As outlined in the Permanent Resident – Canadian Experience Class Document Check list , I am writing with the intention of demonstrating my proficiency in English. I will do so by outlining that English is my first language and that I have successfully utilized my English language skills during my years of formal education. I will also discuss my ability to converse in English, based on my experiences as a volunteer and employee in the various communities in which I have resided. For your reference, I have attached supplementary letters collected from my past teachers and employers. It is my intention to demonstrate my proficiency of the English language on a spoken, written, and comprehensive level.
I was born in a multicultural country – Malaysia – and I was brought up speaking English, Malay, Mandarin, Hakka (my mother’s native dialect) and Melanau (my father’s native dialect). I acquired a strong grasp and passion for languages from a very young age. I have maintained my proficiency in the above languages and I have also learned American Sign Language. In addition, I am also familiar with a variety of cultures and I am adept at adjusting to the changes that come with each endemic culture. My love for languages and their associated cultures has been an essential component of my ability to integrate with my current environment.
At the age of 8, my family and I moved to Aberdeen, Scotland. I received formal education in the English language from Grade 3 to Grade 5 at the American School of Aberdeen. During my stay there, my love for reading was nurtured by my grade school teachers. Through the guidance of my teachers, I became acquainted with authors such as C.S. Lewis, L.M. Montgomery, Antione de Saint-Exupéry, L. Frank...
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...nicate in a clear and concise manner with individuals and vendors from a variety of backgrounds. Currently, as an Ophthalmic Assistant at the Prasloski-Neima Management Eye Clinic, I perform patient history taking, diagnostic imaging and visual assessments while interacting with patients. My involvement in this clinic is the embodiment of my passion for medicine and community care.
My lifelong experience as an English speaker has allowed a smooth integration into Canada and Vancouver. I believe my education at the secondary and post-secondary level, my volunteer experiences, and my employment in the medical field all demonstrate my ease with the English language and Canadian culture in a broad variety of settings. Thank you for your time and consideration of my application to become a Permanent Resident of the country that I have called home for the past 9 years.
X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." Rereading America. 9th ed. Boston/NewYork: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 189-97. Print.
Language is an important part of who we are. It influences the way we think and behave on a great scale. However, sometimes it is forced upon us to go in different directions just so we can physically and mentally feel as if we belong to the society in which we live in. Just as we see in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, both authors faced some challenges along the way by coping with two different languages, while still trying to achieve the social position which they desired.
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
Being familiar with several different languages is most definitely not one of the easiest things to do. While growing up and experiencing different opportunities to learn different cultures there is no way it should be passed upon. Having the knowledge of different languages will offer one to have a lot more culture within there main culture and the one they are opening there self into. People with culture know their way around the world and the life they’re living. Also, it would permit one to travel to places all over the world and countries. Being knowledgeable about back rounds of several cultures will open a door for one with several opportunities throughout ones life time. Discovering different cultures will bring one around the world giving individuals chances to learn lifestyles in completely different ways. “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.” (Anzaldua) I enjoy this statement within writing my essay simply because it represents that she will continue to stay faithful to her language throughout her life.
Douglass, Frederick. "Learning to Read and Write." Trans. Array The Writer`s Presence. . Seventh Edition. New York: Bedford/St Martin`s, 2012. 86-92. Print.
“The Contact Zone”, is defined by Mary Louis Pratt as “the space in which transculturation takes place – where two different cultures meet and inform each other, often in highly asymmetrical ways.” Pratt describes what she calls ‘contact zones’ and elaborates on the pros and cons of these cultural interactions. She sees the contact zone as a place that allows people to exchange cultural ideas and break down the dividing cultural borders. When a contact zone is started, people are able to interact on new levels gaining a new perspective because they are able to collaborate with people from foreign cultures. If you are always with people of the same culture as you, you become used to hearing everything from the same perspective. With a new perspective, you can see your culture from a different point of view and reanalyze the logic behind your cultural traditions. Every ethnic/ religious/ regional/ cultural group has its high and low points, and it is just as important to learn about the low points as it is to learn about the highs. Gloria Anzaldua’s essay, “how to tame a wild tongue”, focuses on the ideas of losing an accent or native language to conform to the dominant culture.
