Transforming Dislike to Triumph: Johnathan’s Journey to English Success

Dive into the joy of learning, and the results will speak for themselves! Year 12 Matrix scholarship student, John, shares how finding a passion for English has made mastering it both easier and more rewarding.

Written by:
Guest Author

There’s always a silver lining to studying, even if it’s a subject you may not be so fond of! Read on to uncover Johnathan’s tips to improve your performance in English (or any other subject) by learning to enjoy it.

Me, Myself and I

Name: Johnathan Li

School: St Luke’s Grammar School

ATAR goal: 99.50 ATAR

University Goal: Medicine

HSC Subjects: Maths Extension 2, Maths Extension 1, English Advanced, Chemistry, and Physics.

Taking a step back

To me, nostalgia is a powerful yet deceptive emotion. Looking back at primary school and my junior years, everything seemed so much easier compared to my senior years. While this is probably objectively true—I can’t say fractions were as hard as calculus—I don’t believe it’s a truly fair comparison.

Memory doesn’t play fair; it picks and chooses. The things that I remember from my junior years were mostly the good times I spent with friends and the new people I met. Yet meeting new people in Year 7, the awkward silence in between introductions, and being thrust into a new environment was actually just as difficult then as it would be now. Performing well in school also felt just as important then as it does now. However, looking back retrospectively, the stakes no longer exist, making these worries seem silly.

Looking back at your memories is like reading a novel about someone else. I do believe that’s what makes reminiscing about the past so much more enjoyable and is something that I believe also applies to games, books, or movies: having a sense of action and drama but removed from any actual stakes. Kind of oxymoronic, a safe sense of danger to help you put things in perspective.

Here Lies the Problem: Finding the Fun in Studying English

This segues into a problem that many of us have: studying English. It’s the one compulsory subject that everyone in NSW must take, acting as a benchmark against which everyone can be compared. As you could probably tell from my subject selections, I’ve tried my best to limit the amount of English (any form of it) in my life as much as I possibly could. I’m sure this is a problem many other people face too, and there’s just no way around it, bringing much angst to many the night before an English assessment is due.

The way I see it, the source of the problem (besides the fact it’s compulsory) lies in the belief that English is just one of those subjects that you either inherently enjoy or don’t. However, I would disagree with this sentiment and perhaps even suggest the opposite: that everyone can have some affinity towards the subject. We just have to re-evaluate our stakes in studying English to make it more enjoyable.

Solution 1: Recognising the value of your study

Being forced into doing anything, like studying English for the HSC, inherently places you at a bad start in terms of enjoying something. This is especially true when you can’t even see the point of doing it. I have heard many of my friends questioning, “Why are we learning to write essays?” or “When am I ever going to need to know Shakespeare quotes?”

However, NESA (English | NSW Education Standards) seems to disagree. The purpose of the English course is, as they put it, to ‘[enable] students to become confident communicators, critical and imaginative thinkers, and lifelong learners’. Recognising that these are skills developed in analysing text and creating your own helps to justify your study.

Solution 2: Reading creatively to writing creatively

More specifically, something I struggle with when studying English is creative writing. This is something I have always struggled with, from the very beginning of my schooling career. I just feel like I never know what to write or that when I do, I don’t know how to write it.

However, the solution was kind of simple. Just read. Once you get used to the novel format, it is just as enjoyable (if not more so) than other formats such as television or games. They are all just ways of telling a story, and the more familiar you are with stories, the more inspiration you will be able to draw and the more ways you will have to express yourself.

Solution 3: Give it time; have less stake

As I said earlier, nostalgia can be a powerful emotion, rounding off some of the sharpest edges and leaving behind (hopefully) nice memories. The reason for this is that in the future you are removed from the consequences of ‘failing’. If you start your English preparation early, you allow yourself to make mistakes in the form of drafts, which you can then fix.

Without the pressure of getting it right the first time, it is easier to enjoy the process of writing and revision.

Making everything ‘too’ important can often take out the enjoyment in something, as such if you start your English essay or narrative too late. Starting ahead of time means you can afford to make mistakes and actually slow down to enjoy the process.

Solution 4: Become proficient in studying English

Another reason I didn’t always enjoy studying English was that I thought I wasn’t very good. Having proficiency in any subject really will allow you to have a sense of satisfaction in what you produce and make the subject less tiring.

Of course, getting to that point is the hard part (which I said earlier takes time), but knowing that it gets easier helps. This is also where Matrix has come in handy, as having someone to guide you through your study journey definitely fast tracks your way to enjoying the subject. Matrix teachers explain the course content in detail, allowing me to develop the breadth of knowledge that I require for the course. Matrix courses also collate all the study material that I need, reducing the trial and error of trying to find them myself, as well as making sure that I am on the right track. These aspects allowed me to get better at studying English, allowing me to enjoy it more.

Solution 5: Being around people with a passion for the subject

The next step to proficiency is passion. Now I’m aware not everyone struggles with English; it may be another subject that is the problem.

In general, I believe you will be able to understand why something is valuable if you spend time with people who are passionate about it.

Even though you might not enjoy a subject yourself, being around these people may induce an inkling to understand and propel your grades further. At Matrix, the teachers often have degrees and PhDs within their field and are genuinely passionate about what they teach. For example, my Matrix Chemistry Teacher, who has a PhD from Sydney University, always encourages us to dig a little deeper into the why of the concept rather than just memorising it. This fosters a deeper connection with the subject and has inspired my own love for learning it.

Regrets and What I Would Have Done Differently

If I could start the year again, these are the things that I would have done differently.

  1. I wish I didn’t drop Art, as I worried about the time that I would have had to put into the writing component. However, it was a subject that I enjoyed learning. Given that spending time on subjects you enjoy never feels as tedious, I feel like it could have been a good break from my other subjects.
  2. I wish I could have enjoyed English earlier so that I could have developed greater proficiency. The time you spend studying is an investment that compounds over time as you also develop your meta-learning skills. As Einstein said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it earns it; he who doesn’t pays it.”
  3. Following on from the previous point, I wish I had spent more time on studying English and procrastinated less on it, or at least if I were to procrastinate, it would have been by reading a good book instead of screen time.
  4. I also would have taken more in-person Matrix courses instead of the video lessons, as there are some things that are just easier to learn in a classroom. Being around other people can be more engaging than watching a screen.
  5. I also wish I spent more time with passionate people, to bounce off my own ideas and to help me develop them. Whether this meant spending a bit more time after class talking with my teachers or studying with like-minded friends.

If all of this was too long to read, here is the summary:

  • Understand the value of what you study.
  • Start early so that you don’t stress too much, allowing yourself to enjoy the process.
  • Know that the result of your hard work is proficiency, which will make your study process easier, more enjoyable, and fulfilling in the future.
  • Being around passionate people can help you understand the value of the subject.

Although I haven’t always enjoyed studying English, I have realised it is not so much about what I was learning, but the process of learning and the skills that I have gained that make it worth studying.

Written by Guest Author

We have regular contributions to our blog from our Tutor Team and high performing Matrix Students. Come back regularly for these guest posts to learn their study hacks and insights!

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