我們為什么都要學習英語

我的語言背景：深圳新移民 中粵英“三劍客”

As a northern immigrant that grew up in Shenzhen, my first language is Mandarin and the second language is Cantonese. I started to learn English as a foreign language since the years of primary school. Judging from how I have mastered the languages, I don’t have barriers in Cantonese in terms of listening and reading, but have some issues in pronunciation that do not affect the communication; as of English, I have relatively superior aspects as in listening, speaking and reading, but it falls short in writing. Since I acquired Cantonese gradually in childhood, the learning process has been very vague in memory. Therefore, this discussion is mainly on my English acquisition process.

從好奇到流利 英語學習路阻且長

When first started learning English in class in first grade, I, like most Chinese children, had no particular motivation to learn it. It was just a subject in the school curriculum. From the original ignorance and curiosity about English, to now fluent communicate with others in English, I have not only paid a lot of effort in the more than fifteen years of learning process, but I also gained a lot of fun. In this article, I will divide my English acquisition process into two main stages and review them one by one.

【第一階段】從小學到初中

常用名詞是重點

The curriculum of English classes in Shenzhen is set from the beginning of first grade. In the beginning, lessons are mostly about names of common things in daily life (such as McDonald’s food in English, etc.), and some English songs.

一星期一堂英語課 學多少忘多少

At that time, because there was only one English class a week, with too long interval between the two classes, and no corresponding practice, what had been learnt in the previous class was almost all forgotten in the next class. Also, at that time, English was not one of the core subjects and there was no pressure for exams, I did not put too much effort into learning English.

Thus, although I was exposed to English in an early age, I didn’t gain much in the first four years of learning, but only a preliminary impression of a certain sensibility, for example: English and Chinese are not the same, English words consists of letters, and English and Chinese have different ways to vocalize.

單詞不會記 聽寫單詞就是我的'致命毒藥

Entering the fifth grade, I began to learn English systematically. I was the kind of student that had fast reflection but not careful enough. In learning English, reciting words to me was very difficult and I always got the wrong spelling, so I had not ever had a full score for dictations.

錯了罰抄N多遍 越抄越錯……

At that time, my English teacher was very strict, and if we spelled words wrong, we would be criticised and have to copy the words repeatedly. Over time, I had a fear for spelling words, and I was always uncertain whether I’d written the words correctly. The more hesitant the more misspelled, by it became a vicious cycle. The effect is deeply rooted and until now, my spelling is still a major weakness. During this period, my English teacher focused in teaching English reading and writing and there was a lack of emphasis on listening and speaking, which made me undergo a long period to enter the learning state in junior high school.

進入初中：自我介紹讓我自卑

Entering junior high school, the learning pressure suddenly increased. In the first section of English class, the teacher asked us to introduce ourselves in English. Seeing that every other student can introduce themselves made me feel ashamed, and made me afraid of speaking English, not to mention answering questions in English class.

語法來了：課堂變得枯燥乏味

During this period, we began to learn English grammar. Because I was in a foreign language school, we had more English classes than other schools, and the learning contents involved more knowledge of grammar. For example, we started learning relatively more complicated grammar such as relative clauses and the subjunctive mood. It has its advantages: learning English became easier in high school; but it also has its drawbacks: classes became boring after the large number of repeated practice and explanation, so I often didn’t pay attention to classes, resulting in a not solid enough knowledge of English grammar. Thus even to this day, I often make simple mistakes in writing.

缺乏動力的英語學習是走不通的

At this stage, my motivation for learning English is not strong enough. It was mere academic pressure and I was forced to learn it, therefore the passive learning. I was content with finishing the tasks that the teachers set but no further efforts to improve my English. At the same time due to characteristic reasons, I didn’t participate in classroom activities in English, and lost a lot of opportunities for speaking.