Practice makes it perfect
Practice is the key to perfection, a principle that extends beyond music and can be applied to various aspects of life. An intriguing observation arose during the initial segment of the recent semester's final exam, which involved recording a video in response to a question about a video assigned for viewing. The chosen video was from Prager University, and the task for the students was as follows:
“This is the first part of your final exam (50 points) After watching the video clip on this link: https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjE2ODc3MjIwOA
You have to record around a one-minute video clip in WeChat answering the following:
1- If the decision they made was fair
2- Tell why you think the decision was fair or not.
PS: The video has to show your face while you are speaking. Also needs to be delivered until TODAY 22:00 hs PM”
While this assignment ostensibly gauged the students' comprehension of the video content, my primary focus was on evaluating their pronunciation skills rather than the content of their responses. What I found intriguing was that some students, who were not proficient English speakers, demonstrated significant improvement in their pronunciation. This improvement could only be attributed to dedicated practice, as they had approximately six hours to prepare for the assignment, and some seized the opportunity to hone their skills.
This observation reaffirms two points I've emphasized previously: first, that effort and practice yield improvement, a principle for which I've provided numerous exercises, but unfortunately they only did practice before the exam for the exam - not on a regular bases for improve their overall language skill and become better. It was for the sole purpose of just having better grades only.
Second, the significance of grades is downplayed, as I've previously asserted that employers won't hire based on grades alone, actually in the case of language skills the employer don´t care at all about the student grades, they do care if they can speak well. Ironically, several students seem focused solely on improving their grades rather than enhancing their overall English pronunciation.
The repercussions of prioritizing grades over comprehensive language skills may become apparent to these students sooner than later. Definitely when they start looking for a job. It underscores the importance of investing time and effort into holistic language improvement rather than fixating solely on academic achievements.
Article by Marcelo Gameiro
Published 02 Jan 2024
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