https://voca.ro/1lAmHeBiVXPZ

Learning English phonemics feels like a big step toward improving my pronunciation and confidence in speaking.

My main goal is to understand phonetic transcription better so I can recognize and produce sounds more accurately. I know this will help me speak more clearly and feel more comfortable in conversations.

Last semester, I got a basic understanding of phonetics, and it made me realize how important pronunciation really is. Now, I want to go deeper, practicing more, recognizing phonemes when I listen to English, and applying what I learn in real-life situations.

To get better, I plan to listen to native speakers, work on phonetic exercises, and use different online resources. I also want to challenge myself by reading aloud and recording my voice to track my progress. I know it won’t be easy, but I’m excited to improve by the end of this semester, I hope to feel more confident when I speak, without overthinking my pronunciation. Mastering phonemics will be a huge step toward my overall English goals. I know that learning a language takes time, but I’m ready to keep pushing forward and enjoying the process!

A whole year has passed by, and it makes me wonder how quickly time can go by. At the start of the year, I didn’t have good English at all, and I was worried that this might be a really big challenge for me, considering that I wasn’t able to even form a normal sentence. Let’s not even talk about how I barely knew or understood any English.At the beginning of the year, I saw this moment as very far away, and I didn’t even know where to start learning. But with a lot of effort, I was able to begin understanding and keeping up with the rhythm of my classmates.

I’m not going to lie; it was really frustrating and hard when I first started learning, but it was 100% worth it. I don’t know if it was the need to practice more or the effort I had to put into even the smallest things, but that whole process made me love what I’m studying even more.

As the year is coming to an end, I realize that I’m not as afraid of learning new things anymore. I’m actually looking forward to it. This whole year has helped me understand how small my personal world was and how much bigger it can become if I just put in a little more effort.I just want to say thank you to all the people who were present this year.

Both the good and bad experiences have helped me improve a lot. My friends and classmates have been a huge support for me. I’m just thankful for this entire year and excited for the new experiences that are waiting for me.

Thank you to everyone who helped me through this process, and thank you for reading my self-assessment!

Audio:

https://voca.ro/1dMZkjHKbzoU

Episode 139: The chef’s hat

Chef(Paula): And here’s one egg and chips.

Tim(Tamara): Thanks. And can I have a double cheeseburger when you’re ready. Em Jack, are you sure this egg is cooked enough? It looks a little bit runny to me.

Jack(Maite): What’s that on your head?

Tim(Tamara): Nothing.

Jack(Maite): Yeah I thought so. There’s no chef’s hat there, is there?

Tim(Tamara): No, of course not. I just thought the egg looked a little bit …

Jack(Maite): Look! Do I think about managing the staff? Do I think about timesheets and stock-taking?

Tim(Tamara): No.

Jack(Maite): Well then, why don’t you think about them, and just leave me to think about my eggs? That’s my job!

Tim(Tamara): OK. Calm down Jack.

Jack(Maite): You know, Henry never interfered like that.

Tim (Tamara): No I’m sure he didn’t.

Episode 139: The chef’s hat

Chef(Tamara): And here’s one egg and chips.

Tim(Maite): Thanks. And can I have a double cheeseburger when you’re ready. Em Jack, are you sure this egg is cooked enough? It looks a little bit runny to me.

Jack(Paula): What’s that on your head?

Tim(Maite): Nothing.

Jack(Paula): Yeah I thought so. There’s no chef’s hat there, is there?

Tim(Maite): No, of course not. I just thought the egg looked a little bit …

Jack(Paula): Look! Do I think about managing the staff? Do I think about timesheets and stock-taking?

Tim(Maite): No.

Jack(Paula): Well then, why don’t you think about them, and just leave me to think about my eggs? That’s my job!

Tim(Maite): OK. Calm down Jack.

Jack(Paula): You know, Henry never interfered like that.

Tim(Maite): No I’m sure he didn’t.

Episode 139: The chef’s hat

Chef(Maite): And here’s one egg and chips.

Tim(Paula): Thanks. And can I have a double cheeseburger when you’re ready. Em Jack, are you sure this egg is cooked enough? It looks a little bit runny to me.

Jack(Tamara): What’s that on your head?Tim(Paula): Nothing.

Jack(Tamara): Yeah I thought so. There’s no chef’s hat there, is there?

