Independent Language Learning Reflective Weekly Log

Name: Radu Izabela

Departament:
Week : 1

A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read a lot of articles on Almost 30min/day
Facebook and Times New
York website. Also, I did
some reading from my
daughter’s English book
while helping her with her
homework.
2. Writing I wrote some simple e-mails 30 min/week
to my foreign boss.
3. Speaking I practiced my speaking with 20 min/week
a foreign friend on the
phone this week. It was both
fun and helpful to improve
my language skills !
4. Grammar Work I reviewed the exercises 1h/week
from class.
5. Listening I started a Netflix show and I 3h/week
tried to turn off my
Romanian subtitles when I
watched it alone, without
my husband.
6. Vocabulary Work I did some vocabulary 1h/week
exercises with my 6th grade
daughter, it was nice to be
able to help her and also
learn some new words
spelling and meaning.
TOTAL ~11h/week
B. My favorite activity this week was definitely my Listening activity. I am watching a new
American Netflix show and liked it very much. Now that I have also turned off my captions , I
get to listen more carefully to the words and learn some new ones. I still put on Romanian
captions when I watch with my family, but I hope in the future they will switch to my method
too.

C. I still lack some skills in the writing department, but I hope I will improve. For now , I am
only texting some e-mails to my foreign boss, but I feel like I need a bit of help from my peers
with my talking. I have learned some new technical words from my job but I still am not
feeling good about the way I perform.

D.
1. I should keep turning my Romanian captions off when I watch movies.
2. I should encourage my family to behave the same.
3. I should practice my writing some other way also.

E. This week was a good starting point, but my journey with English language is still at the
beginning. I still have a lot of work to do but I am confident that even if I am not as prepared
as my younger classmates, I can still keep up with them.
Week 2 :

A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read articles on Facebook Almost 4h
and Twitter.
I did some reading from my
daughter’s English book
while helping her with her
homework.
I started reading a new book
in English : Animal Farm –
George Orwell
2. Writing I wrote a letter to my foreign 15 min/week
friend.
3. Speaking I practiced my speaking with 10 min/week
 my boss on the phone this
week.
4. Grammar Work I reviewed the exercises 1h/week
from class.
5. Listening I continued to watch my 3h/week
Netflix shows without the
subtitles.
6. Vocabulary Work I reviewed the exercises 30min/week
from class
TOTAL ~9h/week

B. My favorite activity this week was definitely my Speaking activity. I talked on the phone to
my foreign boss and we understood each other well. He appreciated me trying to speak with
him directly and I think this might improve my performance at the job!

C. I still lack some skills in the Writing department, but I hope I will improve. I started texting
some e-mails to my friend, she is not that judgmental and she corrects me when I do
mistakes. I am still working on this department

D.
1. I should keep turning my Romanian captions off when I watch movies.
2. I should encourage my family to behave the same.
3. I should practice my writing some other way also.
4. I should spend more time with my daughter’s English assignments.

E. This week I didn’t spend that much time than the last week, but I feel some improvement.

Week 3.
A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read articles on Facebook Almost 4h
and Twitter.
I did some reading from my
daughter’s English book
 while helping her with her
homework.
I continued reading a book
in English: Animal Farm –
George Orwell
2. Writing I wrote an e-mail for some 15 min/week
customer support for an
order that came wrong.
3. Speaking I did not practice speaking 0 min/week
this week.
4. Grammar Work I reviewed the exercises 30h/week
from class.
5. Listening I continued to watch my 4h/week
Netflix shows without the
subtitles. I also watched
some cooking videos in
English.
6. Vocabulary Work I reviewed the exercises 30min/week
from class
TOTAL ~9h/week

B. My favorite activity this week was definitely my Writing activity. I wrote an e-mail for
some customer support for an order that came wrong. I explained to them my issue and they
responded, so my order mistake was fixed. I am proud of myself that I could do it.

C. I should improve in my Grammar. I know I make bad mistakes sometimes which make me
look unprofessional.

D.
1. I should keep turning my Romanian captions off when I watch movies.
2. I should encourage my family to behave the same.
3. I should work on my grammar.
4. I should spend more time with my daughter’s English assignments.

