Studying English

I started studying English in 2010 in the U.S. Two years ago was the first time I came to school to study English. I felt very happy because I got to go to school to learn my second language, one more, maybe it will help my life in the future, but English is not my first language. It’s very difficult for me because there are so many verb tenses. The most difficult thing about learning English is it is not easy for me to remember.

Uyeng

Studying English

I started studying English in the U.S. in August 2009. The first time I came to school to study English I felt nervous, happy, and excited at the same time because I wanted to learn English. English is difficult because there are many verb tenses. The most difficult thing about learning English is that there are a lot of varieties of English and accents. I wish I could read, write, speak and understand better English than I can now. I spend 4-5 hours every day learning English. I do speak English outside of school. I do read and write English outside of school in my daily life. I have the biggest problem communicating in English when I talk to the neighbors, at the store and when I go to the grocery store. I think learning a second language is easiest when you are 5-6 years old because you can remember better. The best advice I can give someone who is going to study English is to learn a lot of words, listen and practice speaking, and not to be afraid to try. When I came here, I knew zero English. When I compare my English now with my English when I first arrived here, I feel better because I listen and study better.

Tatyana

Studying English

I started studying English in Jordan, in 1962. The first time I came to school to study English , I felt so excited because I could understand people. Learning English helps my brain to remember. English is difficult because there are different accents .The most difficult thing about learning English is that there are a lot of varieties. I wish I could speak better English than I can now. I spend four hours every day learning English. I try to speak English outside of school. I do read and write English outside of school. In my daily life, I have the biggest problem communicating in English when I talk to neighbors and work or mall. I think learning a second language is easiest when you’re 3 years old, because they are already learning language. The best advice I can give someone is going to study English is to listen and practice speaking, not to be afraid to try. When I came here, I want to learn English .when I compare my English now with my English when I first arrived here, I feel good because I practice, talk and write English.

Nadia

Studying English

I started studying English in the U.S. in 2009. The first time I came to school to study English, I couldn’t understand people. Everything was new to me. English is difficult because there are so many verb tenses and the spelling, speaking and grammar are different. The most difficult thing about learning English is speaking. I do speak English outside of school. In my daily life, I have the biggest problem communicating in English when I talk to neighbors, doctors, or go to the grocery store. I think learning a second language is easiest when you are 5-6 years old because at this age you have a better memory. The best advice I can give someone who is going to study English is to learn a lot of words, listen and practice speaking, and to not be afraid to try. When I came here, I knew 20 words in English. I feel progress because when I first arrived here, I began to understand little.

Gennadiy

Studying English

I started studying English in Thailand in 1986. The first time I come to school to study English, I felt excited because I met new people and learned new things in class. English is difficult for me because grammar and spelling are different. The most difficult part is grammar. I wish I could spell better in English than I can now. I spend four hours every day learning English. I do speak English at home. In my daily life I have the biggest problem communicating in English when I have an appointment and at work. I think learning a second language is easiest when you are twelve years old or younger because children can remember better. The best advice I can give someone who is going to study English is to learn a lot of words and go to ESL class. When I came here, I knew little English. When I compare my English now, I feel better. In this school the teachers teach me many things and make me a good person.

Wanpen

Studying English

When I was a child, my father taught me basic English. Then I started studying English in Viet Nam in 2010. After one year, I came to The U.S. and continued to study English. The first time I came to school to study English, I felt nervous because there were a lot of people that came from different countries and spoke different languages. English is difficult because there are many verb tenses. Some words can mean different things and grammar changes a lot. For me, the most difficult thing about learning English is listening because there are a lot of varieties of accents. Sometimes when someone speaks English, they join this word to that word so I can’t hear everything. So I can’t speak English too. This year, I’ll try to speak better English than I can now, I spend three and half hours every day learning English at school but I don’t speak, read and write English outside of school. In my daily life, I have the biggest problem communicating in English when I go to a supermarket.

Thao

Studying English

I started studying English in Minnesota, in the U.S. in 2011. I remember the first time I came to school to study English, I felt excited. The first thing is that I would to like to learn as much as possible. The first time I was very nervous. Now I feel better because I can do everything with no help. I learned a lot from my job. I remember I spoke my first words in English in my job. English is difficult because words are written in a different way, pronounced in a different way, and read in a different way, too. I think the hardest thing for me about learning English is to speak. When I do not spend any time studying at home, after school I speak more English than Spanish. I usually don’t have a problem when I speak English. I have more problems writing in it. I practice reading more. I like to read a lot. I only have problems when a person is talking to me. I don’t understand them because they are not speaking clearly. Learning a second language is easy. I think it’s easier when it’s between the age of 3 or 5 years because at that age a child is like a sponge. The mind is clean and it grabs everything it needs to know and absorbs it. The best advice I could give to someone who is going to study and learn English is that it’s not too late to learn; it all depends on the person. When I first came to the United States, I didn’t know English at all. I only knew how to say yes or no. It didn’t matter if was something was good or bad, I always said yes or no. Now it all depends on the question and I can give a good answer. When I compare the little English I knew back then to more English I know now, I feel so sure of myself to know more. I feel free and I’m not embarrassed to speak. In the past (and present) I have made mistakes with verbs. I understand when a person talks to me. That way I try to get another person to understand my English. My dream is to speak, read and write well in English. Little by little I know I will achieve it. I don’t know how or when but I know will. I like to think positive.

Rosa

Studying English

I started studying English in the United States in 2006. The first time I came to school to study English, I felt scared because I didn’t understand any English. English is difficult because it’s difficult to speak English outside of school. In my daily life, I have the biggest problem communicating in English when making an appointment. I think learning a second language is easiest when you are five years old because you have a long time to practice. The best advice I can give someone who is going to study English is to study a lot. When I came here, I knew no English. When I compare my English now with my English when I first arrived here, I feel better because I understand more.

