Reflection on Learning

During the first class, Brad told us that he promised himself never to be a boring teacher. At that moment, I knew that this module is going to be the most interesting one I will ever take in NUS. Lectures that I have attended in NUS are often boring and sleep-inducing. Even tutorials that require class participation were not half as interesting as ES2007S.

Most students talk in class for the sake of scoring marks for class participation and tutors cannot even remember their students' names such that students need to have a name tag on the table. How is this effective in achieving active interaction in class?

I really appreciate Brad's efforts in remembering all our names, which makes me feel a strong sense of belonging in this class. I speak up in class because I feel strongly for the comments that I want to make and not just for the participation marks. I made more friends in this class than in any other classes I took in NUS for the three good years that I'm here.

Not only were the interactions substantial in this class, the interpersonal and nonverbal communication skills we learnt is definitely useful in our everyday lives and the proposal writing and presentation techniques will be of use to some of us in the time to come when we enter the working world. The resume writing and interview techniques will also come in handy for those who are graduating after this semester and for the others in the future.

ES2007S has equipped me with what I believe to be the most practical skills that I have gained in my entire university life. I strongly encourage all students to take this module and I believe they will be as satisfied with it as I am.

Lastly, I would like to thank Brad for being such an inspiring and encouraging teacher, as well as everyone from Group 10 for making this module such an enjoyable one for me. Let's cherish the friendship and keep in touch in the future! :D

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Part 1


Part 2

The end of the oral presentation marks the closing of the research project for this module. Personally, I felt a great sense of satisfaction both when we handed in the report, and when we finished our oral presentation. I would like to thank Jake and Stella for being such excellent project group mates. I must say that we were very efficient in getting work done as we had very good teamwork and our working style is very similar. It was great working with you two! Thanks so much!

For my part of the oral presentation, I overused the word “actually” and only realize it when my classmates pointed it out to me after the presentation. I looked through the video and counted the number of times I said “actually” and it was a shocking 26 times. I do have the tendency to overuse some words. It was “like” during the oral discussion, and “actually” during the oral presentation. It is important for me to curb this bad habit of mine by being more self-conscious.

Besides that, I fumbled a little here and there due to nervousness as well, but it was not so bad because I internalized the points through numerous practices and had ample knowledge of the topic. However being a science student, I do not have many chances of presenting in front of a class and this caused me to be more stressed during this oral presentation. I believe that with more exposure, I will not feel so nervous for presentations in the future.

All in all, I felt that our group’s oral presentation was relatively smooth, except for some minor mistakes here and there. Please comment so that we will know where we can improve on! Thank you!

Feedback on Peer Teaching Team #5

Hello class!

Please provide feedback on our peer teaching presentation on preparing and performing at job interviews! Thank you! :D

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Staying in hall has given me the chance to interact with students who came all the way from a different culture background to Singapore to further their studies. These students often display characteristics of their own culture before integrating into the local culture.

An example of such a student is Mei. Mei is a girl from China who received a scholarship to pursue her degree in Singapore. Like the rest of the university year one students, Mei took part in the hall orientation camp in hope to integrate into the culture here. Mei was enjoying herself during the orientation camp until the segment of captain’s ball came. She played actively in the game, but found the Singaporean students staring at her in disgust when she raised her arms to catch the ball. She could not comprehend the reactions from the Singaporean students and could only try to avoid their stares. She eventually decided to consult me, who was in the same orientation group as her.

I asked Mei if she has the habit of removing her armpit hair, and Mei replied no. I explained to Mei that in Singapore, most girls have the habit of getting rid of their armpit hair as failure to do so may be considered as unhygienic and disgusting. I also advised her to either remove her armpit hair like normal girls in Singapore would, or avoid wearing sleeveless clothing. Mei was very surprised with the habit of removing armpit hair for girls in Singapore, as back in her hometown, such a habit did not exist. She also felt embarrassed for being seen as disgusting in Singaporeans’ eyes and is determined not to make “mistakes” like this as she integrate into the Singapore culture.

Application Letter Critique

Draft 2:

Blk 123 Hazel Ave 4

#12-345, Singapore 123456

12 February 2011

Human Resources Division

Bank of China Limited, Singapore

4 Battery Road, Bank of China Building
Singapore 049908

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for Bank of China Limited Management Trainee (Operations & Processing)

I am enclosing my resume, in response to your advertisement for the position of Management Trainee in Operations & Processing on the NUS eJob Centre website. Bank of China Limited is a thriving bank with a prestigious track record, which will be the ideal establishment for me to develop my first career in.

I am currently in my final year at National University of Singapore, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Statistics). As an undergraduate majoring in Statistics, I am widely exposed to quantitative data and am required to utilize my strong analytical skills together with various statistical programs to sieve through large amounts of information and analyze key data for my research papers. These analytical and meticulous characteristics are key attributes of a good management trainee in operations & processing in which Bank of China Limited is looking for.

