Learning English as an Adult College Student - Essay Example

9 September English is the lingua franca of the world. It is the first or second language in many countries. Many people learn it because it is the international language in education, business, science, and technology, and so acquiring English literacy promises professional and business success. As a non-native speaker of English, I have some difficulties in acquiring excellent English skills. Before, I felt so pressured to learn English that I hardly learned it due to anxiety. I was very conscious of my accent, grammar, and word choice. In China, we are taught English in school, but outside our classrooms and in our homes and communities we still speak Chinese. As a result, I have not developed excellent English literacy and the confidence to use it. I realized that I can use my strengths of perseverance and good study habits to develop my English skills, but I continue to struggle because of my shyness and anxiety in speaking and writing in English. Nevertheless, I continue learning English through using personal, social, and academic resources, as well as imbibing positive psychology in learning a language that is so different in terms of values and structure to my native language, without weakening my cultural identity. My personal traits of shyness in using English resulted in anxiety that impeded my early progress in learning it. My school was a firm believer of immersion, where speaking in Chinese in the school is not allowed. Teachers easily embarrassed students who did not speak in English. My classmates and I preferred silence then, since we were not that good in English. This is what Kingston referred to as being tongue-tied in her essay “Tongue-Tied.” Our tongues are tied due to not being able to speak a language that we have little knowledge of. One time, I forgot to speak in English in my class and my teacher berated me in front of so many people. I was so mortified, and since then I spoke very little. I did not want to make any mistake again. However, as I learned, bilingual education is also an effective means of teaching English to non-native speakers (Rhodes, Ochoa, and Ortiz 58). Bilingualism at the critical stage of my life would have helped my development of better English skills. The critical stage for me is during grade school (Gonzalez 3). Using Chinese to learn English would have helped me transition into English. By this time, however, I was not very confident in my English reading and writing skills. I became very conscious of my accent and choice of words because other students would laugh at me. I know they were just being children, but the impact on my self-esteem was devastating. The feeling of inferiority affected my motivation to learn English. I learned how to speak it in a form of conversation, but academic English is different. My shyness resulted in anxiety, which affected my confidence in learning English. To some extent, being a good student gave me high expectations of myself, which obstructed my language learning process. I am a good student and have strong studying skills. I have high grades in most of my subjects. English, however, is harder for me because I lack enough knowledge about it. It became my Achilles’ heel, and I felt disappointed with myself. This disappointment turned into a strong fear of failure. I did not want to fail as a language learner, and this hindered me from learning English. I also lacked practice in using English before, since we do not speak it at home. My parents wanted me to learn it fast, but they are not aware of how important the home environment is in learning new languages. In our neighborhood, we also did not use English. As with many non-native English learners, we lacked practice in everyday settings. Without practice, I did not feel confident in using English and I did not have anyone to test my skills on. That is also frustrating for students like me, who are used to attain their goals. When I came to America, I became more diffident as a language learner. My anxiety increased because of the pressures of learning it fast. I felt that I had to work extra hard to learn English, which will be more difficult because I have to study courses that were taught in English already. The burdens of reading and writing in a language I am not good at had affected my initial academic experiences. Thankfully, I also tapped my strengths of determination in using available resources in order to learn English, which is part of my belief in positive psychology. Positive psychology refers to the study of positive human traits, experiences, and processes. I learned to be more positive because of my friends who learned English this way. The mindset is a significant factor that affects how people learn new knowledge. I changed my anxious mindset to a more positive one by thinking about my goals and strengths as a person and student. The fact that I had many resources at my disposal enhanced my confidence, too. My college instructors taught me about different resources that I can use to improve my English. I am determined to learn more, so I tried to use as many college resources as I had. I attended tutorials and participated in English groups. When I am busy at school, I try to read more on my own. Social networks are also important because they are my informal resources for learning English. I have friends whom I speak English with regularly. They helped me immensely because I learned what words to use and how they should be properly pronounced. Some of them also read my written academic works and give me honest feedback. I am not afraid of their