E. This week I feel some improvement, I feel that is easier for me to write and to speak. Doing
homework with my daughter has become easier.
Week 4:
A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read a lot of articles on Almost 30min/day
Facebook.
2. Writing I wrote some simple e-mails 30 min/week
to my foreign boss.
3. Speaking I practiced my speaking with 10 min/week
a foreign friend on the
phone this week.
4. Grammar Work I reviewed the exercises 1h/week
from class.
5. Listening I watched some YouTube 2h/week
videos in English.
6. Vocabulary Work I did some vocabulary 1h/week
exercises with my 6th grade
daughter.
TOTAL ~5h/week

B. My favorite activity this week the Reading activity. I enjoy scrolling on Facebook and I
started following some English pages. I read about fashion, cooking and politics. It was both
fun and educative.

C. I should still improve in my Grammar. Doing only my reviews from class do not help. I
should do more.

D.
1. I should speak more to my English friend.
2. I should work on my grammar.
3. I should spend more time with my daughter’s English assignments.

E. This week I feel good about my progress.

Week 5 :
A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read a English book: Lord of Almost 4h/week
the Flies – William Golding
2. Writing I texted on Facebook with 30 min/week
my foreign friend
3. Speaking I practiced my speaking with 10 min/week
a foreign friend on the
phone this week.
4. Grammar Work I asked an English major 2h/week
friend to help me go through
the Present, Past and Future
tenses with me again. She
explained to me come
conversational issues and
now I feel more secure with
my grammar.
5. Listening I listened a podcast on 30min/week
politics on my way to work.
6. Vocabulary Work My English Major friend 2h/week
gave me some Tofel
vocabulary exercises she had
already done and corrected
me.
TOTAL ~10h/week

B. My favorite activities this week were the Grammar and Vocabulary activities. I enjoyed
learning with my friend and now I feel very good about my status with the English grammar. I
feel like I refreshed the information I learned back in high school.

C. I do not feel comfortable with the way I speak still. My friend is helping me a lot but is
definitely not enough! I should speak more.

D.
1. I should speak more to my English friend.
2. I should keep working on my grammar.
3. I should spend more time with my daughter’s English assignments.

E. This week I feel good about my progress. It is a hard time with work and everything, but
I’m trying to improve and be better for my job and for University.

Week 6:
A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read articles on Facebook 3h/week
and blogs.
I read some e-mails from my
manager.
2. Writing I replied to some e-mails 1h/week
from customers and
suppliers in English, at work,
this week.
3. Speaking I did not practice speaking 0 min/week
this week.
4. Grammar Work I asked an English major 2h/week
friend to help me go through
the Conditionals with me
again.
5. Listening I listened a podcast on 4h/week
politics on my way to work.
I also continue watching
Netflix shows without the
captions
6. Vocabulary Work My English Major friend 1h/week
gave me some Tofel
vocabulary exercises she had
already done and corrected
me.
TOTAL ~11h/week

B. My favorite activity this week was definitely my Listening activity. I listen to a podcast
everyday on my walk to work and it is so refreshing. It is a politics podcast and it talks a lot
about the COVID19 situation. I am also watching a new British Netflix show and I feel like it
helps me understand talking with a British accent.

C. I do not feel comfortable with the way I speak still. This week I did not practice in this
department and I feel a bit hard on myself.

D.
1. I should speak more.
2. I should keep working on my grammar.
3. I should do more entertaining and educational activities. They seem to help the most.

E. This week I feel good about my progress. It is a hard time with work and everything, but
I’m trying to improve and be better for my job and for University.

Week 7 :
A.

What I have done Description Date&Time spent

1. Reading I read articles on Facebook Almost 4h
and Twitter.
I did some reading from my
daughter’s English book
while helping her with her
homework.

2. Writing I wrote e-mails to the 30 min/week

customers and suppliers for
the company I’m working
for.
3. Speaking I did not practice speaking 0 min/week
this week.
4. Grammar Work I reviewed the exercises 30h/week
from class.
 5. Listening I continued to watch my 5h/week
Netflix shows without the
subtitles.
I also watched some
documentaries in English.
6. Vocabulary Work I reviewed the exercises 30min/week
from class
TOTAL ~11h/week

B. My favorite activity this week was definitely my Reading activity. I enjoy spending more
time with my daughter, who is in the 6th grade and needs help with her homework, especially
now with online schooling. It is very difficult for her to keep up with her classmates and being
able to help her means a lot to me.

C. I do not feel comfortable with the way I speak still. This week I did not practice in this
department and I feel a bit hard on myself.

D.
1. I should speak more.
2. I should keep up the good work at my job, I think I am going to get a promotion soon.
3. I should do more entertaining and educational activities. They seem to help the most.

E. This week I feel good about my progress.