planting english on a fertile land

if i say the English competency is like a tree which can grow naturally. isn't that cool?

yes ,it is.

I  am not telling a myth, being an English major myself, it was not several months before I found that my English competency in speaking, listening and writing actually 'grew' to a much higher level.

back in senior high school, I had all the experience in reciting words and lifeless grammar rules, and doing exercises until early next morning! this was really a pain in the neck .

now for the first time , I have gotten rid of this pain. now, English is a piece of cake! just follow me！

first , get into the  habit of autosuggestion -- tell yourself several times a day: " I love English! It is the easiest language in the world, and without a doubt I will master it!"

then try to imagine that you have already become an expert in it. Do not hesitate to use your imagination to fuel your burning desire! Remember you can never make it until you have faith in it .

the second step is to carry it out: make a list of the most urgent resources or abilities you need and then make a plan to attain them. Try to find the interesting elements in the language. Build up an amiable environment by making foreign friends and partners. It is also very helpful to make english novels or other reading materials as your lifelong companions.

It is the same with language learning. English is your basic system. Just plant your life in it, and next fall, harvest it!

- mellie -

Build Your Interest in English

Learning English requires one's interest. If unfortunately, you did not have it, you had better build it. For myself, I truly came to enjoy learning English only after I entered university.

In China, all high school students are busy cramming for exams. Their highest goal is to get high marks in the Entrance Examination. This also happened to me. The moment I became an English major I suddenly realized I hadn't truly learnt English before. I found that my classmates managed to speak English more fluently and readily than I. Thus I began to re-double my efforts.

First, I had to make myself interested in it. Thanks to the help of the people around me, like foreign teachers and friends, I felt it was really wonderful to speak excellent English. Such a feeling of achievement made me all the more interested in it.

The next step was to build up my vocabulary. Although small words always could meet everyday use, sometimes I found it very hard to find the right word, although I knew there was a word almost coming up. This was the so-called "tip-of-the-tongue" phenomenon. What I could do was to extend my vocabulary and make my memory of the words connected.

Later I discovered another problem. I had memorized GRE words and got them readily for use. However, I could not use them in a native way. One can easily tell that I am speaking Chinglish.

I used the method introduced by my friend-to recite some beautiful sentences and dialogues. In this way some of the fixed structures imprinted deeply in my mind.

Of course practice is what cannot be neglected. Try to seek every chance to open your mouth, you will find something wonderful is happening.

 - Michelle -

Diligence Rather Than Intelligence

I took it for granted that only intelligence was needed to learn a foreign language. Thus, I spent little time on English learning. All I did was simply take the class and after that I did nothing. But my scores were not bad. I even excelled in English over my classmates.

In the university, I took part in the English-Chinese Interpretation Contest.  Before the contest, I found out that my competitors were all doing well in English and that they were preparing very hard. Thus, I thought maybe I should also do something for the contest in order not to lose.

Compelled by their hard work, I began to read books, learn the basic skills for interpretation, listen to cassettes, and do exercises. A sense of achievement seized me and I quite liked it. What's more, I discovered drawbacks which I had neglected for so long. They could not be dismissed at once, but only after much work. What busy but joyful days those were. I did not waste my time and English was more interesting than ever before.

Consequently I won the second prize in the contest. But this is not the best prize I got. I learned that diligence played a more important role in learning a foreign language. And this has been guiding my English learning and helping me get through many difficulties and dilemmas concerning English learning.

 - Jo (Qiaohong Lian) -

Necessity Motivates

I didn't like Japanese language. It was routine for me to have Japanese classed and take Japanese examinations. But this situation It has changed since I first met a Japanese teacher at the beginning of this semester.

A Japanese-major student asked me to help to fix his teacher's computer. I promised and we went to his teacher's home together. There I found I had to learn Japanese. The teacher was quite nice and greeted me politely, but I stood stupidly before her and didn't know how to reply. At the time I introduced myself, I made mistakes. Two girls giggled. And moreover, later on my friend talked happily with his teacher, leaving me alone noodling around the computer. Sometimes I wanted to open my mouth, but I didn't know how. How awkward! Since then I have decided to learn Japanese well.

 - Lawrence -

My First Spark for Learning English

Believe it or not, it was my first English teacher that inspired me to learn English well. She was a pint-sized teacher, but her English teaching performance was beyond most people's expectations. It was surely rare in the rural area to see an excellent teacher such as her.

