Instructions: Complete all questions
ESSAYS
Minimum word length: 500 words
You should Write two essays one from Section A and one from Section B.
Section A
Task
Describe your own experience of learning a language or languages.
Was it taught or 'picked up'? How? When did learning start, how long was it for and how frequent was your exposure to the language? What was your experience of native speakers of the language? What was the bias of listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, translation, literature, pronunciation teaching? What kinds of texts and other materials or teaching aids were used? How efficient was your learning? Which language variety(s) did you master? Where are the gaps in your knowledge or ability?
What conclusions can you draw for your own teaching of English?
At first sight, it appears obvious that learning a foreign language—especially the highly popular English of today—is necessary for everyone. But as I got into the learning process itself, I discovered that learning the language required a lot of attempt. But I was able to demonstrate that learning English is much simpler than one might think with the aid of an effective study strategy and enough experience.
The fact that English was my second language was one of the problems that made studying extremely difficult for me and hindered my ability to learn new information. I therefore had no prior experience learning languages and had no idea how to get started. Additionally, I had no idea how to change from my native language to the unfamiliar one. The aforementioned issue prevented me from connecting the English words' meanings to their words, which added to my confusion. I was also perplexed by the variety of meanings a single word could have in the English language because I was unable to compare them to the connotations the given word had in my native language, which further added to my sense of confusion.
I decided to enroll in a specialized English class where I could practice my skills in speaking the English language properly because at first, my success in English was barely perceptible and I made many mistakes, especially when speaking in English (for example, I could easily confuse words like "affect" and "effect"). Although I must admit that at first I was quite embarrassed and was hesitant to ask questions, as time went on, I began to advance.
I began to notice that I was no longer confusing certain words after a few weeks of training. Additionally, I discovered how to learn words more effectively and quickly. I added each new word or phrase to my vocabulary list so I could learn it and its meaning in my native tongue. I then tried to use each word in at least three sentences.
I soon realized that my English abilities, particularly those related to the spoken language, had begun to advance even more quickly. I picked up a lot of synonyms that helped me speak more persuasively, as well as a few conventional expressions that people use in specific contexts, so I wouldn't be perplexed when someone asked what time it was or in other similar circumstances. As I improved my conversational English, I grew more confident and stopped worrying about making a mistake. Although the improvements were not immediate and it took me some time to grasp the fundamental vocabulary and comprehend the spoken language, I came to the realization that I am still capable of learning English.
At present, it is obvious that I have not reached my top yet and there is a lot of room for further development. I still have to work hard on my pronunciation, on the grammatical issues and on the vocabulary. In addition, I would like to develop my own writing style. However, with the help of practicing and using various learning methods to train difficult rules, as well as working on the language specifics with the help of various exercises, I hope to speak someday as if English was my native language.
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