Tim(Paula): No, of course not. I just thought the egg looked a little bit …

Jack(Tamara): Look! Do I think about managing the staff? Do I think about timesheets and stock-taking?

Tim(Paula): No.

Jack(Tamara): Well then, why don’t you think about them, and just leave me to think about my eggs? That’s my job!

Tim(Paula): OK. Calm down Jack.

Jack(Tamara): You know, Henry never interfered like that.

Tim(Paula): No I’m sure he didn’t.

Assistant(Paula):	Happy New Year madam. How can I help you?
Helen(Maite):	I’d like to return this jumper please.
Assistant(Paula):	I see. Is there anything wrong with it?
Helen(Maite):	Nothing except the colour, the shape and the size!
Assistant(Paula):	And do you have the receipt?
Helen(Maite):	No, you see it was a Christmas present.
Assistant(Paula):	Well if you just get the receipt from whoever gave you the gift, then come back to us, we’ll be happy to give you a refund.
Helen(Maite):	But my mum gave it to me.
Assistant(Paula):	Can’t you just ask her for the receipt then?
Helen(Maite):	Well that’s the problem. My mum gives me a dreadful jumper every Christmas and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
Assistant(Paula):	Well, without a receipt there’s not much I can do, sorry.

Assistant(Maite):	Happy New Year madam. How can I help you?
Helen(Paula):	I’d like to return this jumper please.
Assistant(Maite):	I see. Is there anything wrong with it?
Helen(Paula):	Nothing except the colour, the shape and the size!
Assistant(Maite):	And do you have the receipt?
Helen(Paula):	No, you see it was a Christmas present.
Assistant(Maite):	Well if you just get the receipt from whoever gave you the gift, then come back to us, we’ll be happy to give you a refund.
Helen(Paula):	But my mum gave it to me.
Assistant(Maite):	Can’t you just ask her for the receipt then?
Helen(Paula):	Well that’s the problem. My mum gives me a dreadful jumper every Christmas and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
Assistant(Maite):	Well, without a receipt there’s not much I can do, sorry.

Episode 113: Study time
John: Hi Helen! I haven’t seen you in the library for ages. What are you doing here?

Helen: I’ve got a ton of work from Professor Lewis and I need to make a start on it. I’m surprised to see you working here so late.

John: Oh I’m a changed man! Not that you’d have noticed. You’ve been a million miles away for ages.

Helen: Yeah. I have. So what made you knuckle down?

John: Well, the prof gave me a good talking to about the whole photocopying incident.

Helen: What did she say?

John: Look, why don’t we nip out for a coffee and I’ll tell you the whole gruesome tale?

Helen: Oh I shouldn’t really.

John: Come on, five minutes won’t hurt!

Helen: Okay, five minutes. But I’m buying.

Creative Dialogue:

John: Deal! I need a break from these books anyway.

Helen: I remember when you used to say you’d never be caught dead studying.

John: Yeah, well, desperation’s a great motivator.

Helen: So, what exactly happened with Professor Lewis?

John: Let’s just say she made it clear I wouldn’t graduate if I didn’t shape up.

Helen: Sounds like she got through to you.

John: Yeah, she did.

Episode 107: Khalid lends a hand
Alice (Maite):	Oh what are you up to today, Khalid?
Khalid(Paula):	I’m helping Helen out by taking the cat to the vets.
Alice(Maite):	Oh Khalid. That’s so sweet of you but…
Khalid(Paula):	Helen’s very worried about Bronka.
Alice(Maite):	‘Bronka’? Khalid listen, I don’t want to talk about Helen behind her back but you need to know a couple of things. First off, the cat’s called Kitty or Coco. It was Michal who called her Bronka. And secondly, the last time Helen was a bit down in the dumps she claimed the cat was sick then too but the vet said there was nothing wrong with her.
Khalid(Paula):	But it might be different this time. Maybe Bronka really is ill.
Alice(Maite):	Khalid!