If you are not fluent in a language, you probably don 't give much thought to your ability to make your personality attractive, to be in touch with the people and be understood in your world, that doesn’t mean you are an underestimated person. Every person has something special to make them more unique, remarkable, and gorgeous between people. The opinions could lead towards success, or those opinions could be one that is losing, and have a negative impact on how people connect with you. In Amy Tan 's “Mother Tongue” she made this book for several reasons. She had started her life by learning language, and she always loved to spend her time to learn language, but this story focuses about Amy Tan 's mother with her terrible English,
My grandmother introduced me to reading before I’d even entered school. She babysat me while my parents were at work, and spent hours reading to me from picture books as my wide eyes drank in the colorful illustrations. As a result, I entered my first year of school with an early passion for reading. Throughout elementary and middle school, I was captivated by tales of fire-breathing dragons, mystical wizards, and spirited foreign gods. A book accompanied me nearly everywhere I went, smuggled into my backpack or tucked safely under my arm. I was often the child who sat alone at lunch, not because she didn’t have friends, but because she was more interested in a wizards’ duel than the petty dramas of middle school girls. I was the child who passed every history test because she was the only kid who didn’t mind reading the textbook in her spare time, and the child who the school librarian knew by name. Reading provided a
Sadler, Glenn Edward. "Lewis, C. S. 1898-1963." Writers for Children: Critical Studies of Major Authors Since the Seventeenth Century. Ed. Jane M. Bingham. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988. 357-364. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
During adolescence, I began reading and writing through a fundamental learning program called, "Hooked on Phonics." This program consisted of long hours spent reading short novels and writing elementary phrases which were commonly taught in the second and third grade. With the motto, "Improve your child's reading and writing skills in just four weeks!" I was bound to become the next Mark Twain. The method of this course specialized in the improvements of word acquisition rates as well as reading speed; however, it lacked in the area of teaching comprehension. At a young age, I was instilled with the dire need to be highly educated and although I was unable to experience a fun and adventurous childhood like many other children, I am grateful for being raised with a greater knowledge and wisdom than that ingrained in many.
From this perspective, for immigrants learning the language of the host country is a tool to develop a net of useful social contacts. Cristina Rodriguez states that in addition to its role in developing social bonds, the language use assists with preserving a multilingual en...
In today’s society, especially in the United States, most people are monolingual English speakers. As a result, these monolingual speakers are at a significant disadvantage compared to those who speak more than one language fluently. This disadvantage is crucial to realize since it is important to learn how individuals and the nation can be enhanced. Multilingual speakers have an advantage in global affairs that involve countries that speak different languages. Speaking multiple languages makes it easier to communicate with people when involved in foreign affairs. Those who speak multiple languages are also more aware of other cultures in society. Monolingual speakers are not as exposed to other cultures and have difficulty understanding or even recognizing them. Furthermore, being multilingual increases your
...xpressing her Chinese culture. Mastering a second language allows her to articulate her and her mother’s thoughts; it is a foundation for her pride and a foundation to express herself. For Gloria Anzaldua, instead of choosing one language over the other, she chose a mix of the two and fights for it. She realized the value of her language when she lost it and now treasures it. The kind of Spanish she speaks is neither English nor Spanish, but both. It is overflowing with culture from Medieval Spain, France, Germany, etc., just from the origins of the words. It is her pride and a representation of herself, fighting and living. In conclusion, in addition to Lera Boroditsky’s article proving that the structure of language affects how we think, the articles by Eric Liu, Amy Tan, and Gloria Anzaldua show how language is a foundation for a person’s culture, pride, and self.
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
Experts have contended that a sense of self is altered when students whose second language is the one in which instruction is being communicated. Further it has been argued that the native language people use greatly influence the perspectives of their world (Kay & Kempton, 1984). If this is true, it explains the complexity teachers of any discipline encounter while functioning in a multicultural classroom with speakers of differing languages and