The language is my partner on the way gaining knowledge.

The language, actually, should not be consider our obstacles in the way of gaining knowledge. In fact, it is there to serve us. However, this special "tool" sometimes does cause some problem in my Engineering courses. The vocabulary, the grammar and the way to present my thinking are my most important problems.

Although at this stage of study, I have not been required to do so much writing on Engineering subjects, I have encountered the language barriers when reading textbooks and understanding what my lecturers, my tutors delivered. Actually all the knowledge in Engineering courses are presented clearly and directly, so I always appreciate the efforts of textbooks' authors, my lectures, my tutors in trying their best to make everything understandable.

Nevertheless, the most obvious problem is that my vocabulary is not strong enough to quickly get the idea presented, which results in the slowdown in my reading, and listening speed. To overcome this problem, especially in MLE1101 course (Materials), I have learned that it is integral for me to prepare the coming lecture in advance by reading lecture notes, skimming the textbook, looking up the dictionary and asking the questions. Although these methods do not totally solve my problem in understanding materials, it actually helps me overcome the language barriers. Now, if I still could not get the idea, it is the knowledge issues not the language one. Of course, it takes times to remember new academic concepts even in my mother tongue. In addition, I still notice the weakness in my vocabulary, so I try to learn about five new words each day. I look forward to a day when vocabulary is no longer my fear.

Besides, the grammar structures and the way to express ideas effectively are other problem. When doing my lab report, I recognized that it was difficult to make the reader understand my idea easily. I have not had the proficiency in using English, so keeping translating what I want to say from Vietnamese into English leads to my unsatisfactory productivity in writing report. I will never forget that I have spent the whole day in the laboratory doing experiment and report which should take only 3 hours to be completed. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary for me to read sample reports as well as other materials and pay attention on how the ideas are presented. I will be familiarize myself with the logical thinking and writing.

In conclusion, the strong vocabulary, the accurate grammatical points, and the effectiveness in expressing ideas are three main targets I have to aim at. It is important for me to remember that language is the indispensable key to many doors in the way of gaining knowledge. And it should be my friend not my enemy.