Episode 107: Khalid lends a hand
Alice(Paula):	Oh what are you up to today, Khalid?
Khalid(Maite):	I’m helping Helen out by taking the cat to the vets.
Alice(Paula):	Oh Khalid. That’s so sweet of you but…
Khalid(Maite):	Helen’s very worried about Bronka.
Alice(Paula):	‘Bronka’? Khalid listen, I don’t want to talk about Helen behind her back but you need to know a couple of things. First off, the cat’s called Kitty or Coco. It was Michal who called her Bronka. And secondly, the last time Helen was a bit down in the dumps she claimed the cat was sick then too but the vet said there was nothing wrong with her.
Khalid(Maite):	But it might be different this time. Maybe Bronka really is ill.
Alice(Paula):	Khalid!

I have a lot of things to reflect on regarding my performance on Quiz 1. To start, I think I did pretty decently for the first quiz, but I know I can do much better than that. However, I also know I didn’t study as much as I should have because of my new job. Now that I’m starting to get used to it, I’m better at dividing my time between work and studies.

Grammar has always been my weak point. I’m working to improve, and I think I’ve made really good progress, especially with past and present simple tense. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m slowly getting better. I just started learning English this year since my school was in a rural area, and we didn’t have English at all. So, considering how new I am to this language, I think I’ve been doing a decent job. The pages that teachers send and the course plan have helped me a lot with practice. I’ve been reading a lot, and that has helped me improve my vocabulary. But, like I said before, I still have a lot to learn and get used to.

Sentence structure is another of my weak points, but it surprised me that I didn’t do as badly as I thought on the quiz. Another thing that was really hard for me to understand was the past tenses, but like I mentioned earlier, I’ve been slowly improving. I just hope I’m at a decent level for this semester. All my classmates seemed to be at a much higher level compared to me, but that just encouraged me to study harder!:D

Episode 91: The truth about the watches
Police 1(Paula):	Could you just sign here please?
Tim(Maite):	Yeah, sure. Can I do anything else to help?
Police 1(Paula):	I think we have everything we need. We’ve been watching your boss, I mean, your ex-boss, for some time, and we’ve long suspected that he was involved in a counterfeiting ring. With the statement you’ve just given us, the CCTV evidence, and Mrs Hall’s statement too, I think we’ve got enough to secure a conviction.
Tim (Maite):	Mrs Hall?
Police 2(Tamara):	Janet Hall: the rather posh customer who bought a watch from you just before Christmas. She recognised almost immediately that it was a fake, so she came to us straight away. But she was adamant that you couldn’t have been responsible. She said something about some lost money that you returned to her.
Tim(Maite):	Oh yeah, that. But when you interviewed me the other week you really seemed to think that I’d stolen the watches.
Police 2(Tamara) :	Just doing our job, sir.

Episode 91: The truth about the watches
Police 1(Maite):	Could you just sign here please?
Tim(tamara):	Yeah, sure. Can I do anything else to help?
Police 1(Maite):	I think we have everything we need. We’ve been watching your boss, I mean, your ex-boss, for some time, and we’ve long suspected that he was involved in a counterfeiting ring. With the statement you’ve just given us, the CCTV evidence, and Mrs Hall’s statement too, I think we’ve got enough to secure a conviction.
Tim(Tamara):	Mrs Hall?
Police 2(Paula):	Janet Hall: the rather posh customer who bought a watch from you just before Christmas. She recognised almost immediately that it was a fake, so she came to us straight away. But she was adamant that you couldn’t have been responsible. She said something about some lost money that you returned to her.
Tim(Tamara):	Oh yeah, that. But when you interviewed me the other week you really seemed to think that I’d stolen the watches.
Police 2(Tamara) :	Just doing our job, sir.

Episode 91: The truth about the watches
Police 1(Tamara):	Could you just sign here please?
Tim(Paula):	Yeah, sure. Can I do anything else to help?
Police 1(Tamara):	I think we have everything we need. We’ve been watching your boss, I mean, your ex-boss, for some time, and we’ve long suspected that he was involved in a counterfeiting ring. With the statement you’ve just given us, the CCTV evidence, and Mrs Hall’s statement too, I think we’ve got enough to secure a conviction.
Tim(Paula):	Mrs Hall?
Police 2(Maite):	Janet Hall: the rather posh customer who bought a watch from you just before Christmas. She recognised almost immediately that it was a fake, so she came to us straight away. But she was adamant that you couldn’t have been responsible. She said something about some lost money that you returned to her.
Tim(Paula):	Oh yeah, that. But when you interviewed me the other week you really seemed to think that I’d stolen the watches.
Police 2(Maite) :	Just doing our job, sir.