My Learning Journal

In English lessons so far, I have learnt how to write summaries, organise work, work as a team, use my human ingenuity and think up of creative solutions to various situations, writing instructions, plot devices, etc. During this process, I have also learnt how to use RAF 1 (skim, scan and detailed reading), RAF 2 (retrieve information and ideas from text), RAF 5 (explain and comment on writer's use of language), WAF 1 (write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts), WAF 2 (produce text which suit task, reader and purpose), WAF 3 (organise and present whole texts effectively), WAF 6 (write with technical accuracy of grammar and punctuation), WAF 7 (use appropriate and effective vocabulary) and WAF 8 (using correct spelling).

I think I did fairly well when using these AFs:
1. RAF 1 - during English classes we had to read through various different types of texts and use those techniques in different situations. For example, when I was looking for a certain word in a long paragraph, I used the "skimming" technique and found it without much difficulties.
2. WAF 1- we were told to write a summary of our own survival stories we had in mind, thus this involves creativity and imagination. A story idea immediately surfaced in my mind and I summarised it as much as I could, and ended up with one paragraph. When the teacher checked it, she said I had done a good job, so I guess I have accomplished this AF pretty well.
3.WAF 2 & 3 - we were told to produced different kinds of text over our recent English lessons, e.g. summary writing, instructional writing, etc. I was able to do so without any problems, so I think I had done well using these AFs.
4. WAF 6, 7 & 8 - these are essential for all kinds of text, and I was able to use all of them correctly in the majority of the writings we did recently.

On the other hand, I think I can work on improving these AFs:
1. RAF 2 - when I read a text, I always pick out the unnecessary information along with the important ones, so I need to learn to leave out the extra bits and pieces.
2. RAF 5 - after we finished writing an instructional writing each, we exchanged them with a partner and let them check the language we used; I wasn't very sure which ones were appropriate to use and which weren't, so I'd like to improve my knowledge about correct uses of language in certain types of texts.

Recently in our English lessons, we were watching a movie called "Cast Away" as to give us a whole idea of what a survival film was like. I found out that these types of films were popular because human beings have the will to survive even in a devastating situation, and it's interesting to watch how they persevere and overcome the difficulties in the end. I also learnt that the use of symbols in any type of movie is very essential as they usually tell someone whether something is important or not and how they should be handled. An example of this in "Cast Away" was the wings on the parcel which ended up on the same island the main character, Chuck Noland, was stranded on. There were other parcels which had drifted onto the island as well and Chuck made use of the contents inside them, but he did not open up the one with the wings. That's because the symbol shows that the parcel is a very important one, and during the time he was desperately trying to survive all by his own on the uninhabited island, the thought of delivering the parcel to its owner kept his will from shattering into pieces.

There is another important device that kept the movie enjoyable, and that is Chuck's "best friend" when he was on the island, the volley ball "wilson". He found "him" in a parcel and used his own blood to draw a face on it. Since then, he felt like he had made a companion and talked to wilson about all his thoughts and problems he had about the island. Even though "he" had never replied to any of Chuck's words, "he" still kept him from going insane out of absolute loneliness. It was interesting but sad at the same time, watching a drama between a human and a non-living thing. I think this was one of the key points which made the film unique.

After watching the movie, we will start filming our own survival films. The idea I have in mind is somewhat similar to "Cast Away", but then the main character (which will be me) will get stranded on an island in a completely different fashion. It will go something like this: I was in a hot spring enjoying my time when I suddenly got sucked in to the ground and somehow got stranded on an uninhabited island! From there, I will slowly learn to adapt to the harsh wilderness and find out a way to escape from that place.

How's that for a story? I'm still not sure what details to put in, but that's roughly the whole idea. I am looking forward to writing scripts and filming the movie soon!