Beatriz

About me

My full name is Zahrah Daloo. In this class please call me Zahrah. My native country is Iraq. My native language is Arabic. I can also speak a little English. There are six people in my family: husband, two girls, two sons and me. My favorite food is Kabbeb. I can make good food like okra with rice. I like reading books about language and animals. I like watching TV about news and sports. I came to the United States in 2009, because there was war in my country and here it is peaceful. What I like about living in the U.S. is a good job and here I can go anywhere with my family. What I don’t like about living here are the very cold winters because I never saw snow before. In my native country I was a housewife. In the U.S., I don’t have a job. I started coming to ESL classes on May 31, 2011. This day is special because it is my son’s birthday. My purpose for coming to school is to get a better job and connect with people.

Zharah

About me

My full name is Wanpen Gresser. In this class please call me Wanpen. I came from Thailand. My native language is Thai. I can also speak a little English. In my family there are only two of us, my husband Jack and myself. My favorite food is chicken curry and spicy fish. I love to read books about love and watch news and the Weather Channel on TV. I came to the United States in 1997 because I married an American. I like living in the US because everyone is equal, there is freedom, good clean air and nice people. Every year I go back to Thailand to visit my family. In my country I cooked in the hospital, right now I work at home. I started coming to ESL classes in 1997. My purpose for coming to school is to learn how to write, read English and get a good job.

Wanpen

About Me

My full name is Tatyana Gavrilenko. In this class please call me Tatyana. My native country is Russia. Russia is a very beautiful country with big buildings, many parks, lakes, trees, flowers, and stores. My native language is Russian. I can also speak English. I have three people in my family: my husband Gennadiy, my daughter Rimma and me. I love my family very much. My favorite food is Pelmeni with chicken and salad. I like reading books about animals. I like watching TV about good films, music concerts and films about animals. I came to the United States in February 2009 because my family lives here. What I like about living in the U.S. is good schools for my daughter. What I don’t like about living here is the weather, because summers are very hot for me. In my native country I worked in the passport office. In the U.S., I don’t have a job.
I started coming to ESL classes in August 2009. My purpose for coming to school is to help my daughter in school and speak good English.

Tatyana

About me

My full name is Gennadiy. In this class please call me Gena.
My native country is Russia. My native language is Russian.
I can also speak English. There are 3 people in my family; wife Tatyana, daughter Rimma and me. My favorite food is Pelmeni and burgers. We make and cook them together. I prefer to read the Bible. I don’t like to watch TV shows. I like watching TV about history. I came to the United States in 2009 because my wife’s family went to live here. What I like about living in the U.S. is there is a peaceful and good life. What I don’t like about living here is that I cannot speak English. My job now is to study well. In my native country I worked as a bus driver, fire fighter and a police officer. In the U.S., I don’t have a job. I started coming to ESL classes in 2009. My purpose is to speak English and after graduating from school to get a permit to drive a bus and go to work.

Gennadiy

About me

My full name is Yaru Huang and Grace Huyang. In this class please call me Yaru. My native country is China. I can speak English and Cantonese. There are three people in my family: husband Hai, Yan He, my daughter Yangyang He and me. My favorite food is dumplings. I like reading books. I like watching TV about news and music. I came to the United States in 1996 because my husband came here as a student. What we like about living in the U.S. is good nature and good religion. What I don’t like about living here is that it is hard to find a job. In my native country, I was an accountant. In the U.S., I don’t have a job. I started coming to ESL classes in 2001. My purpose for coming to school is to get a good job. I like to work.

Yaru

Studying English

I started studying English in the U.S.A. in 2010. The first time I came to school
to study English I felt happy because I want to help myself for the future. But English is difficult for me because this is not my first language. It is not easy for me but I’m very happy they still have a good school for us to go to learn my second language too. The most difficult is too many verb tenses. I can’t remember. I think learning a second language is easiest when you are five years old. At that time there is nothing to worry about and it’s still a good idea.

Uyeng

About me

My full name is Nadia Naji Khider. In this class call Nadia. My native country is Jordan. My native language is Arabic. I can also speak English and French. There are 6 people in my family; my daughter, her husband and her kids; Nadia, Ali, and Noor. My favorite food is chicken. I like reading books about History. I like watching T.V. news. I came to the United States in 2008 because my daughter got married and now lives here. What I like about living in the U.S is there is equality, and freedom. I miss my daughter and her family. In my native country I was a marketing salesperson. In the U.S., I don’t have a job. I started coming to ESL class On July 20, 2011. My purpose for coming to school is to get a good job.

Nadia

Name

My name is Beatriz. I am from Mexico. I am a day person. My favorite pastime is planting flowers. Because I like flowers my husband gives me flowers once a month. I enjoy my family because they are very important for me. I like watching television programs about animals. My children like them too. I like reading books about God because it is interesting to study about God. I don’t like to wash dishes because it is very boring. My daughter says the same. What I don’t like about living here are cold winters and my children can’t play in the yard. What I like about living here is I live in a nice house. My children and I clean the house; they help me in my home. I would like to have a dog for a pet. My children want a dog. My favorite food in this country is hamburgers and my family likes them too. Something I can do very well is cook. Sometimes I don’t want to cook very well because I am tired. A sport I enjoy is baseball; it is an exercise for me. If I could change my life, I would go to college. Then my family would have a better life.

Beatriz

New American

Mai Yia has recently become an American citizen. Congratulations!