Learning a new language begins a passage to another way of seeing the world and speaking it into existence. – Ray Suarez
When I was only 6 years old, and not even at school yet, we used to have a live-in nanny at home, as both our parents worked long days. Our young nanny was a great fan of the Beatles, and used to listen to their music on the radio all day long. (Gives you a clue about how ancient I am!) It was the lyrics of those songs that first made me aware of the English language, and even without understanding a single a word, the sound of it was really pleasing to my ears.
We all have our own individual paths into the English language, from the first encounter through easy terrain, and maybe the occasional hurdles and bumps on the road, to the present moment and beyond. We are now going to share our own written stories about how we have learned English.
Photo by ttewl on Flickr
Before you start, have a look at some of these examples of what other young people have written: Rachel / Ivy / Christine / Memory / Michal / Flávia
Here are some questions to help you get you started with planning your own story:
- When and how were you first introduced to English? How did it make you feel?
- Your first experiences at school?
- Any funny stories from all your school years?
- How has your learning developed over the years?
- What has been the most effective thing you have done to improve your English skills?
- Why is learning English so important for you?
- What about the future?
Write your own story IN YOUR OWN WORDS. The idea is not to write a list of answers to the above questions. Your story will not only be written for me, the teacher, but for all the others to read, too, and eventually, after revisions and editions, it will be the first post in your online English blog. Remember that the more details you include in your story, the more interesting it will be for the reader. Give your story your own title. Use separate paragraphs, in which you focus on a specific topic, to give the story a pleasant structure. And finally, pay special attention to using different verb tenses in your story. This is a good online Verb Tense Tutorial, to revise all the different tenses. There are also many exercises that you can do to make sure you know how to use them!
Photo by beana_cheese on Flickr
You can write your first draft either on paper, email a typed version to me, or print it at home. Whichever the format, please make sure that I will have it by Monday, August 22!
