English Learning Experience

Up to this time, I’ve spent some time reflecting to have an insight into my journey to English learning.  Above all, it’s a life-changing experience. The Language barrier is really a painful lesson in my life.  I just started to learn English structurely two years ago.  There’s still a long way to go. 

 

First of all, where do I hope my English will be in the future?  This is a worthy question that I need to spend some time to think deeply about. I hope I will be a fluent English afficianado in the future.  No language barriers for me to do everything that I wish and want.  

 

Currently, I’m half way to being a fluent English language person. 

 

a)     In what ways has your English improved over the last year(s)?

My English has improved a lot over the last two years.  The greatest progress, I would say, is the confidence to speak in English.  Prior to that, I was shy and tended to avoid English speaking social circles.  This isn’t beneficial to either my career or life, and it seems to limit my horizon.  Taking the long view, I need to make a change.  In my unpopular opinion, grammar is an important element in learning English.  It’s part of speech.  Correct grammar is the key to building up sentences correctly while speaking and writing.  

 

b)     What aspect of your English level now are you most proud of or do you consider your strongest?

I would say my English level is moderate.  It’s much better compared to the beginning but there’s still room for improvement.  It’s a lifelong learning journey.   The aspect that I feel most proud of is that I’ve overcome the fear while speaking in English.  Now I’m able to speak confidently, even with incorrect tenses. Breaking the feeling of fear is the first and most important step in my journey! 

 

c)     In which areas do you still need to improve?

There’s lots of areas in my English that I still need to improve, especially the grammar tenses, as mentioned. 

 

d)     How do you intend to improve these weaker areas?

The only way to improve those weaker areas is through practicing and knowing the right method to practice. 

 

Everything in English

If you wish to learn and master something, you’ll have to get closer to it.  So, the same with English learning.  Read, write, speak in English. Through this, I’ve widened my exposure in English.  I get to learn more vocabulary and the sentence structure.

 

Practice, practice, practice

There’s no other way than practice, if you would like to master something.  As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.  Thus, I need to put more efforts on practicing in order to improve my weaker area(s).

 

Mentor

Choose a tutor to have a structured learning.  It’ll make progress more efficient and effective.  Back in the days when I started to learn English with coffeecupenglish, the structured learning on grammar rules helped me to better understand the rules and it helped me to write and speak correctly.

 

e)     How has your improved English improved your life (or how can you foresee it improving your life in the future)?

Initially the purpose for me to learn English was solely for my career.  Recalling my memory that I rejected an opportunity to work overseas many years ago, the reason behind it was that the language barrier.  I wasn’t confident enough to English at that time.  In retrospect, was it a mistake?  I wish that I had thought about an alternative course of action. Mastering another language definitely is the icing on the cake.  I would say improved English can lead me to another point in my life. It’s a nice-to-have skill in my life. 

  

f)      How can you use your English skills to serve others?

Prior to this, I thought that learning English is merely for my job.  Now, I would say language is a communication channel.  It’s not only for my job, it impacts my life as well.  For example, travelling.  English is a useful language to get a good bargain when you shop at unfamiliar shops.

 

g)     What do you enjoy most about learning English?

What I enjoy the most about learning English is the grammar.  I love to study the grammatical rules and it’s fun to learn more and more about it.  However, “grammar” is a naughty part in English.  It always plays hide-and-seek and merry-go-round game.