Writing Feedback /
Languages That I Know [5]
Languages That I Know
Languages are the basic means of communication. There are different kinds of languages in the world. That means if you are displaced from a place, you have to study their language. And this is what happed to me. When I came from Eritrea to U.S.A., I was forced to study their language. Even though I took English as a subject, I didn't use it a lot in my country. Because our first language is Tigrinya, I was not able to use it. I prefer to use Tigrinya because, I can write, read and speak in Tigrinya better than in English.
To begin with, my writing is much better in Tigrinya compared to English. As it is my first language, I know it since I was born. And I don't have a problem with writing in Tigrinya. In addition I studied in Tigrinya. This helped me to have more vocabulary, and also how to spell them. As result I can write well in Tigrinya. In contrary, I do have a lot of problem in writing with English. This is because it broad language. Although I took English as a subject, I did not use it in my daily activities. This made me to forget every thing after class. In order to improve it I am taking ESL 41, writing class. As you can see, writing is easy in your native language compared to second language.
In addition to writing, I read Tigrinya better than English. This is because I use it to communicate with people in my country Eritrea. So, this helped me to pronounce the words correctly. And also, once I know them I would not forget them. In the opposite, I don't read English words correctly most of the time. Because there are a lots of words that I don't know, and those words give me hard time to read them. However, I am trying to increase my vocabulary and reading by reading novel books. Further more I am taking a reading class this semester. This is why I read in Tigrinya better than English.
In contrast, I don't speak well in English as I do in Tigrinya. First of all, one English word has many meaning, and this confuses me where to use it. Second, I don't know all the words. This blocks me from expressing my self. Unlike English I do speak well Tigrinya. I know Tigrinya since I was born, and this made me to speak it well. I also know when and how to use the words in a sentence. I learnt how to speak Tigrinya when I was a baby. And I am learning how to speak English well when I am older. I wonder if I had the same problem with Tigrinya as I do now when I was a baby. Probably yes because learning is always a challenge. I hope to speak much better in the future.
In conclusion, even though second language takes time to know it well, you will know it as your first language one day. Try to use every opportunity you have to improve it. Don't give up keep going. Who knows you might teach others one day. Students become teachers.
