44 Reflection + Literacy Narrative: “Good Impact”

Student Reflection Letter

Dear __________

Hi! I hope you are doing well and enjoying the Wisconsin fall weather that you like so much. I have been very busy these last few days, sorry that I haven’t gotten in touch with you. College is going well, and I am trying to adjust to all the demands of being a college student. In that line, I would like to share with you a narrative essay I wrote for my English class, that I thought you would enjoy.

The title of my narrative essay is: “Good Impact, Being Influenced by my ESL Teacher.” First of all, you need to know all about how this project started. My English professor asked us to write about somebody or some experience that we had which inspired us in our learning process. So, I decided to write about learning English and how one of my ESL teachers gave me so much support, which was nice and necessary, and has since become the source of my inspiration to not give up when things in my process of learning the language simply got difficult.

The point of my essay was to get across that we all can be influenced by others in a positive way, and that one should be capable of letting oneself be marked by others if that will help us to grow and become the best of ourselves.

At times, when writing my narrative essay, it was difficult for me to keep myself on track with my main idea. I noticed that I still have difficulties with that, but I trust that little by little with “Practice, practice, practice”, as my ESL teacher used to tell me, I will overcome those difficulties. Another reason why I chose this topic was so that my audience, especially anybody who is an ESL student or an ESL teacher, can identify with my narrative and hear what an ESL student goes through and how an ESL teacher can become a key element in the way the students learn the new language. If I would not have had the difficulties that I had with learning English, I would not have had the experience that I had with my ESL teacher and her noble way of being. Something else about my writing process is how surprised I am seeing how my words are flowing with a little more ease than before. I think it was due to the free writing technique that my professor at college introduced us to.

Even though I am sending you my finished narrative essay, I feel that I could make some other changes to make my narrative more effective, but I have tried my best. That is what really matters. I hope you enjoy my narrative. If you have any suggestions after you read my essay, feel free to let me know. I appreciate feedback, which was something very important in the development of my essay. My classmate gave me good feedback which gave me some clear direction. Hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,

___________________________

Student Literacy Narrative

Good Impact: Being Influenced by My ESL Teacher

Who told you that to be influenced is always a bad thing? Many people might believe that to be influenced is a terrible thing. “You should just be who you are!” we often hear. “Nobody should tell you who to be and what to do.” This thinking can be justified, but the reality is that who we are and what we are meant to be cannot be separated from the influences of others. I can say that many people have left a mark of their good influence on me, in one way or another, but one person in particular: my first ESL teacher, who played a key role in my English learning process.

I moved to the United States in 2013. Growing up, I took English classes in my home country, the Dominican Republic. They were mainly focused on grammar and basic vocabulary: for example, fruits and vegetables, the seasons and months of the year, the days of the week, household items, school supplies, etc. I remember being very good in my English classes when I was there, but it was when I first arrived in the USA that I really began to learn English. Maybe, this was partly because in the Dominican Republic, I did my homework and worked hard to pass all my tests, but I did not use English for communicating with those around me because everyone else spoke Spanish.

In fact, once I was living here, I was for the first time – and for my benefit – completely immersed in the English language and seldom spoke my own language. It was difficult. I remember getting headaches because learning English (or any other language) requires you to change your way of thinking and expressing yourself. One week after I arrived in the USA, I started my first English classes. It was in winter 2013, and according to the news: “One of the coldest winters in many years”. One of my friends drove me to the community college where the next chapter of my English learning processes would begin. That very day I took a diagnostic test to evaluate which ESL level I should go to. I was a little nervous about it and, at the same time, I had some kind of security because I knew some English already. When I went to the information desk, the person there told me to wait for a while, so I sat and looked around. The building was very beautiful and appealing to my taste; it made me feel calm, so that was good. Then the instructor came, and we went to one of the classrooms. She had a book in her hands with many different pictures of things and actions that I was supposed to explain in English, “Oh, no…!” I said interiorly, but I was determined to pull out all the vocabulary that I learned when studying in my country. I was able to give names to many of the pictures that the instructor showed me, but I had many problems with making past tense sentences. I finally finished my diagnostic English test. “You get to be in level 3!” the instructor excitedly told me, which I found to be such great news because it meant that my English was somehow good.

