Story of My Life: Learning English

 Name: Nawangsih

Student ID: A1B218071

Course: Entrepreneurship Project in Creative Writing

My Experience Learning English

Some people believe that learning a foreign language other than a mother tongue is something that must be occupied. I will stand up earnestly and say that I agree with their opinions. I think it would be good if everyone was interested in learning a foreign language which could then be used as a second language. But of course, learning a foreign language for a second language requires a process that is not short. I believe that the process is a guarantor of how valuable the experience will be.

Talk about foreign languages ​​and second languages, if you ask what language do I learn other than my mother tongue? Then my answer is English. So it can be said that English is a foreign language which is my second language. Learning English while in junior high school was my first experience in learning a second language. The first thing that I realized when learning a second language was that learning another language other than my mother tongue was not easy. I remember that I was open-mouthed when I heard my English teacher spoke and explained the materials in English. I'm open-mouthed not because of expressing that ‘Ah... I got the point’ but it’s because I don't understand what my teacher said so I'm unconsciously open-mouthed. If I remember that I would think that's quite funny and embarrassing at the same time. However, it did not take a long time for me to admit that I overly loved to learn English.

            There are many reasons why I learn English. The main reason is that I loved and interested in learning English as a second language. I think if someone loves something, they will try hard to be able to successfully achieve what they love. Therefore, I tried hard to learn English because I want to succeed in achieving what I love. Being a master in English also provides benefits which in my opinion are very useful for everyday life even for my future. English is an international language and considered the most important language in the world. English makes everything easy for me such as to find information and knowledge for my academic and even entertainment aspect for my daily life. Last but not least, learning English is fun and gives me satisfaction. So there is no doubt for me to learn English.

Learning something new certainly makes us sense new experiences too. So did I when I learned English for the first time. For the first time, I learned English when I was in junior high school which is because English is a subject that must be learned. Unfortunately, when I was in junior high school I was very aware that my ability to understand and use English was very lacking. One day my English teacher asked "Did you understand what I said?" and I, who was trying to understand the material answered with the unsure expression "Hm... yes, Sir". My unsure expression made me be laughed at by my classmates. It made me sad. I also want to understand but I can't. I almost gave up learning English at that time. Day by day until I became a fresh student of senior high school, I realized that it might be true that as we grow older, the stronger we desire to achieve our dreams. In high school, I tried hard not to give up learning English. And my English teacher supports me. She encouraged me to be confident and not give up. I remember when she smiled when I showed a news report video in front of the class and she said my video was the best among my classmates. How happy I am to hear that. Learning English makes me realize that I got so many experiences.

Learning a new language is never easy. Therefore, everyone must have the best strategy used to learn languages. My best strategy in learning English is to believe in myself. Convince me that one day I will be able to master every skill in English. The trick is to develop various other learning strategies such as determining study plans, setting learning targets, self-motivation, etc. In my opinion, although the environment and the people around us support us, we are not confident, it will certainly be difficult to enable an increase in learning. I always say to myself, if others can do it, then I can do it as well. Those are my motivational words. But behind my self-confidence, I always try not to give up and overcome my weaknesses. To be honest, from every skill in English I feel I am not good at speaking skills. So I try to practice speaking in English as often as possible. Spending and managing time is an important point so that the strategies that I have been set can be implemented properly. In the end, how valuable the experience you get is you determine it by yourself. And for me learning English is a valuable experience.