During the past few years, I discovered an effectual thing about how I can learn English. In my study journey, I started to learn English when I first attended to school. I have beeing learning English for my whole learning life, but I didn’t become better at English when I was studying in Hong Kong. After I came to America and started to attend school here, I discovered that if I wanted to be accustomed to English, I had to change my mindset and overcome the problem which I was facing. When I was in elementary school in Hong Kong, I was disgusted to learn English because I had a fixed mindset. According to “The Perils and Promises of Praise," written by Carol S. Dweck, fixed mindset students would escape from the challenges or problems, instead of overcoming it(p.1-2). During elementary school, I always got terrible grades on my English quizzes and tests. In addition, I did not understand most of the grammar and vocabulary that the teachers taught me during the lessons. Moreover, I rarely practiced English or reviewed it before the quizzes or the tests. Because of those reasons, my English grades became worse and worse. During elementary school and middle school, I almost failed all English tests which made me feel frustrated and disgusted to learn English. …show more content…
I did not hate English as much as I hated in Hong Kong because I understood that I have to learn English if I wanted to survive in the U.S. However, I was scared to talk to people in English in the beginning because I was afraid about others would laugh and make fun of me about my accent. I understood if I wanted to live and study in the U.S, I had to put more effort with studying the language. In addition, I always hung out with those students who spoke Cantonese, which is my native language, in the high
Prior to immigrating to America, Nicole attended a public school in China where all of her teachers were Chinese natives. At Nicole’s school in China, however, English is a required course of study taught mostly by emphasizing English vocabulary, completing short one-page writing assignments, and practicing spelling. Learning English pronunciations and engaging in realistic English conversation wasn’t the goal for educators in China. The goal in China was to prepare students to pass their post-high school exam, which was their ticket into attending a university. The exam is highly demanding for Chinese students because it requires knowledge of English reading, comprehension, spelling and writing. For Nicole, the most stressful part of this exam was that students taking it
English as a communication tool holds prominent position in Chinese curriculum (Liu, 2012). Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) has seen its boost in China (Qiang & Wolff, 2007). Mastering English is an asset for students in job hunting and further education. As academic achievement is highly valued in Chinese culture, students are expected to achieve high marks in English tests (Liu, 2012). University students need to pass National English proficiency examinations, which are the part of the evaluation for obtaining degrees (Wolff, 2010). Students attend after-school English courses for enhancing their English because of the pressure (Liu, 2012). The majority of ELL students aim at improving the international English proficiency tests results, such as International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). ELL students are more motivated in the after-school English courses because of the high-target learning environment. However, the teacher-centred learning procedure neglects the long-term enhancement of students’ English level. The ignorance of the long-term development is due to less student involvement during the teaching procedure (Mo, 2012). Some Chinese ELL students choose to attend ESL courses abroad. The reasons are that they can have a better language environment (Wolff, 2010) and can engage more in the learning procedure (Smith & Hu, 2013). The aim of the study is to compare the teacher-centred teaching in China and student-centred teaching in Canada and to examine efficient teaching methods for Chinese speaking ELL
If the story of my education were to be added on to the stories of all of the great leaders included in How Lincoln Learned to Read, it would be strikingly similar to the stories of the great thinkers themselves. Like Abraham Lincoln, I loved to read and like Sojourner Truth, I learned my behaviors by watching my family. The story of my education parallels with these and many others of those included in the novel. Themes such as self-education through reading, household observation, and passions for various tasks run through my story as well as the stories of many of the great thinkers mentioned in the book.
Finally, the experienced you faced in life are the only ones who make you improve in life. These three experiences have made me more powerful, more secure of my self. Now I’m in 12th grade and I have learn more and a better English, is not perfect, but, I understand more then before, and I can write better then in 8th and 9th grade, everything thanks to the friends who help me out, the teachers and my motive to make it possible, ignoring all the ignorant people who always have to think on you. I have learned that in this country for be someone is important to learn and speak English, but you always have to be positive and make that come true. My goal now is to speak, read, write, and understand more by putting more of my part so I can defend my self from everything.
My mother would occasionally take me to work with her at the nail salon while sitting at her station I would notice how rudely customers would treat her due to her lack of English. At that point, I realized that my mother did not sacrifice everything to be ridiculed all because she could not speak English. A sense of determination washed over me. With the aid of my ESL class, in addition, to listening to other people’s discourse of the language, I gradually became fluent in the glorious English language. While learning English, it sent me on an unforgettable journey each step I took felt like I was paving my own pathway to success. After years of feeling un-American, I was committed to teaching and changing myself with knowledge, soon enough, learning the English language allowed me to adapt to my environment. Growing up as an immigrant kid, I lusted for eloquence and fluency after discovering the significance and strength of communication.
