【B1-Writing】12 Reflective writing-反思性写作

【B1-Writing】12 Reflective writing-反思性写作

Learn how to write a reflective text about a learning experience.
了解如何撰写有关学习经历的反思性文字。

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.
先做好准备工作。然后阅读课文和提示并做练习。

Preparation-准备

Reflective writing – preparation

Match the words with the definitions.

• Question

Vocabulary	Definition
1. an individual	a. to work for an organisation without being paid
2. to volunteer	b. to change something to make it suit different conditions
3. a challenge	c. a single person, not a group
4. focus	d. something new and difficult to do
5. in general	e. a point to think about or concentrate on
6. to adapt	f. overall

• Answer

1. to work for an organisation without being paid – to volunteer
2. to change something to make it suit different conditions – to adapt
3. a single person, not a group – an individual
4. something new and difficult to do – a challenge
5. a point to think about or concentrate on – focus
6. overall – in general

Reading text

English

In January I spent three weeks volunteering as an English teacher in my town. I’ve been thinking about becoming an English teacher for a while so it was a good opportunity to see what it’s like. The students had all just arrived to start a new life in the UK and they had a range of levels from beginner to intermediate. They came from a variety of countries and had very different backgrounds and experiences.

For me, the most important thing was the relationship with the students. I was nervous at first and did not feel confident about speaking in front of people. However, I found it easy to build good relationships with the students as a class and as individuals and I soon relaxed with them. It was a challenge to encourage the lower-level students to speak in English, but at least they understood a lot more at the end of the course.

At first, planning lessons took a really long time and I was not happy with the results. Classes seemed to be too difficult for some students and too easy for others, who finished quickly and got bored. I found it was better to teach without a course book, adapting materials I found online to suit their needs. I learned to take extra activities for students who finished early and that was much better.

I still need to continue improving my lesson planning. I would like more ideas for teaching mixed-ability groups and I want to plan the whole course better next time. That way students have a focus for each lesson and a sense of progress and of what they’ve covered. I’m also going to put more confident students with beginners when they work in pairs so conversation activities give everyone more chance to speak and students can help each other.

Overall, it was a really positive experience and I learned a lot. I’ve decided that I would like to become an English teacher in the future.

English-Chinese

In January I spent three weeks volunteering as an English teacher in my town. I’ve been thinking about becoming an English teacher for a while so it was a good opportunity to see what it’s like. The students had all just arrived to start a new life in the UK and they had a range of levels from beginner to intermediate. They came from a variety of countries and had very different backgrounds and experiences.
一月份，我在我的镇上做了三个星期的志愿英语老师。我想成为一名英语老师已经有一段时间了，所以这是一个很好的机会来看看它是什么样的。这些学生都刚刚抵达英国开始新生活，他们的水平从初级到中级不等。他们来自不同的国家，有着截然不同的背景和经历。

For me, the most important thing was the relationship with the students. I was nervous at first and did not feel confident about speaking in front of people. However, I found it easy to build good relationships with the students as a class and as individuals and I soon relaxed with them. It was a challenge to encourage the lower-level students to speak in English, but at least they understood a lot more at the end of the course.
对我来说，最重要的是和学生的关系。起初我很紧张，对在人们面前演讲没有信心。然而，我发现与学生作为班级和个人建立良好的关系很容易，我很快就与他们放松下来。鼓励水平较低的学生说英语是一个挑战，但至少他们在课程结束时理解了更多。

At first, planning lessons took a really long time and I was not happy with the results. Classes seemed to be too difficult for some students and too easy for others, who finished quickly and got bored. I found it was better to teach without a course book, adapting materials I found online to suit their needs. I learned to take extra activities for students who finished early and that was much better.
起初，计划课程花了很长时间，我对结果并不满意。课程对一些学生来说似乎太难了，而对另一些学生来说又太简单了，他们很快就学完了并感到无聊。我发现最好在没有教科书的情况下进行教学，调整我在网上找到的材料来满足他们的需求。我学会了为提前完成学业的学生参加额外的活动，这要好得多。

I still need to continue improving my lesson planning. I would like more ideas for teaching mixed-ability groups and I want to plan the whole course better next time. That way students have a focus for each lesson and a sense of progress and of what they’ve covered. I’m also going to put more confident students with beginners when they work in pairs so conversation activities give everyone more chance to speak and students can help each other.
我还需要继续改进我的备课。我想要更多关于教授混合能力小组的想法，并且我想下次更好地计划整个课程。这样，学生就能专注于每节课，并对自己所学内容有一种进步感。我还将让更有信心的学生与初学者结对工作，这样对话活动就可以让每个人都有更多的机会说话，学生也可以互相帮助。

Overall, it was a really positive experience and I learned a lot. I’ve decided that I would like to become an English teacher in the future.
总的来说，这是一次非常积极的经历，我学到了很多东西。我决定将来要成为一名英语老师。

