Mohammed Aladwani

English 107

Ms. Edmiston

Life is defined by events that we lived through which shape us happy or sad. However,

many of our experiences last for a short while and then we continue on living, so we want to

experience more and more. How much something lasts defines its value. As I see it, An excellent

example is learning a language to change how your mind works. Sadly, this fact was absent from

me until I learned English. Learning a new language is about getting somewhere good in life and

expanding your horizons. I will dwell more on this concept once I describe my English learning

experience, and how it was beneficial to me.

The day I decided to study English abroad is one my life marks. Then, I had many

reasons to study English. Being able to get a job easily, since the job market has been globalized,

and that it is very helpful in daily life are on my valid reasons list. However, I had some excuses

that could hold me back from my decision. For example, My vocabulary was very limited at that

time so I had no steady ground to stand on. Good for me, that my father convinced me to study

abroad by saying, Knowledge is priceless and it is the basis of money, reputation and social

status. Those words hit me hard and gave me a strong push. Also, it came to my mind that being

able to speak two languages is very special. These were the thoughts that brought me all the way

to the U.S.

Thinking of what my father said, I decided to endeavor the journey

while having the hopes of a shining future in mind and the will to achieve my

goal at heart. It was very hard to live in a country where I knew no one and
could not speak prober English. I could only understand the context of a

conversation by the expressions on people faces, otherwise I would be very

confused. So, I tried to communicate using body language, or the small

vocabulary I defined my ability to communicate by. Consequently, I felt very

lonely and isolated., Therefore, I invested most of my days practicing what I

studied at night. I despised living alone, since I was used to living with a

family. So. I made a strong decision. I decided that from that moment until I

am proficient in English I will live with an American family, in order to test my

tolerance and practice my English. Indeed, living with a family was very

helpful to my English and to my adaption to a new society.

For starters, I was no able to adopt to an American lifestyle when I first came through

their door. They had different habits, phrases and interpretation skills. For example, I started

hearing bad stuff being said to the same members of the family which was unnatural to my

culture. Then, I heard them say bad things about religion which was very hurtful to me and and

not easy to process. They were not Christians only by name since they did not practice

Christianity. Consequently, I approached the family and told them how hurtful it is for me to hear

these kinds of stuff being said, and they were nice enough to respect how I felt. Then, being able

to have a conversation became easier and I found myself comfortable again.

Staying with them, had a profound impact on my proficiency. As a new day passed, I found

myself learning more and more. So, every time I misspoke a word or made a grammatical error,

they corrected me. That was very helpful to me. I was able to depend on them with whatever I
needed for my daily life. They gave me faith in myself which extremely helped me. Conversing

in my second language in a constant and coherent voice required patience and faith in myself,

which the family helped me obtain. For instance, a lot of bilingual people who I knew were able

to write very well but could not speak with enough confidence to be understood, they were able

to say very little because they were afraid of not being able to be understood. Incidentally, I

started to enhance my Academic English by reading and learning.

I started focusing on another important concept in English which was learning and utilizing

Academic English. Academic writing has different use of vocabulary and structure so it was not

very similar to what was spoken or what I learned with the family. A good example, is not being

able to use simple slang like gotta instead of I have to go. Furthermore, learning how to write

academically is very important to my career as an international student who wants to study

Engineering. With the family, my writing was at 6th grade level, as I was told. when the mother of

the family knew, I was having a hard time writing she told me no one can write before he can

read so she suggested that I read one of her favorite books 1984. I found the subject

interesting but the language was hard for me at that time but I was able to finish reading the

novel in three short days with a dictionary at my side. I circled whatever word I found interesting

and put it in a small notebook. After finishing the book, I noticed a significant enhancement in

my writing abilities, specially the use of structure and vocabulary.