Walking into my first day of class the following week, my hands were sweating, and my knees were shaking. I did not know what to expect. Who will my teacher be? What will they be like? Would they be an American whose first language is English, or would their first language be Spanish? How about my classmates? Would they be from many different countries, since we are in the USA, a country formed from the union of many different nations and peoples, yet with its unique culture? All those questions were in my mind as I slowly walked the long hallway toward my classroom, room 235. When I got there some students were inside. Some seemed to be from Asia, others from Latin America and yet others from Europe. Shortly after I sat, Mrs. Bezie-nowak, who after a while let us know we could just call her Mrs. Donna, came in. She was going to be our ESL teacher and the person that was going to influence my English learning process for the rest of my life.

English as a second language is different from the English that a native English speaker will normally study in high school or college. As I got to know Mrs. Donna, I realized that she was actually a good inspiration for me and that being her student made me feel that English was not as difficult. I enjoyed the way she taught the class. She always came well prepared for class, she always answered our questions and even made our questions part of the topic of the class for the day, because she believed that if one student had this question, others students might be struggling in the same line. Mrs. Donna also, many times, used to encourage me to keep trying and not to give up because I can become a good English speaker and writer. Little by little, I noticed that my headaches went away, and I started to become more fluent in English. On the other hand, when it came to writing, I would simply get very nervous to the point that I would just go blank. From the very beginning, I said to myself, “This is too hard, I will not be able to do what is asked of me.” I know this is my major block: myself, my fear of not meeting what is expected of me, especially in my writing. Sometimes in class I would get frustrated with myself that I was unable to come out with a good piece of writing or could not pronounce some words as a native English speaker. My teacher gave me motivating words that helped me to go beyond the barrier which prevented me from writing what was required of me. On multiple occasions she told me not to give up and to keep trying because “The more you write,” she used to tell me,

“The more you will master writing. Writing takes practice, practice, practice. Just keep trying,” she emphasized.

Learning a language is an adventure that requires a lot of daring but, all in all, it is a joyful adventure. Once you have the right teacher that guides you through your adventure you are not afraid. Confidence in yourself and what you can do grows more and more. It was difficult for me when in my adventure of learning English I could not express myself as I wanted to because my vocabulary was simply very limited. My ESL teacher helped me. I got to have private lessons with her. She took the time to teach me in a creative and relaxing way through many games that made my English learning processes fun and less depressing. I enjoyed that! Recalling all my good experiences with my ESL teacher, I can conclude that the key to her good impact on me was her motherly way of understanding my limitation in learning the new language. She was always very interested in how I was doing and how I was adapting to the new country, the new culture, and the new language. Usually, when I went to visit her during her office hours, she always asked me: “Hi, Smirna! How is it going?” And I usually would tell her, “Well… fine! It could be better, it could be worse,” (a statement that I learned from an old German woman I met in my workplace in Florida). She then asked: “Are you following the new lessons and all the new vocabulary you are learning?” “Yes! I am enjoying the class very much and I am learning a lot, even though it is still very challenging,” I said, “but I am trying! Thank you for your support and interests,” I added in my broken English. Yet, she understood everything. I noticed that my ESL teacher focused on giving me the experience of feeling at home, especially knowing how hard it is to learn a second language. It is not only about speaking the new language, but also of learning a new culture that is influenced by its language.

From the time before coming to the USA until now, my journey of learning English as a second language has really been an adventure with ups and downs, times of many victories and times of a lot of failures, but a great time of learning and of courageous daring. So, my adventure has been a process and every day I learn something new, sometimes a new word and a new way of using that new word at the right moment. It is nice and rewarding to see how much I have progressed since 2013 until now. Before, I could not speak as I do now, with more confidence and less self-consciousness, and without fear of being corrected. Previously, every time I got corrected, especially when it was done in public, I felt humiliated and did not want to speak. At times I wanted to give up because I have taken many English classes already and with every new course, I thought that it was going to be the last one, but it was not. But it is amazing that even though learning English has been a challenge and many times I simply wanted to give up, I have not really given up. I will keep trying and trying until I really get good at it.