Moreover, as a marketing executive at EmitAsia, a magazine distributor, it is imperative that I have contact with people from all walks of life, thus proving my strong communication skills. On top of that, being the chairperson of the Block D Committee in Sheares Hall has equipped me not only with leadership skills but also confirmed my proficiency in interpersonal communication, hence meeting the key requirements that a Bank of China Limited management trainee should have.

I have also worked with challenging sales targets in both EmitAsia and Antidotebrand and am adept at identifying improvement areas and adopting strategies to achieve a higher sales volume. I eventually achieved 2nd highest sales volume in EmitAsia for 3 months. This is perfect testimony to my ability to identify the needs of my customers and positions the company’s products to their needs. This ability will allow me to effectively streamline the operations and processing procedures to further improve the efficiency in the running of the bank.

With my numerically astute attribute, strong analytical and communication skills, I will prove to be an invaluable asset to Bank of China Limited. I highly appreciate your consideration of my application. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Koh Hwee Teng (Ms)

Draft 1:

8 February 2011

Koh Hwee Teng

Blk 123 Hazel Ave 4

#12-345, Singapore 123456

Mobile: +65 9123 4567

Email: effectivecomm@gmail.com

Human Resources Division

Bank of China Limited

Singapore

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for Bank of China Limited Management Trainee (Operations & Processing)

I am enclosing my CV, in response to your advertisement for the position of Management Trainee in Operations & Processing on the NUS eJob Centre website. I am currently in my final year at National University of Singapore, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Statistics).

As an undergraduate majoring in Statistics, I am widely exposed to quantitative data and am required to utilize my strong analytical skills together with various statistical programs to sieve through large amounts of information and analyze key data for my research papers. These analytical and meticulous characteristics are, I believe, key attributes of a good management trainee in operations & processing in which Bank of China Limited is looking for.

Moreover, as a telemarketer at Great Eastern Life, as well as at EmitAsia, a magazine distributor, as a marketing executive, it is imperative that I have contact with people from all walks of life, thus proving my strong communication skills. On top of that, being the chairperson of the Block D Committee in Sheares Hall has equipped me not only with leadership skills but also confirms my proficiency in interpersonal communication, hence meeting the key requirements that a Bank of China Limited management trainee should have.

I have also worked with challenging sales targets in both EmitAsia and Antidotebrand and am adept at identifying improvement areas and adopting different strategies to achieve a higher sales volume. I eventually achieved 2nd highest sales volume in EmitAsia for 3 months. This is perfect testimony to my ability to identity the needs of my customers and positions the companies’ products to their wants. This ability will allow me to effectively streamline the operations and processing procedures to further improve the efficiency in the running of a thriving bank.

With my numerically astute attribute, strong analytical and communication skills, I am certain that I will prove to be an invaluable asset to Bank of China Limited. I highly appreciate your consideration of my application. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Hwee Teng

Resolving interpersonal conflict.

Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a line of work that I will never be able to fathom. Unfortunately, it is also the profession that some of my friends have decided to commit both their time and soul into. Interpersonal conflict never fails to arise when they attempt to coax me into the business.

T has been a close friend of mine for 7 years. Before she decided to join the MLM company, we were confidants who can talk about anything under the sun. Our friendship changed drastically when T decided to commit herself into a MLM business. Due to the workshops and trainings she had at the company, she slowly transformed into an over ambitious person. I, on the other hand, am an extremely practical person, or some may say timid, as I tend to stay in my own comfort zone. Our clashing mindsets led to the start of our interpersonal conflict.

Our friendship became worse when T approached me in hope of me joining her in the multi-level marketing business. The remuneration of the business is portrayed to be extremely lucrative. However, it requires me to invest a few thousand dollars to kickoff my business. My family’s financial situation definitely did not allow me to fork out the money, and personally, I did not agree with how this type of company works, thus I had to reject her. T was very persistent in persuading me, and eventually I had to resort to avoiding her phone calls and messages. It was a major struggle inside me as I was not willing to join the company, nor did I want to lose this good friend of mine. Ultimately, we did drift away from each other and was never able to go back to the times when we could talk about anything under the sun.

As the Chinese saying goes, “talking about money hurts relationships.” Friends, do you agree?

Why is effective communication important to me?

The definition of autism from the Oxford Dictionary is “a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.”

Autism is a condition that affects people from engaging in effective communication. My brother’s condition of autism let me have a good understanding of the difficulties experienced by autistic individuals in conveying their message across to others.

Autistic individuals are not the only ones suffering; the people around them do suffer as well. It hurts me very much to see my brother getting frustrated with my mother when he is unable to bring the message across to the rest of the family because I know not much can be done to resolve this case of miscommunication.  

From my brother’s condition, I saw a case with a complete absence of effective communication and truly understand the importance of it to not only me, but also everyone in this world.

Currently in my final semester of my university life, I am about to embark on a job search very soon. Stepping out into the working society where communicating effectively with people is essential to career success made me take up this module as a self-improvement course, hoping to excel in communication or at least grasp the basics of it. So here I am, writing my first blog post for this module! (: