My oral exam went OK. We were given a topic to talk about for five minutes and we had ten minutes to prepare. I decided to describe a holiday and told the examiner where I went, why I went there and the personal experiences I had whilst I was traveling.

I felt a lot pressure speaking to the examiner, but because I had prepared well. I was able to organise my ideas, this gave me confidence to speak and I was able to express myself well.

Looking back at the whole experience, I had worked really hard this semester. I was in the library practicing my English even when my class mates were out enjoying themselves. But I also found some time to watch TV and went to the movies. I think all my hard work has paid off. I feel more confident now when I speak in English. I can express myself better and I don’t really have to worry about grammar. Of course sometimes I’ll mess up the spelling but then if you know how to pronounce the word, you can usually figure out the correct spelling. In fact, I have heard that there will be some exchange students from USA and UK in my class next semester. Previously, I would never have the confidence to talk to them but now I feel I can and I will be able to make some friends from other countries. Who would have thought this will happen to me same time last semester?

I’ve now finished the English examination. It went really well. The written part was to write a personal letter to a friend recommending my favourite movie. I chose this because I felt easier about it as compared with the other questions.

Because of my hard work during the semester, I actually enjoyed doing the examination. Can you believe it! I was able to express myself better this time and was able to write more fluently. My teacher had told me to avoid using complex words and try to ensure that all my sentences have the right verbs, etc.

Who would believe me if I said I actually had fun while ding an English examination, people would think I was mad!

I still have to take my oral examination in two days so I’m going to watch the English TV series again, it will help me improve my oral skills.

I think I’m going to be just fine, I’ve followed my study plan and I’ve finish revising most of my notes. Now I’ll just go through them again to refresh my memory and I’ll be all set.

Last semester after I failed, I took my friend’s advice, talked to the teacher and went through past examination papers. I knew that I had certain weaknesses and I’ve tried to rectify them.

I asked my teacher to give me extra work. It’s really hard to study because I don’t find English interesting. Then one of my friends told me to watch an English TV series. I became very interested in it since these stories are really very exciting. I’ve watched them several times and have learnt the way the characters speak English. I’ve learnt some new vocabulary and useful phrases, which have helped me a lot for my oral and writing.

There’s one week to go. I’m getting worried. I failed English last semester so I’ve had to take it again. This is by far the most difficult subject for me and I’m not sure if I can pass this time. You know, if you fail, your life can be a mess. It’s really sad.

Last semester when I learned that I had failed, I was really disappointed, but then my friend told me that failing is an opportunity for me to see what my weaknesses are so that I can improve myself and do better next time. He said that in the long term, the most important thing is how much I get from my learning experience, not my grades. He told me the story about one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons, who actually failed all of his HKCEE subjects. However, instead of giving up, he said to himself, I’ll show them I am not a failure and I’ll prove them wrong, it’s only an examination and it doesn’t define what I’m capable of! He then studied very very hard and eventually obtained a masters degree and is now studying for a PhD. That’s really impressive to me! I came to understand that failing an examination doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. I should pick myself up and try to identify my weaknesses, the reasons of failure and work on them. This is what I’m trying to do this semester.

I should get back to my study. I’ve written my study plan and I am going to stick to it.