Reflecting upon my history as a learner, I can recall many interesting experiences that have molded me into the person that I am today. The first goes back to kindergarten right around report card time. It was my first report card and I was very excited because I thought that I had done wonderfully on all subjects (I had previously learned most of the subject matter from my parents or at preschool). At this time, the grading system was not A,B, C, D, F. It was E for Excellent, G for Good, S for Satisfactory, U for Unsatisfactory and I for Incomplete. I had received all E’s on this report card with the exception of one S. I don’t actually remember doing this, but I simply whited out the S, and with a completely different colored pen, replaced it with an E in my best kindergarten handwriting. Needless to say, my alteration looked vastly different from my teacher’s next to perfect handwriting, and my parents were livid when I presented them with what I believed was a flawless report card. They could not understand why I thought I had to bring home “perfect” grades because they had made it clear this was not one of their expectations of me. They made me white out the other grade, change it, and then go into my teacher and explain what I had done. Although I am extremely embarrassed that I did this, it was from this experience I learned that dishonesty and success can never go hand in hand. This is also an example of how, even at such an early age, I thought my grades had to perfect (I still have the white out laden report card at home to prove it.!).

This drive for perfection continued to impede my learning from that day forward. Throughout grade school and high school, I always studied a great deal, paid attention in class, did my homework, and turned in work that I was usually very proud of. I liked learning and applying what I had learned to different situations. I loved thinking about alternate solutions to math problems or thinking about the little “Critical Thinking” boxes found in most of my old textbooks. Basically, what it came down to was that I was a good student who always thought I could be doing much better. While my personal best was always good enough for my parents and my teachers, it was never good enough for me. I would become very upset and disappointed in myself if I received a poor grade on a test or assignment. I would spend hours fretting over homework that should have only taken half that time. When I got frustrated, I would cry and get mad, then my mind would completely shut down to what I was trying to focus on and learn. While I loved the learning (the material, the process, the application), I hated the grades associated with it. I even remember the day when I was told that I was the salutatorian of my class. While most people would be elated, I was a little disappointed. I wanted to be the best, not second best. I know it sounds stupid, but that was how I felt at the time. So, my ultimate downfall was that I was seeking to attain the unattainable…perfection.

I feel that being a college student has helped me to combat this problem immensely. I have realized that while grades are important, they depict very little about one’s true understanding. I just grew up and found that striving to be perfect was completely useless and demoralizing. Now, I do my best…that’s all I can do. I am not nearly as competitive with my peers as I use to be and that’s a great feeling. Although, I still stress about school and my grades, at least now, I am more concerned with my personal understanding of something instead of how well a teacher “thinks” I understand it through a test, assignment, etc. Instead of becoming upset over trying to learn a confusing/difficult concept, I just take a break and let my mind rest. I ask someone for help, get on the Internet, or look through old books to find the answer. Taking college courses has given me the opportunity to explore concepts and take on projects in my own unique way. Of course, there is always some direction as to how an assignment should be completed, but I feel that I’ve really been able to take learning into my own hands and make it my own. Through this, I’ve discovered so much about myself as a learner…what styles work best for me, where and when I work most efficiently, as well as, what factors motivate me to learn. Thus, learning and learning about how I learn has now become an exhilarating and exciting process for me instead of merely a stressful one.

As stated previously, I am fascinated with language...how it develops, how people acquire it, and the various problems associated with each of these areas. I am especially interested in children's language development and one day, I hope to work in this field. However, since I have already been exposed to a good deal of general information about children's language development in previous CD courses, I chose to explore a different area of language for this project. I want to find out more about people acquiring English as a Second Language (their difficulties, training methods, etc.). I know extremely little about this topic except for my few conversations with the Japanese exchange students that my aunt and uncle keep at their house. Before school started, I learned about how they could not enroll for fall classes until they had passed an E.S.L. test. This was so that the college could get an idea of their level of functioning (in the English language) and enroll them in classes, accordingly. This was very frustrating for them because they had been studying all summer and passed most sections of the test with the exception of the grammar part. Each day, they completed many English worksheets, used related computer programs, and attended live conversation practice. It was very interesting to hear of their struggles with our language and to learn about the specific areas giving them difficulty. Aside from talking with these students, I have little experience with this topic. I do know that many people come to the United States and must go to a SLP for help with intelligibility and accent training. During the MOO session on Wednesday, I started to narrow down this topic and I came up with the question, “What are some therapeutic methods used when working with clients acquiring English as a Second Language?” I would also like to find out how common it is for SLP’s to work with these clients because I already know there are certified TESL’s (Teachers of English as a Second Language). Right now, there are countless “unknowns” about this topic that I am looking forward to exploring in the near future.

After taking the VARK Inventory, I found that I am a multi-modal learner. This means that not just one mode, such as visual or aural, is dominant for me. I tend to adapt the learning mode I use to specific situations. For instance, if a teacher prefers to lecture all through class, then ask questions aloud, and give oral tests, I would adapt my learning style to aural mode. I felt that this quiz was fairly accurate because there is not one definite mode of learning that I use. I also had high scores on the aural and kinesthetic parts of the inventory. This surprised me because I thought I would have the highest score on the visual section. However, after I read the study suggestions, I found that I often do like to read my notes out loud and explain things to others (common practices for Aural learners). Also, I like hands on activities and feel that "doing" really contributes to true understanding (Kinesthetic practices). I think the inventory was pretty interesting because I really do call equally upon different modes in order to learn. My only surprise was that my visual score was low because that is the mode that I prefer.