." This quote in addition to the tips Brad shared during class helped me to face the presentation head on and thankfully I did quite well.

 I felt that this was an extremely enlightening and encouraging learning opportunity for me. My lack of confidence in presenting has always made me revert to default ways of presenting, which is using notecards and avoiding eye contact. However, the opportunity for us to present and learn from our peers have made me realize the importance of presentation. It also dawned on me that presentation skills are actually learnable. I took away some really important insights on presentation such as the usage of stories, proper eye contact, knowing the content well and speaking from the heart not the mind. I feel that Brad gave us a safe space in which we could hone our skills in presenting and would definitely encourage him to continue this in his next year's class. However, I feel that it would have been encouraging to have the presentation graded so that the effort and time spent on preparing for the presentation is well worth it. Regardless of the grades, I still felt that this learning opportunity was worthwhile for me and would like to extend my thanks to Brad for incorporating this segment into our learning.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Essay Final Draft (Edited)

Bridging the social gap between Singaporeans and foreign workers through proactive cultural awareness
     According to Goldin (2009), rapid globalization has triggered a multiplicity of global issues that seem to plague the world today. With growing labor needs in developed countries, the demand for cheap and unskilled laborers from less developed countries continues to rise  (McKay, 2013). A cosmopolitan city like Singapore is one such place that relies heavily on foreign workers to fill in the demand for unskilled labor in the construction industry. However, the influx of foreign workers appears to have caused problems for the local community. Media reports on the unruliness of migrant workers and the lack of social integration seem to resonate among Singaporeans and this has led to the growing animosity between locals and foreign workers (Lim, 2013; Ng, 2010). Despite the government’s efforts to encourage smooth integration, there is still much to be done to alleviate the tension between the locals and foreign workers. For instance, the state could proactively inculcate cultural awareness for both parties through the use of education and mass media, narrowing the social divide.
     The resentment between locals and foreign workers can largely be attributed to the lack of cultural understanding between the two. Despite the state actively promoting multiculturalism, this only extends to the local community and fails to include the foreign workers at large (Aricat, 2013). In fact, a large segment of the society shows little understanding of foreign cultures, and tends to expect foreign workers to conform to local norms instead of trying to foster mutual understanding. On the other hand, foreign workers, who are mostly transient, are not motivated to acculturate to the host society as they are mostly motivated by economic benefits.  Furthermore, the tendency for local residents to portray a superiority-complex as well as to dually treat foreign workers by “accepting them economically and excluding them psychologically” has led to the marginalized social status of migrant workers (GuZheng & Yi, 2007, p.2). This lack of acceptance of foreign workers could in turn lead to them rejecting the host society, exacerbating the social divide. One fine example would be the riot involving migrant workers that recently broke out in Little India due to the death of their peer (Lim, 2013). Many have speculated that the underlying cause of the riot was recourse to the oppression and unfair treatment faced by foreign workers. Nevertheless, the media sensationalized the incident, which fueled widespread criticisms from Singaporeans and intensified the strained relationship between locals and foreign workers.
     The Singapore government has employed various strategies to counter the current divide by providing cultural education for foreign workers. The Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) and NTUC LearningHub jointly conducts a one-day course in the hope of empowering foreign workers with knowledge of societal norms, which might enable these foreigners to better assimilate into local society (Ng, 2010). However, not every migrant worker is entitled to the one-day program as the hefty cost of the program ($82.50 per person) deters employers from signing up (Ng, 2010). Furthermore, government efforts of social integration have been mainly focused on the “functional type” of integration and little effort has been placed on social and emotional needs (Saad, 2014).  Thus, the government has to play a more active role in enforcing more feasible means of social integration for the foreign workers. 
      In order to create social cohesion among Singaporeans and foreign workers, the state could also provide extensive cultural education for both Singaporeans and foreign workers. As mentioned earlier, it is not sufficient for workers to be integrated in a functional manner. They should be taught the norms of the local community more in-depth and such lessons should be available at an affordable rate. Singaporeans, on the other hand, should be educated on the various cultures of foreign workers and be taught to question individual undesirable behavior objectively without condemning foreign workers as a whole. One way in which the state could propagate cultural education to large masses of Singaporeans is through the usage of mass media. Advertisements on media portals such as television, radio and social media, which showcase the cultural values of migrant communities in a creative manner, may enable Singaporeans to learn more about the migrant communities. This may also aid in the debunking of stereotypes attributed to foreign workers.
     However, implementing such measures could lead to possible backlash from both the migrant workers and Singaporeans. Despite the efforts to culturally educate both groups, Singaporeans may still be unwilling to accept the differences in cultures while the foreign workers, being transientmay not be inclined to integrate with the society. Moreover, using mass media to shed a positive view of foreign cultures may invite criticisms as Singaporeans may misinterpret the state’s efforts as "pro-foreigner".  

     Despite the limitations of implementing such measures, doing nothing on the other hand could prove to be catastrophic as it would be a matter a time before the issue boiled over. Hence, proactive cultural education is an integral step that must be undertaken in order to bridge the social divide.

References
Aricat, R. (2013). Indian migrant workers rioting in Singapore: Revisiting acculturation paradigms. Economic & Political Weekly.

Goldin, I. (2009). Navigating our global future. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ted.com/talks/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_future?language=en

Gu, S., Zheng, L., & Yi, S. (2007). Problems of rural migrant workers and policies in the new period of urbanization. China Population, Resources and Enviornment, 17(1):1-5.

Lim, Y. L. (2013, December 10). Little India Riot: Police say situation did not call for use of service revolvers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/little-india-riot-20131210

McKay, S. L. (2013). Globalization, localization and language attitudes: The case of “foreign workers” in Singapore. Multilingual Education, 3(3).

Ng, G. (2010, September 20). Helping foreign workers integrate. My Paper. Retrieved fromhttp://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100920-238037.html

Saad, I. (2014, January 20). More can be done to address foreign workers’ social, emotional needs: NGOs. Channel News Asia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-can-be-done-to/959986.html