My
English Learning History
By XXXXX
November 2006
Going back to the past and comparing my English
learning experiences at that time with the ones I have just been going through
I hardly believe I am talking about the same person: me, XXX.
It is incredible that such big change of mind has happened into my life
related to the concept I used to have to English. How could I hate it and now
be completely in love with it? In order
to answer to this question and also to reflect about it I wrote “My English
Learning History Narrative “. I hope you enjoy it!
Going back to the past ... many years ago...
When I was a teenager, a 14 years old girl, in 1978,
my parents decided to enroll me and my 13 years old brother in an English
Language School called ICBEU. It was in
Teenagers sometimes exaggerate too much!!!
Anyway, after all the same complaints and crying, my
parents finally decided to listen to me and my brother and we finally could
stop studying English! We won.....How wrong we were!
Later, in 1989, I started my first graduation course,
International Business at UNA-União
de Negócios e Administração. This time I realized how important English was to me.
English was one of the subjects I had to attend to and
then I had no choice, I decided to come
back to ICBEU (which was one of the best and well known English schools in Belo
Horizonte at that time).I made the decision !!! Things were changing....... It
was in 1989 and I studied there until 1995 when I finished my Michigan Course.
A big change: English was not a monster anymore!!!! I finally liked and enjoyed
it!
After Icbeu, I
studied English at Luziana
Lanna where I met an excellent teacher who is a Royal Family Admirer and
that influenced me in my decision to travel to London. His stories about England , the Royalty,
and experiences of living and studying English in a Native Speaking Country had
inspired me. I was so excited about going there...Big Ben, Tea, biscuits,
etc....The unpredictable would be soon part of my new life! It was August,
1996.
I studied at King´s
School in Beckenham. It is only twenty minutes by train from centre
You know why? Because I couldn’t even speak or listen
to native speakers properly. I was so disappointed....Going to supermarkets,
shops, etc, was a nightmare for me because I couldn’t understand or be
understood.
Help.....Help.......Questions,
questions and questions...
I was so disappointed with my English that I decided to
stay there for nine months instead of the three ones already set. It was one of
the best time of my life. Totally U n f o r g e t t a b l e !!!!!!! I met people from everywhere. The school was excellent
and I became aware of the importance of not only speaking a language but also
listening to, reading and writing it properly. A new world was opening to
me...English had already become something very important and Pleasant to me!
The monster was becoming a very charming gentleman!!!
Back to Brazil, in August 1997, I immediately enrolled
myself in an English School called Britain and went on having a pleasant
relationship with English and in 1998 I went to the USA and spent three months
in Austin-Texas in a school called AIELS. It was again a marvelous time. There,
I finally felt more confident about my English and conscious of it being an
endless process.
In order to improve my English, I did the entrance
exam in 2000 and entered UFMG to study
Letters. Meanwhile, I was attending my graduation course, I also attended to a
Specialization Course in English- Translation at UFMG during 2000- 2001. It was
a very good experience which showed me that I’d rather be an English Teacher
than a translator. I stayed one year away from University because I had a baby
on January 2006. His name is Bernardo and he is the sunshine of my life!!!
Time has gone. Finally, I am supposed to finish my
Letters Course in the end of this year. Right
now, I am attending an on-line subject called “Computer Literacy” and having
the opportunity to exchange e-mails with people from Wayne University in
Detroit with my professor
and classmates. I wonder how lucky I
am.
I am lucky for the past and for the present. For all
those nice people that have helped me to improve my English and show me how
broad it is. To my parents and family a very special thanking for being the
ones who have always motivated me.
This is my English Learning Experience Narrative!