My Proficiency in English - Essay Example

My Proficiency in English Bilingual speakers have a great understanding of their new cultures and they are able to interact effectively with individuals from the foreign region. Speaking a different language enables an individual to gain communicative competence, therefore, emphasizing the role of circumstances and context under which language is used appropriately and accurately. Speaking a second language equips individuals with important skills that are required in a new-culture environment. Learning a second language contributes towards learning cultural practices of the community that speaks the specific language. Without a hint of doubt, English is a fascinating language – a language that, in my view, everyone should learn. This is especially considering that across the world, it is commonly spoken and used as a national Language. I may not have my statistics right but I presume English is only second to French in terms of popularity in the International arena. With relative confidence, I may state that in every single country, you will find at least one person that speaks the Queen’s dialect. Like Tan states, “I am not a scholar of English or literature” and my aim is not to write about the popularity of English as a language spoken internationally but to narrate how I got to learn English. Apart from the occasional English words that I heard from a neighbor who was a white man, my first formal encounter with English was in primary school. In grade one, we started being introduced to the English alphabet and simple English words. We were also taught how to count in English. Slowly but surely, I got to learn how to scribble English words on the little books we were given, sometimes without understanding what the words meant. My enthusiasm grew with time about learning new things and I kept trying to read and recall whatever I had learnt. At 13 years of age, I started reading with relative ease. One of the books I first read was Superman. Like Alexie states, “Simple enough, I suppose. I cannot recall which particular Superman comic book I read, nor can I remember which villain he fought in that issue” (Alexie par. 1). Surprisingly, I realized that I understood whatever I read in the book. I realized once that the song the white man taught us was being taught to our superiors in class. It is then that I realized that we were learning the language of the white man. I knew then that I had overcome a barrier and was facing a world that previously was unknown to me. I could at least understand what the white man was saying to an extent. My interest in learning English continued to grow and I continued to seek and read more English books. I read several children’s books and articles including Learning to Read, an excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, and gradually learnt the English culture. Of course, I also learnt to read and write using the Chinese alphabet. By the time I was doing my eighth grade, my English was remarkable going by the comments that my teachers made. I often got rewards for scoring higher than my peers in English. This served as a good motivation to work even harder and learn more of the language. I credit my success in learning English at the elementary level to my long time English teacher and parents. Without the encouragement of these personalities, I really would not have learnt that much that I have today. In spite of the constraints that they experienced back then, my parents took it upon themselves to buy me the required textbooks for school and additional books to ensure that my ambition was actualized. I got to learn a lot of vocabularies in high school. Here, I met fellow enthusiasts some of whom were a challenge to me. They seemed to know the language more than I did. I learnt a lot from them and from my teachers. Learning literature in high school as part of the course work helped to a great extent. I encountered many words and corrected some errors I had been making in my speech and writing. I also learnt how to write simple compositions. I frequently participated in debates knowing at the back of my mind that it is through speaking and making mistakes that I would learn; as the saying goes, “experience is the best teacher”. My learning experience as a novice was not without any challenges. At first, reading without the help of a superior was almost impossible. Often, I had to stare at the writings without knowing what else to do. Indeed, sheer determination kept me going at such times. In some cases, I lacked English books to read. My reading then was limited to the notes that we were given in school. Some lessons were difficult to grasp. For example, it was a challenge knowing when to use the pronouns “he” and “she.” I kept mixing up these two and used one instead of the other. However, with time I got to grasp the concept. “I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary—to study, to learn some words” (smccd.net, par 6). As an International student, I appreciate how important English is to me. I wonder how difficult life would have been for me if I did not learn the language back then. I realize today that speaking a second language is very important especially to students who are not native English speakers, as it assists them in accommodating to dominant use of English language within learning institutions. Learning Standard English enables a student to reposition oneself in relation to heritage and community at large. Ability to speak a second language is accommodating to new ways with words and ensures that a student acquires substantial social and psychological dislocation within the institution. A student has to achieve a high level of consciousness regarding the potential of language in shaping and conveying information regarding social experience. Achievement of high literacy levels can be identified in the ability of an individual to socialize with other individuals in the society as well as reason in patterned ways. Individuals demonstrate their literacy levels in the ways they use language, that is, using the appropriate structure of genres, right lexicon as well as knowing how, when, and where talk should proceed. Reading and writing may be influenced by professions, nationality, ethnicity as well as disciplines. For example, in reading of literature, an individual may be required to infer goals, motives and states of characters based on own reading of the social world as well as from clues in the text. In my case, I have learnt the English language and continue to learn through daily experience the English culture, by socializing with different people and by reading books on various subjects but all written in English. In conclusion, I would state that I did a lot to learn English. Although it is my second language, I have mastered a lot of English vocabulary and wish to learn more of the language. As a student, I cannot underestimate how important it is to learn English. At the moment, almost all my lessons are taught in English. Without an understanding of the language, learning would be practically impossible for me. I am glad I put a lot of effort in learning the new language and continue to enjoy learning other subjects using English as a primary language in school. Today, I fondly remember my first encounter with English and chant this song without any doubt that I understand its words, “Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, Three bags full: One for the master,: And one for the dame …” Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. The Joy of Reading, Critical Thniking: Superman and Me. 1998. Web. 9 Sept. 2012. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979 smccd.net. Learning to Read excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X. N.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2012. http://www.smccd.net/accounts/bellr/ReaderLearningtoRead.htm Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue. N.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2012. http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mcunningham/grapes/mother%20tounge.pdf Read More