Reflection on Speech Competition

This is actually a great experience of delivering speech in English, even though I screwed it up. At this point, I can have the chance to calm myself down to think of my English more critically. I come up with two ideas. First, my English is not as good as I previously thought. I was in a realm of my own ego. Second, speech is different from writing which means they are mutually independent. 

I thought I have achieved great improvements during the past 5 months, which could enable me to compete with people who have been here for more than one year. It is true that I make some progress, but it is not that much. It is true that I am better than some people who have been here for more than one year, but there are still a lot of people that are better than me. I should realize that mastering a language is not like having an insight. It is a long process, where it gradually grows mature with both confidence and skills. 

English writing and speech is mutually independent, though they are not completely unrelated. English writing requires a much more organized way of arranging ideas, while giving speech focuses more on visual factors such as gestures and eye contact. One can be a talented speaker but not necessarily a good writer, vice versa.

Gaining these two ideas help me figure out my problems in my English study. It is like re-anchoring my English speaking and writing ability. When I know how good I am, then I can learn things that I really need to know first before I learn anything more advanced.