David Romero

ENG 71

12/7/06

Essay #5

Since I had learned English on my own, I didn’t think I would learn much from a class. However, I have learned more than I could have imagined. A student hopes to take something, anything, from a class; but since I had taught myself English I didn’t think a class about English would help me very much. I thought I needed to jump in and start writing “real” papers. What I didn’t realize is how many gaps I had in my learning.

Any new skill is difficult to learn, but learning a language is a completely different experience. I already had a language background. I knew how to read, speak and write properly in Spanish before I learned how to speak English. The problem is that the rules you learn in your first language, the ones that are ingrained in your brain, are not necessarily the same rules in the second language; for instance, adverbs. In Spanish the adverb comes after the noun. For example, in Spanish it is correct to say “car yellow”. Of course in English the reverse is true. In English 71 we were able to focus on these types of rules.

The mechanics of writing is very important, but one of the best lessons from English 71 was the section on confusing words. Again, I was missing the common sense voice telling me what sounded or looked correct in my writing. I even learned a few new words. They are still confusing, but since I have been using some of them in my writing, I’m starting to get that self correcting voice. This section was fantastic!

It is very difficult to practice writing when you do not have an objective. This class set out very specific goals in writing and gave me a reason to use formal writing. Just the process of having to write made a huge difference in my English skills. Before the class I was very confident in my English, but when it came time for me to write I was extremely uncomfortable. I have become confident in my writing and know that I can do it reasonably well.

Classes can be surprising. You hope you’ll learn something, in fact you want to, but I tend to be negative in that way. I thought I knew what I needed to learn and I was right and wrong. I am surprised by the outcome of the class and am excited about the changes I have seen just in my confidence. Gaps in my knowledge, I didn’t even know where there, have been filled. After some reflection, I have come to the conclusion that I have learned more than I could have possibly hoped.