On the first day of junior middle school, I was appointed to be her assistant. I was both excited and nervous because I heard that she was a very demanding teacher and it was not easy to win her appreciation. As her assistant, I had more chances to contact her than other students. During the class, she always encouraged me to be as active as possible. After class, she often gave me instructions on English learning.

At first, I didn't achieve much. Gradually, with the help of my respected English teacher, I became interested in English. The more I worked on it, the more fascinating it turned out to be.

From then on, I have been determined to learn English well. I said to myself that English should be a must for me.

Now, nine years have passed: nine summers and nine winters. I have come across many English teachers during these years. However, my first English teacher will always remain in my mind. She was the first spark for me to learn English.

 - Silver -

Motivated By a Foreigner

When I was in grade two in middle school, my English had apparently become  awful and so was my interest in English. Owing to a dreadful teacher, I did nothing but daydream in English classes. And in my spare time, though I wanted to make some progress, I couldn't help throwing the English materials out of the window as soon as I touched them, all of which brought to mind the nauseating teacher. In short, I was sick of English. Until one day a stroke of luck changed all this.

I still remember it was a fall night. I was wandering in the night market with my friend Betty when we came across a foreigner, the first foreigner we had ever seen, an old guy. He was sitting in the corner surrounded by  men and women  and speaking fluent Chinese. Full of curiosity, we stood beside him, listening. There was a young boy around nine years of age wanting to talk with him in English, so the old man spoke some simple English.

Aha! His English was so euphonic, definitely different from that disgusting teacher. His voice seemed to come from heaven, like an angel's. I was so attracted to his voice that I was eager to talk with him myself. Unfortunately, I was so familiar with my poor English ability, especially oral English, that I did not have enough courage to lose face in public. As a result, I just stood there, listening, but without talking. We stood there for a long time, until he was ready to leave.

On the way back to the school, I swore to learn English well, especially oral English. Ever since then, I threw my English teacher away and have studied by myself. However, there was still a hope in my mind, that was to talk with the old guy and hear his beautiful voice once again. I learned that he was teaching in Zhejiang University at that time, so I applied for the English major in Zhejiang University. However, he was not there any more when I entered.

 - Bonnie -

Stop for Awhile

I have been studying Japanese for two years. At the very beginning, I was stimulated by interest, so I could learn it well. Gradually, I found my passion for it had faded and I could get nowhere however hard I tried. The more I wanted to remember, the quicker I forgot. At that time I was very worried. I blamed myself for squandering the precious time and money without any achievement.

I was in such anguish for a week. Finally I made up my mind to stop making any effort. For the next two weeks, I didn't even touch
any Japanese books. My mind, which used to be restrained, was relieved.

Then one day, I picked up my Japanese book to see if I could still recall any Japanese. To my surprise, it seemed as if he was my old
friend with whom I had lost touch for years.

I think when we reach a plateau in our  study, we can stop for a while instead of making vain efforts. After a few days' rest, maybe we canlearn it more efficiently. After all, interest is the best teacher.

 - Rainbow 庄彩霞 (Zhuang Caixia) -

Trifles

When I was six years old, I began to go to school. The first school which I attended was a primary school. There were many subjects which were taught in the school, such as Chinese, arithmetic, history, geography, drawing and so forth. Since I first became a student, I studied very hard. My parents were quite proud of me.

After I had studied there for six years, I entered a junior high school. When I was fifteen years old, I became a student of a senior high school. I still studied very hard. Except for sick leave, I was never absent from class. Everybody looked upon me as a model student.

However, after finishing my junior high school, I did not really know what to study and what I wanted to do in the future. In short, I had no plan for my future. I didn't know what I learned before entering the university. All that I knew was how to be a good student with high scores in any courses.

I chose  English for the following reasons:

In the first place, English has become an international language. If you know English, you can make a trip around the world without being misunderstood.

In the second place, most valuable books, newspapers and magazines are written in English. If you wish (hope) to get knowledge, you must learn English.

Nevertheless, I realize it was my greatest fault in the past twenty years. Without enthusiasm, I did not learn it as well as I  expected. However, I won't forget the happy time which I spent in the university.

 - Jeff -