This year, I feel much more confident in my English abilities than last year. Looking back at my previous work, it is obvious that I have improved a lot since year 7. My vocabulary has expanded, as well as my ability to interpret the meaning of texts and to think abstractly.

My marks this year have been quite good, but there is always room for improvement. My goal for my English marks this year was to achieve around ninety percent for each assessment, but the majority of them scored around eighty percent. I did get 90% and above for a couple of my tests, but the assignments this year were quite challenging for me. Overall, I am quite happy with my marks.

I have been involved in class a lot this year. Throughout our novel study, I volunteered to read out loud to the class multiple times, as well as occasionally contributing to class discussions. I also asked and answered questions in class throughout the year. I believe that I can still improve my confidence in reading out my own work to the class, and to not be afraid to ask more questions.

This year, I have had one opportunity to collaborate with my peers in English. The task that required collaboration was the Production of a Current Affairs program. I was put into a group with 3 other peers and we were required to use one of our already-completed scripts from the previous assessment, or combine them. We followed the scripts and turned them into a video. My group’s collaboration was very good throughout the filming process. We were all able to get along well, communicate effectively, and allocate our roles without much negotiation or arguments.

This year, I feel that I have been quite independent in all areas of my English learning. I have independently taken notes, revised, and used my own time at home for any work that is needed. I have not relied on Mr Latawski for anything other than feedback on my work, or to answer any questions I have about the assigned tasks. My teacher and I have a good partnership relationship which has helped me to develop my skills and confidence throughout the year, and he has given me many opportunities to be independent, organised, and responsible for my own work across the year.

My organisation throughout the year was reasonably good, but there were a few times when I was stressed because I had multiple tests on the same day. This was due to poorly organising and allocating my time throughout the week, and having lots of tests in the same week didn’t help. I also didn’t take into account the activities that I do outside of school and the practice I have to do for those. But as the year has progressed, I got used to the workload and my organisation has improved, especially when it comes to preparing for tests and handing in assignments on time.

English has always been one of my strengths from a young age, but I believe that my skills have improved a lot this year. I have improved in generating ideas and brainstorming, as well as my creativity when it comes to creative writing. I have never been that good at poetry, and I have noticed that my poetry skills have improved a lot since last year with practice and my expanded vocabulary and comprehensive skills, which are also improvements.

My biggest challenge in English this year was overcoming my writer’s block. I would spend large amounts of time trying to generate ideas for my work, but because I’m a perfectionist, I was never satisfied with them. I often looked up writing prompts on the internet to overcome this.

My goals for next year are to further expand my vocabulary and to read more books. I do read quite a lot, but I would still like to read more so I can finish all of the books on my bookshelf. I think that these goals are achievable, and I can achieve them by dedicating more of my free time towards reading, and to read books that challenge me. By doing this, I can reach my goal of reading more whilst simultaneously improving my vocabulary.