Charm of Language

Today more than at any time in the history of the world it is important to be able to read and write. This change has been brought about by the Internet which we use to communicate with one another, or to get our news etc. There are different factors in society and ourselves may affect our literacy. Each person’s different identities have an important influence on their literacy. The difference in language is an important reason which affects my relationship with literacy. No matter which identity we are in, we have to try our best to overcome the difficulties or we would never succeed.

When I was sixteen years old. My parents told me we were going to move to New York, USA. I was so excited about the news, but at the same time, I felt very nervous. Before I moved to New York, I asked my parents many times. Why are we going to the United States? As we all know, it is difficult to decide to go to another country from your native country. Not to mention, a country with a different culture and language. They told me that going to the United States is because it can create more opportunities for me and my brother in education and future employment. The first day I came to New York, I was very new to everything. The environment I have seen is very different from my home country. I heard the people speak different languages. So I am extremely confused and overwhelmed by the variety because English is not my native language. I am afraid to face strange words in different languages. Before I entered school, I even stayed at home and tried to avoid going into a strange environment.

The first day of school was such a terrible day. The school I went to was relatively small and it shared the same building with another school. Even the teacher led the new student visit of the school, I still felt confused and didn’t know where I was. In class, the teacher handed out some paper. Faced with these white papers with black fonts, I feel incompetent because I didn’t understand them. I hopeless like to fall into the deep pool without the bottom. I doubted my literacy. The lack of English skills makes reading and writing difficult. I don’t understand the text in the book, the instructions on the product, and the words of others. I am inexperienced in the new environment, new language and the new faces of the school. Teacher says something to the class, but I can only understand some of what they are saying. At the same time, when the teacher is asking me to do something, I am just confused and don’t understand what I need to do. I felt helpless and incompetent. I had no idea how I was going to survive the next years with my poor English.

In the advisory class, I smelled a sense of familiarity again. Because both teachers and classmates spoke the same native language as me and we can comfortably speak in class. The advisory teacher asked us to talk about the troubles and ignorance of the new semester. Many students expressed that they don’t understand the class and cannot read the text on the paper. I feel the same way. My teachers, however, encouraged us not to be afraid. She said as a freshman in the United States, this is a very normal thing. As long as you work hard and don’t give up, you will overcome these problems. My parents also told me not to be discouraged. It is just the beginning, but as long as you stick to it, you will slowly adapt to this environment.

With the effort and encouragement of the teacher and my family, I regained my confidence. Confidence is a ray of sunshine that allows me to find directions in the dark. Now, I am well adapted to life in New York and enjoy my life. Reading and writing is very important for a person and losing it will make our lives become difficult. Everyone’s life has different identities and difficulties which impact our ability to read and write. Language is one of the identities that have an important influence on my literacy. I have to work hard to learn or I can’t succeed.

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