Reflection paper

It has been one semester since I took the first computer assisted language learning class. At the beginning, I had no idea how computers can assist learning language until the first course. On the class, teacher classified four aspects of online language learning resources. Among all the topics, I was deeply impressed by Steve Job’s speech, TED talks, and My ET. The well-know speech was not unfamiliar to me. When I was in first year in college, our English teacher has introduced us this speech on class. However, a year passed and when I listen to the speech again this year. Something about my thoughts changed. I started to consider the meaning behind the stories he shared. And for the first time that tears kept streaming down my face after the speech even though I just listened to it on YouTube. I was so envy those graduates who sit down there on that day because the speaker conveyed his philosophy of life in three simple stories, each of them means more than it seems.

    Since I was a child, I was educated that there is only one answer to the question or one solution to the problem. It seems that the education in Taiwan is not so flexible. Under the education system, most Taiwanese students lose their abilities to think independently and so do I. When teacher mentioned about TED on class, originally I thought it was another website which can watch celebrities deliver speeches online. Until I found so much interesting yet meaningful topics on TED, I realized how wrong I was. My favorite speech is Zak Ebrahim’s “I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace.” It reminded me of a movie, the green prince, whose leading role has similar background like Zak. The same point that the two focused on is violence isn't inherent in one's religion or race, we should train our ways of thinking, exploring this world through our own eyes.

    There is a problem disturbing me for a long time. That is, I always concerned about my Taiwanese accent made me sound not like a native speaker. Although I do aware how difficult it is. However, after I used MY ET, I gradually knew that it really does not matter what accent you speak, the more important is people can understand what you are talking about. Take me for instance, even though I speak English with accent but I still can get 186 in Speaking Proficiency Test (SPT) on My ET. So, don’t let the unimportant things trap you just do your best!

#10 OpenCourseWare

I have heard about opencourseware yet never visited any before. This week we visited several opencourseware on class. Among them, I think the most impressive one is the EdX. It is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider and online learning platform. You can find plenty of interesting courses on the official website. Take me for instance, I have enrolled in a course called " World of wine:From grape to glass ". I think it's helpful because there has no courses like this in our university and I thought about taking a tasting class before.But the cost made me hesitating. Now, with this opencourseware I can learn anything I'm interested in, and better, most of them are free!

#6 TED talk

Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace.

On 1993, an explosion that killed six people and injured over 1,000 others in the World Trade Center's North Tower was caused by  El-Sayyid Nosair, Zak Ebrahim's father and several of his uncles. During his childhood, he'd been raised to judge people based on arbitrary measurements, like a person's race or religion. His relatives thought they saw in him the same destruction his father was capable of. However, Zak didn't choose to follow his father to be a terrorist, instead, he explored this world through his own eyes and feelings. It inspired him a lot, making him realize how much negative energy it takes to hold that hatred inside of people. I think this talk reminds me of a movie" The green prince ", which is based on a true story about a son of a terrorist. The point is violence isn't inherent in one's religion or race, we should train our ways of thinking, exploring this world through our own eyes.

#4 About Steve Job's speech

When we were in first year in college, our English teacher has introduced us this speech on class. However, a year passed and when I hear  the speech again this year. Something about my thoughts changed. I started to consider the meaning behind the stories he shared. First was about connecting the dots. Last summer, somehow I suddenly wanted to learn Norwegian but when I told everyone about that, I got much opinions like" Are you crazy? ". It seemed that no one thought it's useful but how could you assure? Like Jobs said, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. Now I learn a little Norwegian a day on Internet just for interest. Second was about love and loss. On this point, I think I'm as lucky as Steve Jobs because I also find what I love to do early in life. When in high school, I studied applied English. All I thought was how to improve my English and later I realized that English today is used as a tool. So I choose to major in International Business in college. The last but not least is about death. I was deeply touched by the quote" Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. " I used to concern how people thought who I am, that is, living someone's life. Yet, as I grown up, the more books I read, the braver I became. Now all I concern is how to achieve my dream step by step.

#2 homework

1. relinquish:Voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up.

• He relinquished his managerial role to become chief executive.

     2. utensil:A tool, container, or other article, especially for household use.

• The restaurant was so busy that they ran out of clean utensils by nine o'clock.

     3. beat about the bush:Discuss a matter without coming to the point.

•  he never beat about the bush when something was annoying him.

     4. pull someone's leg:Deceive someone playfully; tease someone.

• Someone who doesn't know anything is pulling your leg.

      5. disseminate:Spread (something, especially information) widely.

• She helped disseminate information about the new artist.

Nowadays, so many online dictionaries on the Internet, however , it's important that do these dictionaries provide the correct grammar. With the trustworthy resources that teacher showed to us this week, I am no longer concerned that I might misunderstand the words because these dictionaries define every word clearly. Besides, there're many sentences  help us to learn more about the vocabulary. From now on, I will make a good use of these convenient tools to improve my English.

#1 Hi

My name is Karen and I'm 20 years old. I'm From the department of International Business. I love watching American series, such as Two Broken Girls, Stalker, and Pretty Little Liars. So, if you are also interested in these kinds of TV series, I'll be very glad to see your comments below. I always looking for fabulous dessert. For me, that's one of the most important things in my life. As to my personality,  I think I'm not the so called ' talkative' guy but at least I'm an outgoing person who really likes to make friends. Dreaming that one day I can travel the world.