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Julia Toalongo

Dr. Smith

Engl. 101 2COB

June 13, 2017

What Experience have Led you to feel when learning Reading and Writing.

Everybody struggles to adopt to a new language and customs when they decide to emigrate

another country, even if they have some level of education. The struggle when people decide to live in

another country is read, write and speak. When I came to this country I had a bad experience and I

suffered the discrimination for being Hispanic. I also had many embarrassing moments because I dont

speaking the language. However the way of learning was difficult and adopt another custom people had

to study hard even if is looking impossible. I am still learning another structure to write. Everyday

something is new for me. I remember what my mother said: if you decided to do something you have

to have aptitude to work hard and complete what you start and never stop or go back. Even now, I

continue to learn how to write and read English. I have some days that I feel that I cannot it do but at

the same time, I tell to myself, you can do it and I use the negative comments to become stronger.

My childhood was difficult and sad I lost my mother when I was twelve years old I have two

sister and two brothers I am the older of my brothers. We lived in Ecuador when this happened. We

were very poor. We didnt have a house, so we rented a small apartment and some days we ate if we

have food. For this reason, my dad come this country when I had 6 years old. Thats why I did not so

much about him because he came to work here for give us a better future. Like every immigrant, when

he came here he tried to find the American Dream. He worked hard to maintain himself and then

brought us here. Two years after my mother died, my brothers and I survived alone because on that

time we thought our father had forget us. But he had surprise for us. He brought to live with him. I

remember the moment was very excited, happy and sad. But I never forgot when I came this country
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the sad moments what I suffered when I tried to go to school and the staff of the school discriminated

against me just for I being Hispanic and I not speaking English. That moment was very upsetting and felt

dumb. I decided to go back to my country because I thought that it is not my place to live and I would

never learn the English language. I said to myself, I dont want to imagined how difficult is to read and

write. Although I could not go to school, I decided to stay in home and take care my brothers and my

dad. Two years later I decided to work in a restaurant. I then worked in salon but really was not happy to

myself, so I decided that I had to learn English. I went to school where the place is comfortable and the

people were very friendly and helpful. That moment I was thinking. Why I did not i come here first? I

told them my history and they decided to help me and they gave me all information I needed. After that,

I started to study English and one of the teachers told me about the GDE program in Spanish. I decided

to take advance of the opportunity while at the same time continuing to study English. English was not

easy for me, so I continued to struggle, but I worked every single day to enhance my English. For

example, I read newspapers in English, read books in English, and if I did not like them, I have in my

mind that if I want to be successful in this country, I had to learn English.

Many people who come here have struggled to read or write English. But the goal of some of us

is to learning write and read the language. When you decide to live and adopt another custom, it is

difficult because you miss your family, you miss the way you used to live in your country, and the

education you had all is different. But like me, I decide to learn the language and become succeed here.

The article, Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass, shows how difficult was for

people who were slaves in those days. In this case, Douglass had the struggle to learn write and read.

Like me, never give up on his dream and the opportunities that he had. Douglass said he plan which he

adopted, and the one by which he was most successful, was that of making friends with all y the little

white boy whom he met in the street. That is the way he tried to learn to read. He took some action
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since his mistress did not like to see him with newspapers. She thought that here lay the danger.

Another way it was when he went to carry the errands. He took her book to copy the lesson before to go

home. I could understand the people who live in slaves time it was very hard to do something because

slaves people were dont have freedom to express feeling or said what they were thinking, but we

notice that like Douglass even he was a slave he never give-up his dream to read. In these days we have

the freedom to express our feeling and to obtain the goal what we have. People how live in worse

situation like slave days even in the centuries he got it.

When I read stories like Douglass it come at my mind that so difficult he could pass to try

learning. And I remember the worse situation I pass when I try to be successful in this country. I have

many struggles for example after finish study the Basic English and my GED I decided to study a level

higher in English and I never imagine how stressful and hard could be when I went to a clip program. I

learn more in this program from a teacher who is very nice. If I do something wrong, she talk with me

and tell my problem. She takes the time to explain again in different way and give me the option to

rewrite again in the moment. She encourage me to do because she looks and me the desires to learn.

Also she encourages to me to go to college. In my mind, I am not thing to go college, because I am not

sure that I can do with my low level of English. I had a good experience with her and the moment I was

very emotion and excite. But after that, I pass to second level of English and the same program and I find

a teacher who is the opposite of my first teacher. He was very rude and offensive. I remember when he

gave article to read and take the more important points in the history and when he check my work he

scream me not you did wrong you not do your job. After he said I dont understand how you here and

he ask me. Do you have some family in the program? and the moment I did not understand why he ask

me that. In the moment I feel like stupid dumb and I went to bathroom and cry a lot. He looked me and
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when the class was finish I was just running and go my home but he stopped me to talk and he said, with

my not work tears!, he said you had to study . After the situation I think that I had never coming to this

country. However I didnt give up and I went his class and I continue with the struggle to write badly. He

continues to say negative things about my job. When finally he said you never go to college if you

continue same you never pass this class, also he said students like you never successes in college. In the

moment, I feeling like the world is above of me. Again I cry a lot I went to my home and talk with my

sister that I cannot learn English I decide to forget all my dreams and I decide to leave away everything.

After one year I am married and my sisters and my husband convince me to enter again to study English,

and go to college but I am not sure I am afraid. finally I remember, my mother said never go back even

if you are in the worse moment continue not look the pass, look of the future never stop. I decided

again study English and come to college in these time again I have the same teacher but the time, I

decide that if he embarrassed me or he not like me I take the bad comments to encourage myself and

not give up my dreams.

At the end in the article, Learning to Read by Malcolm X, said that he was deprived of his

freedom and he felt frustrated when he cannot say in words. He cannot read well. He was in prison and

he decides to learning to read. He stars with a dictionary copy everything on his tablet all the worlds and

learn the definitions even it was hard to understand. He tries to figure the mining when he looks the

picture around the word and also in the way he can practice his handwriting speed. Also, Malcolm

shows the difficult he had but at the end he finally learning how to read he do something different. But

the same way that Douglas and I have learning read and write and every situation had some struggles to

learn at the end they get.

Finally, in my case I continue with the struggles to learn write correct English. But finally I can

read and speak English my last thing to do best is to learning write a good English. And I continue to my
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dreams after a get to write a good. In both article shows me the different kind of struggles that they had

to learning write and read. They persist in their dreams finally get what they want does matter the

circumstance and the age. I think that if people like me had many difficult and want something just we

have to persist and look for help ant the end can do. It is like, when you sowing apple when is the time

to harvest obviously you harvest apple you cannot harvest bananas instead of apples.
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Works Cited

Learning to Write and read by Frederick Douglass

Take from www.gibbsmagazine.com/learning .

X, Malcolm. Learning to Read. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. New

York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 257-266.