- Published: September 14, 2022
- Updated: September 14, 2022
- University / College: University of Toronto
- Language: English
- Downloads: 30
Revised Summary: My English
Julia Alvarez was born in United States, in New York City, but her family resides in the Dominican Republic. In her story “ My English,” she narrated her initial struggles learning the English language. In her hometown, Alvarez first language is Spanish. As she grew up, she also learned English by heart. She really loves and happy to learn more about the language, but she has without any problems. While learning English, it has become “ all mixed up with Spanish” .
While she was still young then, she thought English was so hard; however, when she was already an adult, her thought changed. Initially, she tried as much as she could to speak English, but with some mistakes. Luckily, her parents speak English the reason she also learned from them. Even before attending school, many of Julia’s family members were bilinguals. At home or in school, Julia was eager to learn English. As a student, she and her sister have to use English in school. The English teacher really wanted her class, which includes Julia, to learn how to speak English well. When Julia would make mistakes, the teacher would correct her. Because of that, her teacher encouraged her to learn English better. Julia has a grandfather who is fluent in English; he taught Julia on how to speak the language well . Julia then thought English was easy. Her English has improved from then on because she learned it from her parents, English teachers, and grandfather (not to mention other people) who all speak English very well.
Finally, when Julia went to New York, she learned English much faster. When she would listen to American people, she gets better and understands more the English language. She learned to speak like the people that were born in or natives of America. She realized that speaking a different language is indeed an important skill .
Work Cited
Alvarez, Julia. ” My English.” Spack, Ruth. Guidelines: A Cross-Cultural Reading / Writing Text. 3rd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 30-34. Print.
