Learning with the Middle Age

" Always do what you are afraid to do." - Ralph Waldo

Hello, everyone! I know my blog is devoted to discuss about the Medieval Times, but it is also devoted to people who are learning English as a second language (mostly intermediate, post-intermediate and advanced learners). Therefore, I think it will be interesting to share a little bit of my experience of how I learned English. It is quite an adventure to tell. I hope this essay can benefit you and help you to press forward in your English learning adventure.



My English Learning Adventure

An American merchant ship is crying out for help to the German coast guard, “Mayday! Mayday! We are sinking! I repeat! We are sinking!” After a long hesitation and thinking, the German coast guard finally gave this reply, “What…What are you ‘sinking’ about?” That was a joke I can really identify with, because I was a joke to other people when I was learning English. Learning English is not as easy as it appears. It is difficult, but it is an adventurous and fun road. It has no short cuts, no room for procrastination. It requires determination, hard work, and a heart prepared for discouragement and disappointment.

Six years ago I came to Belize and started my English learning adventure. I had no clue what was happening in class. I felt as though I was an absolute outsider or an alien in that class. The most challenging classes were History and Spanish. With the English level I had before, it was very difficult and close to impossible for me to just give another part of my mind to learn another language. I used to sit in Spanish class and try to pick out any English words that I might be familiar with in order to understand. I am a student who is always striving for what I can do best. I had always had a high expectation of myself, but that time I felt hopelessly helpless. It seemed like no matter how hard I studied, it was just another day of struggling and confusion at school.

History class was another story. The teacher was from Jamaica and he had a heavy Jamaican accent. I tried strenuously to comprehend what he was trying to say, but I could not. I knew that under his heavy accent, there was a lot of valuable knowledge which I completely missed. When I opened the history textbook, all I saw were words like small worms crawling all over the pages. “What kind of history textbook has such a few pictures?” was the only thing I could think about.

My social life was also chaotic. Because of my language deficiency, it was hard to communicate not only with teachers but also with my fellow classmates. Even after a three month period, I still had a hard time remembering my classmates’ names and characteristics. Even though I didn’t understand much English, I was very aware of my classmates’ teasing and mocking my English. The frustration was so overwhelming that tears streamed down my face everyday when I got home. I felt as though I should just relinquish from this horrible experience.

Fortunately, the school noticed my difficulties, so they pulled me out of my Spanish and history classes and put me with three graders to do some reading. That was a big help. They not only took away my two most troublesome subjects, but it also gave me a lot of time to study English. There was also another Taiwanese girl named Amy in my class. She was my “personal translator”. After every single sentence my teacher would say, I would ask Amy “what does that mean?”. I know I must have annoyed her greatly, but regardless of that, she was still willing to offer her help. Half a year passed and one day, all of a sudden, I realized that I could understand what the teacher was talking about and I was getting all my homework right. I was so happy and surprised. My English was not that perfect yet, but I finally obtained the ability to study on my own and even make jokes.

Learning English is really not an effortless task. It is a long, dry, and discouraging process but one must be really prepared and determine to accept this assignment. Endurance and hard work are the two most important elements to recognize. However, if one presses on with much patience, the result will be even sweeter than what one can ever imagine.
____________________________________________________
devoted - concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause. Chinese:獻身的 spanish:devoto
press forward/on - (in this case) continue moving forward. Chinese:奮力前進 Spanish:que sigue adelante
procrastination - to put off till the last minute. Chinese:耽擱到最後才做 Spanish:dejar las cosas para más tarde
discouragement - something that deprive of courage, confidence, or hope. Chinese:沮喪,氣餒 Spanish:algo que desalenta
strive - to make big efforts toward any goal. Chinese:努力,苦幹,奮鬥 Spanish:esforzarse
strenuously - adj. strenuous: forceful. Chinese:費勁的 Spanish:vigoroso
deficiency - insufficiency. Chinese:不足,缺乏 Spanish:deficiencia
relinquish - to give up. Chinese:放棄 Spanish:renunciar
infuriate - to make angry. Chinese:觸怒 Spanish:enfurecer
endurance - the ability or strength to continue or last, esp. despite fatigue, or stress. Chinese:忍耐,耐久力 Spanish:resistencia