I clearly remember my first day in an American school— a little thirteen-year-old boy, who was shy to speak and tried to avoid any questions. Some of my classmates understood that English was my third language and tried to support and encourage me. However, others
Within months I learned a handful of words watching cartoons. words provided comfort when conversing to others. I also used my new learned words to participate in classes at school which I started exactly a month after arriving. Determined to speak English in order to “appear normal” to the other students, I began the process of trying to read every word of every book I stumbled upon. As the months passed, my English improved.
thought I'd never leave. I spoke only Cantonese, both to my friends and to my parents.
Entering college for me has had many challenges along the way. Just when I think I’m on the right track, something happens and I practically go into overdrive to overcome those challenges. I’ve had the typical financial hardships that every college student faces when applying for an overpriced education. I’ve had the experience of changing my mind on what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve also applied and entered two different colleges. All of this has happened within a year, and it’s hard to believe that the whole process of events started about a year ago.
As everybody, I also came here to get a better life in future. I was very excited to go to new school at a very different place, make new friends. One of the biggest challenges for me, after coming here, was to learn English. In our house, academics were the main priority for my parents. In the start, I had very hard time to learn English. I did not pay too much attention to my English classes. I liked to study my other subjects except for the English. In my junior year, I had to write a thesis about William Shakespeare. I used to hate writing. I didn’t like to write even a single word of
My greatest academic wish this quarter is to pass my classes, to do this I will have to work on turning my assignments in on time and attending all of my classes. There are many things I will have to do in order to climb the stairway of success and ascend to new academic heights. My wishes are to pass my classes, turn my assignments in on time and attend all of my classes. The reason why these are my wishes is because, if I were to fail to accomplish these things then they would be the biggest reason for me failing. There are many personal obstacles that I will face on my path to success. Laziness, procrastination, anxiety, perfectionism, video games, time management and not being motivated to work are all things that will become hurdles
We will be discussing my educational journey that talks about my endeavors as me being a student, and I’ll be writing my positive road of how my experience was with middle school, elementary school and finally high school, also I will be talking more about how I got inspired to be a great student and set a good example to my colleagues, after that I’ll be talking more about my current English level in college, and how I was picked into that class, and what are the reasons that made me join the college of MSJC, additionally I’ll be going to delve more into my choice in life, or what do I need to do by going to a higher education, whether it’s long term or short-term , and finally why I chose to join this course.
I was always the girl who wanted to teach bible school, assist teachers in the elementary schools, mentor children at summer camps, or anything else that involved teaching or helping. My first grade teacher, Ms. Keeton, was one of my first experiences with a great teacher. She was patient and caring, but she was also stern with her rules. I liked that she was patient with children, but let them know when they crossed a line. Part of being a teacher is being flexible and tolerant with students, but not becoming a pushover. Another teacher I will always be thankful for is Coach Todd. I could write a dissertation explaining the gratitude I have for him. From the moment I met him, he brought me in as if he had known me my whole life. He was kind, intelligent, and selfless. He treats his students and players like family—with love, respect, and guidance. If someone needs a listening ear or advising mouth, his door is always open. A teacher who genuinely cares for his/her students and pushes them to be great, is a teacher I hope to be. Ms. Keeton and Coach Todd are two people I will never forget. They impacted my life in a way I can never return to them. One day, I hope I influence someone like they have influenced
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family” (Strong n.p.). Anywhere a person goes, there are people demanding that people have a certain level of education. This makes wanting to get into a certain profession hard to do. By going to schooling you can get yourself and education, but by no means necessary do you get an education by going to school. But the question lies in how you go about achieving both them, and increase in learning. There are times when you can get some school, but the education does not fully come. This could be from the lack of teachers, or the encouragement that you get. It also lies in how much enthusiasm that you put
When you step back and look at the big picture of life, you will notice that the concept of learning plays an essential role in it. What you learn and how you learn is your key to life success and it can open a multitude of doors for you along the way. Learning, however, is routine and much like other activities that are routine such as brushing your teeth or eating meals, you begin to think less and less about what you are doing or how you have been doing it. I never actually put too much thought into how I learned or the origins of my learning experience, but after reflecting on the ideas I have been able to clearly identify the manners in which I have learned and how I can transform my learning experience