At the beginning of my four-year university life, I, like many other students did, treated English as a subject to learn, rather as something to enjoy. I still
remember how I stayed up to memorize English words and senses for passing examinations, and how badly I tried to shun it after examinations were over. That time
, for me, English could be everything but fun.
But slowly, as time went on, I was starting to enjoy it a little, which largely
should attribute to my then English teacher. She was so different from the teachers we had had before, as she showed us the process of learning English could be
also fun. She encouraged us to take on the stage to do presentation, through which showed us how useful English could be out of the world of tests.
Her teaching style was not textbook-centered. Rather than choosing teaching solely on the stage, she invited us to participate. Like some time she would ask us
to be the role of “Teacher”, to tell her what the given text talked about. Through this way, we got to understand better and deeper the contents of the given
text. Our interest soared, and so did our confidence level.
In the year that followed, though she didn’t teach us any more, her encouragement still shed light on my road of learning English. Also, because of her, I began to think about my ultimate purpose of learning English. It is solely for passing examinations, or for something beyond that? If beyond that, what could it be
for?
As it turned out, I realized that my English learning was not for the sake of examinations. I wanted more, except what was required in the class. I wanted to know the culture behind the language, and wanted to understand the original novel
written by Jane Austen, D.H. Lawrence. I wanted to read the great writing in its original form, since writings translated, no matter how great it was, would never be the same.
I know learning a language is by no means easy. It takes persistence and resolution, and about all, patience. I didn’t realize that how important the last role
, patience, was, until I started to learn Japanese. The experience of learning Japanese allowed me to see how time-taking learning one language ought to be,
and to see how satisfied I actually should be with my English.
The other day I read an article, which suggested us not to run through life so that we forget not only where we have been but also where we are going. So it is
with English learning. It’s no use to cram it in haste, since it will do us nothing but harm eventfully. By dividing your expectation into small parts, take it
step by step, one at a time. The large one will attend to itself.
And as the saying goes--interest is the best teacher, keep your enthusiasm of English high, by reading something that interests you. For me, now every day I spend one hour reading The Rainbow, written by D.H. Lawrence. Reading serves us not
only as broadening our horizon, but cultivating our mind as well. And in which
our sensibility of the target language used in the novel is increased simultaneously. At the end, may all our progress in English.
Caroline