criticisms because I would rather have honest friends who tell me the truth so I can be better than friends who are afraid to tell me the truth so I end up not developing my English skills. I learned to accept and embrace criticism that benefitted me as a language learner. Time management is also important, and I learned to allocate time to learning English in any way possible. As a student, I have family, friends, and social activities that take up my time and attention. I use my time management skills to give at least an hour of my day to learning the language either formally or informally. I have a book that I read at least one chapter at a time. I write down new words and practice them in my writing and conversations. Sometimes, when I hear something new from others or from the TV or the Internet, I write it down and look it up in the dictionary. I think of examples of using them in everyday life and in school. Recently, I decided to have a writing journal. I write one page at least every day, where I write about my thoughts and ideas about English and living in America. I write down new words or phrases that I come across and think about their meaning to me as a student and Chinese. Writing is helping me widen my vocabulary and knowledge about how words should be arranged. I am also practicing to write sentences using the PIE structure. My paragraphs have topic sentences, which I support through illustrations and explanations. This structure helps me form coherent paragraphs, which in turn support my thesis. Thus, due to competing priorities, time management is critical to college students who want to learn a second language. Cultural learning can help non-native speakers learn English, too. Language is an inherent part of people’s culture. In “Tongue-Tied,” Kingston talks about her difficulties of learning English because she cannot understand American culture. Somehow, American culture is an unfamiliar culture for her, and so she has a hard time learning English even more. I can relate to her feelings of otherness, because when one cannot speak or write in English, he/she becomes invisible to the culture that predominantly uses the language. Non-native speakers who would rather be related to their native culture than the foreign one might further be dissuaded from learning English when cultural differences are highlighted. In order to learn English, I also studied American culture. Their culture affects their language, such as how they speak and what they talk and read about. It affects their relationships and communication approaches. Americans are very individualistic compared to Chinese. We have a collectivist culture, and that shows in our language, too. By immersing myself in American culture, I learn more about the reason behind their language. I appreciate their strengths, such as being open and honest when communicating with others and having strong individualist ethics. Knowing more about their culture help me know more about their language, too. Learning without losing my identity is important to my language learning process. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua emphasizes the importance of not losing one’s cultural identity. I did not want that too, so I used my persevering traits to learn English. I needed to enhance my vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, so I tried to read English more and translate it. Reading is a good way of learning a second language (Farrell 1). It is enjoyable too when I read for leisure. At first, it was very hard because I lack English vocabulary. But I had a dictionary always with me and I was patient in writing down notes and making translations. I often connect new terms and phrases with my Chinese language and culture. I find similarities and differences between these languages and cultures that are interesting for me. Hence, I did not have to deal with cultural assimilation when learning English, because diversity can be used to learn it. Learning English as an adult college student is a unique ordeal with its ups and downs. I continue to conquer my shyness and anxiety through determination and strong study habits. Taking down notes, having a dictionary, and writing a journal are daily practices that expand my vocabulary and word choice. I also tap formal and informal social and academic networks to practice English. Embracing criticism of my English skills further enhanced my knowledge of my weaknesses and strengths as a language learner. Finally, I learned about American culture without weakening my own, so that I can appreciate the culture behind the English language. This appreciation enhanced my ability to know the reason behind English words and how and why they are used in different situations. Thus, my literacy journey intersects intellectual, social, and cultural processes, which made me not only a better English learner but also a better person. Works Cited Anzaldua, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” Ryantrauman.com. n.d. Web. 5 September 2012. . Farrell, Thomas S.C. Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: A Reflective Guide. California: Corwin Press, 2009. Print. Gonzalez, Virginia. Second Language Learning: Cultural Adaptation Processes in International Graduate Students in U.S. Universities. Maryland: University Press of America. Print. Kingston, Maxine Hong. “Tongue-Tied.” N.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. PDF file. . Rhodes, Robert L., Ochoa, Salvador Hector, and Samuel O. Ortiz. Assessing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: A Practical Guide. New York: The Guilford, 2005. Print. Read More