Tips-小贴士

1. Reflective writing is more personal than other types of academic writing. You can use the first person (I … , My … , etc.) and explain how you felt.反思性写作比其他类型的学术写作更加个人化。您可以使用第一人称（我…、我的…等）并解释您的感受。

2. Think about the experience in detail. Explain what went well and what was challenging, and say what you learned in the process.详细思考一下经历。解释哪些进展顺利，哪些有挑战性，并说出您在这个过程中学到了什么。

3. Use a structure:

   使用结构：

   • Short introduction to the situation情况简介
   • Evaluate the most important things about the experience, including solutions to problems评估体验中最重要的事情，包括问题的解决方案
   • Say what you would do differently next time说出下次你会采取什么不同的做法
   • Say what you learned overall.说说你总体上学到了什么。

4. Keep the focus on your learning process and what you will do better in future.专注于你的学习过程以及你将来会做得更好的事情。

Task 1-任务一

Reflective writing – 1

Are the sentences true or false?

• Question

1. You should keep your writing impersonal.
   True
   False
2. It is better not to say if something was difficult.
   True
   False
3. You should say what went well and what could be improved.
   True
   False
4. You do not have to describe the experience in detail – just the important bits.
   True
   False
5. You should include solutions to problems you had.
   True
   False
6. You should finish by describing exactly what you did.
   True
   False

• Answer

1. You should keep your writing impersonal.
   True
   ✔False
2. It is better not to say if something was difficult.
   True
   ✔False
3. You should say what went well and what could be improved.
   ✔True
   False
4. You do not have to describe the experience in detail – just the important bits.
   ✔True
   False
5. You should include solutions to problems you had.
   ✔True
   False
6. You should finish by describing exactly what you did.
   True
   ✔False

Task 2-任务二

Reflective writing – 2

Put the sentences in the correct group.

• Question

I learned to take extra activities for students who finished early.
I was nervous at first.
I soon relaxed with them.
I found it was better to teach without a course book.
I’m going to put more confident students with beginners so they can help each other.
I spent three weeks volunteering as an English teacher.
I did not feel confident about speaking in front of people.
It was a challenge to encourage the lower-level students to speak in English.
At first, planning lessons took a really long time.

Experience Feelings Solutions/Learning

• Answer

Experience
I spent three weeks volunteering as an English teacher.
It was a challenge to encourage the lower-level students to speak in English.
At first, planning lessons took a really long time.

Feelings
I was nervous at first.
I did not feel confident about speaking in front of people.
I soon relaxed with them.

Solutions/Learning
I found it was better to teach without a course book.
I learned to take extra activities for students who finished early.
I’m going to put more confident students with beginners so they can help each other.

Task 3-任务三

Reflective writing – 3

Write one word in each gap to complete the sentences.

• Question

1. I spent two months volunteering __ a medical assistant.
2. I helped with a variety __ tasks.
3. They had a range of patients __ young children to adults.
4. It was a challenge __ finish all the work in one day.
5. There were a lot of things I didn’t know, but __ least I could help the nurse, who was on her own most of the time.
6. I would like more first-aid training __ I can help in a medical emergency.

• Answer

1. I spent two months volunteering as a medical assistant.
2. I helped with a variety of tasks.
3. They had a range of patients from young children to adults.
4. It was a challenge to finish all the work in one day.
5. There were a lot of things I didn’t know, but at least I could help the nurse, who was on her own most of the time.
6. I would like more first-aid training so I can help in a medical emergency.

Discussion-讨论

What was your last challenging learning experience?
您最近一次具有挑战性的学习经历是什么？

Vocabulary

impersonal

• 简易

英/ɪmˈpɜːsənl/美/ɪmˈpɜːrsən(ə)l/
adj.非个人的，不受个人感情影响的；缺乏人情味的，冷淡的；不够人性化的；不以人的形式存在的，不具人格的；（语法中）非人称的，无人称的

n.非人称动词或代词

IELTS | TOEFL | GRE

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

impersonal/ɪmˈpɜːsənəl/|TEM4

1. ADJ If you describe a place, organization, or activity as impersonal, you mean that it is not very friendly and makes you feel unimportant because it involves or is used by a large number of people. 无人情味的

   • Before then many children were cared for in large impersonal orphanages.
   在那以前，许多孩子在无人情味的大孤儿院里被照料。

2. ADJ If you describe someone’s behaviour as impersonal, you mean that they do not show any emotion about the person they are dealing with. 不受个人感情影响的

   • We must be as impersonal as a surgeon with his knife.
   我们必须像拿着手术刀的外科医生一样不受个人感情影响。

3. ADJ An impersonal room or statistic does not give any information about the character of the person to whom it belongs or relates. 没有个人色彩的

   • The rest of the room was neat and impersonal.
   房间的其余部分整洁干净，没有个人色彩。