Contrary to other
parents, mine believed that reading is useless in improving my English. Due to
their belief, they tried to hinder my passion for reading, sometimes even using
extreme methods such as tearing my storybooks. I could not understand their rationale
at all. Have they not experienced how wonderful it was to dream about being the
main character and changing the storyline to my desire? Despite this barrier, I
still managed to keep up my interest in reading by becoming a librarian in
primary school. I vividly remember running into the school library during
recess just to grab hold of the latest book in the series I was addicted to.
Thankfully, I did so or else I would have lost touch with English at an even
younger age.
As I grew older,
textbooks eventually started to replace storybooks. Other than school classes,
I rarely use my free time to improve my language. I felt the result of a lack
of a strong foundation in English during narrative writing. Even though I could
think of amazing plots, I found it difficult to put them on paper due to my
lack of vocabulary and atrocious grammar skills. During my time in junior
college, I was lucky enough to find a group of friends who were competent in
English. They often corrected my grammar when I speak, or introduced me to new
vocabulary. My English teacher also advised me to read, listen and write more
regularly. This is definitely easier said than done. Currently, I am still
struggling to make reading newspaper and listening to the radio a daily habit.
With the enrollment
in ES1102, this will mark the start of yet another significant chapter of my
English journey. Within these 13 weeks, I aspire to eliminate my fear of
writing and enjoy all the lessons.
(304 words)
