Avanesova

HELP WITH: Title, Conclusion, Focus

aavaneso@uncc.edu

Alina Avanesova

ENGL 1102-031

Ms. Coco

10 February 2011

Audience- Elementary students

My Development of Language

1. “Ohhh you can’t read! You don’t speak English!” a young girl yelled. At first I didn’t

know what she was saying because I could not understand or speak English, but when looking

back at that incident, I now realize that she was insulting me. This was what I experienced as a

young student in kindergarten and first grade. After growing up in Russia and moving to the

Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of five, my family and I went through a few roadblocks in

my first few years when learning to speak, read, and write in English. Through the help of the

ESL program and different reading groups in elementary school, my literacy levels and language

skills skyrocketed and I was able to improve my reading and writing abilities drastically.

2. When living in Russia, I was always surrounded by the Russian language. My

grandmother always read Russian stories to me every night before going to bed. However, I was

never exposed to reading and writing Russian myself, since I was only a toddler. School didn’t

start until a child turned seven years old, so I wasn’t able to fully learn reading and writing as

many Russian children were. My parents were always busy working and my grandmother was

constantly busy cleaning and cooking so I didn’t have any one to help me learn to read and write

in Russian at a young age. All I could do was speak the language, but only to the ability of a
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normal five year old. However, after my family decided to move to America, we knew that we

were going to be forced to learn a whole different language completely from scratch.

3. Coming to America in 1997, there was a huge language barrier between my family and

the rest of the country. The only words in English we knew when first moving to America were

“hello,” “goodbye,” and “how are you?” My family and I found it very difficult to communicate

with people. Going to the grocery store was a tricky situation for us. For example, in Russia we

used different units of measurement. Instead of pounds, Russians use kilograms. So when

coming into a grocery store and everything was in pounds, my family and I were very confused

at first and found it difficult trying to convert pounds to kilograms to know how much we wanted

of an item. We realized that everyone in the family had to learn to pick up the language and the

concepts of the English culture on their own. Unlike my parents who had to learn the language

completely on their own, my brother and I were enrolled in school in the upcoming August, so

we would have teachers teach us.

4. When walking through the doors of my kindergarten class, I felt terrified. All the children

were talking and running around and seemed to be having so much fun. I didn’t understand

anyone around me and I knew the teachers were going to force me to communicate with the rest

of the classmates. On the first day, my teacher tried introducing me to different students. As they

looked at me, smiled, and said their name, I blankly stared at them with confusion and

nervousness and didn’t know what to say. My teachers recognized my language disabilities and

automatically placed me into the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. At first, I started

off very slow. They had to teach me simple phrases, the alphabet, and how to count. Also while

in my regular kindergarten class, we were learning to read as well. This gave me a better

understanding of the English language because I was learning double the information. Gradually,
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as the year progressed, I was beginning to pick up the language. I was even speaking to the other

kindergarten students and making friends. By the end of kindergarten I could read, at least to the

ability of a normal six year old, and I was having conversations with my teachers and peers

without many problems. I was excited that I had achieved so much in just a year in a whole

different country.

5. Soon enough, I was speeding my way through the English language and my speaking,

reading, and writing abilities were just like an average American student. My teachers were so

proud of my growth that midway through first grade, they told me I no longer had to take ESL. I

was very surprised because I was only in the program for a little over a year, but I was very

proud of my accomplishments so far. I was now on my own to continue learning English and

further improving my skills. However, ESL was not the only program that helped me with my

literacy skills. I was given an opportunity another time in elementary school that increased my

abilities even more.

6. In fourth grade, my reading teacher noticed my advanced reading skills and asked me to

join the Talent Development (TD) program. This would push me to read higher level books and

participate in reading discussions. Even though I did not enjoy reading as much as most of the

other students in the TD program did, I knew it would be a great opportunity for me, so I joined.

I remember my teacher always saying “Now, don’t forget to read tonight and write a summary

for what you read,” almost every day. Reading every night and writing a summary helped me to

grasp a better understanding of different vocabulary, advance my reading skills, and help me

learn to write better, even though I didn’t really enjoy doing it that much. My parents on the

other hand weren’t grasping the knowledge that I was.

7. Even though I was moving quickly in my language and literacy skills, my parents
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weren’t. They were still having problems picking up the language. I guess it’s true when people

say “it’s harder to learn a new language the older you get.” Since I started learning English at a

young age, I grasped the concept quickly, but my parents weren’t able to do that. When a

telemarketer used to call our house, my parents would always give my brother or me the phone

so we would speak to them. They were scared to say something wrong or have their minds go

completely blank when the telemarketer would ask them a question. I remember one time we

received a phone call and my mom answered. As soon as the lady on the other line spoke, my

mom froze and threw the phone at me so I would talk to them. At least my parents had my

brother and I talk to other people just in case my parents didn’t understand.

8. Imagine entering a classroom and not knowing anything that was going on and suddenly

getting picked on. Now think if you have ever been the one to make fun of the poor student who

can’t speak or understand English. Being in their shoes is a very difficult situation and with the

help and support of one’s friends and teachers, one day they will be able to read, write, and talk

just like you. With the help of the ESL program and the TD program in elementary school, I was

able to improve my language abilities, as well as learn to read and write. Basically, the teachers

in those two programs were my sponsors of literacy. Without those programs in elementary

school, I believe it would have been harder for me to learn English further down the road.

Growing up, I had a challenging, yet successful experience with literacy. Even though it was

difficult coming into a new country and picking up different language, it was all worth it and I’m

proud of my literacy skills.