101a Learning a Foreign Language101a Learning a Foreign Language.doc

Learning a Foreign Language p1Learning a foreign language was one of the most difficult yet most 2rewarding/2 experiences of my life. p2Although at times learning a language was 3frustrating/3, it was well worth the effort. p3My experience with learning a foreign language began in 4junior/4 middle school, when I took my first English class. I had a kind and patient teacher who often praised all of the students. p4Because of this 5positive/5 method, I eagerly answered all the questions I could, never worrying much about making mistakes. p5I was at the top of my class for two years. When I went to 6senior/6 middle school, I was eager to continue studying English; however, my experience in senior middle school was very different from before. p6While my 7former/7 teacher had been patient with all of the students, my new teacher quickly punished those who gave incorrect answers. Whenever we answered incorrectly, she pointed a long stick at us and, shaking it up and down, shouted, No! No! No! p7It didnt take me long to lose my eagerness to answer questions. p8Not only did I lose my joy in answering questions, but I also lost my desire to say anything at all in English. However, that state didnt last long. When I went to college, I learned that all students were required to take an English course. p98Unlike/8 my senior middle school teacher, my college English teachers were patient and kind, and none of them carried long, pointed sticks! p10The situation was far from perfect, though. As our classes were very large, I was only able to answer a couple of questions in each class period. Also, after a few weeks of classes, I noticed there were many students who spoke much better than I did. p11I began to feel 9intimidated/9. So, once again, although for different reasons, I was afraid to speak. It seemed my English was going to stay at the same level forever. p12That was the situation until a couple of years later when I was offered an 10opportunity/