Essay 01: My second language learning experience

Name: Jung-suk Ma (Alice)

Date: September 9th, 2013

The teacher has influence on students. That depends entirely upon circumstances.

Actually I began to learn the English alphabet letter when I was a girl's middle school in 1986. I feel it was too late to start learning English compared to nowadays.

I remember I could write both script and print letters and learn how to using the English dictionary from my first English teacher.

My first English teacher was so stern that all students were frightened.

We had to do as we was told and we had a pop word quiz in every English class.

The teacher often punished us if we didn't get good marks for English. She always annoyed us. So most students thought English wasn't a kind of good subject.

I think most teacher were explainer of teaching style in traditional classrooms at that time.

After two years, I could meet a new face English teacher. I remember as soon as she opened the class door, she told us "Good morning, everyone! How's the weather today?" with kind smile. She never let us do "attention, bow!" as military discipline. In addition, she always prepared many materials for English conversation part expecially. She made it almost as well as a real situation and advised us to be more confident. Because plenty of students were very shy of speaking English.

And she tried to explain even English words by English. At first I couldn't understand what the teacher explained. After listening again and again the teacher's explanation, I could get it. I think I owed what I like English to her and she was very qualified as a English teacher at that time.

When I was a girl's high school, I really wished to meet a English teacher like her. Unfortunately I could not meet a teacher like her again. My English teacher who was still a explainer was continued at high school for three years.

You know it's necessary to balance all skills of learning other languages.

I remember receptive skills (listening and reading) were more important than productive skills (writing and speaking) at that time.

That's the reason why I think I have been studying English for so many years, but English is really hard for me. Certainly there is the reason  I study English by myself but I still have a limited speaking English fluently.

Now, most in Korea study English and try to master it. Of course, I think that to master English can be a great help because it is an essential language when we try to understand the people from other countries. We have to know English to get new information from the world through the Internet. I think English is necessary for our survival in the world. That's why I will demand that my children who is goal-oriented should be proficient in English.

Finally, I will try to teach my English that is filled with "trial and error" for my daughter and son after taking this TESOL course step by step.

Aren't there magic ways to become proficient in English in a short time? Learning English takes time.