CLC 12

Rose Pak
Personal & Academic Achievements Reflection

Last year, COVID-19 hit the world, and the pandemic started. There was a lockdown after spring
break, the schools were closed during the entire term 3. It was overwhelming to follow up every course
online, however, I wanted to achieve anything during in pandemic. It was finishing up at least one grade
12 course in the summer. There were two options I’d like to take: English 12 or Pre-Calculus 12. I was
thinking to take both classes at once, but the district did not provide that option. For me, I already took
Pre-Calculus 12 in grade 11, whereas I haven’t taken English 12 before. I had no idea of how the English
class looks like. Even though English courses definitely seemed to be arduous for me, I clicked the
English class to register.

Since there were no writing-basis classes in Korean High school, I had no experience of writing
paragraphs or essays in English. In Korea, the school teacher just provided a bunch of multiple-choice
problem sets which need to analyze non-fictional English articles. Some teacher just gives an answer or
read out the rather than teaching analyzing skills. However, Canadian English classes were totally
different to me: I should read up the entire book and analyze myself based on interpreting my thought. I
constantly read the text over and over. Then I highlighted what the author wants to convey and jotted
down which point I want to explain more. Based on these, I could organize what to write on my essays,
and how to do proofreading after writing.

Although I put a lot of effort, the obstacle was still existing: The language barrier. It took lots
more time to read and write than others. However, the summer session is a condensed version of
regular class. I had to write 4 or more paragraphs or reflections in a week, then read up an entire novel
on the last week. I had to spend overnight to get my assignments done and felt terrified when the
teacher’s feedbacks came out during returning my works. At the same time, I did not want to give up
taking courses because I felt proud of myself when I got my works done and getting better marks than
before. Especially during reading a novel, it was interesting how the author foreshadows the incidents,
and be empathized with how each character feels. I could not wait for the next chapter!

Throughout the English summer session, I felt proud of myself that I worked hard until
submitting the final literature essay and kept being productive during the pandemic. Just 2 hours after I
handed in my final essay, the mark came out. My heart was pit-a-pat until I accessed a portal to see my
mark. The portal said: you’ve got 93% as a final mark. Then I was both shocked and jubilated at that
moment that I achieved my goal.

For me, it was a great opportunity to practice academic skills that could be used in the future.
Since I was looking for English-related studies in post-secondary, these skills were essential to building
up in high school. On top of that, I would be happy to help others who are struggling to take English
courses or other subjects.