A Narrative Essay About Learning To Read And Write
Jennifer Gonzalez
Professor Lyle Witt
English 101
12 October 2011
No Comprendo
For me, learning to read and write was quite an adventure. It started where most children begin—the infamous realm of kindergarten. Now you have to understand that prior to this I had never spoken English before. So as a five year old little Hispanic girl, I was faced with quite a predicament—learning to read and write in a language I could not speak or understand.
I still remember my first day of school. I remember approaching the classroom which was filled with chattering and laughter. I remember my teacher trying to communicate with me. As I tried to recall the English I heard in my cartoons and Disney movies, I understood only about forty percent of what she said. I was excited to begin this new experience of school, but wasn't quite sure how to deal with it all. It …show more content…
I found it impossible to make the sounds my teacher indicated went along with a certain letter. Although, I was very much entertained by the faces she made while over-enunciating for my benefit. Also, the concept of a silent letter just wasn't clicking in my head. If a letter was silent, why did they bother putting it in the word in the first place? I found some hope when vowels and consonants were introduced and was excited that I could remember the difference between them. Sadly, my excitement did not last long, for soon after that we learned the "special sounds". You know? That little chart you went over every morning? I became so annoyed by the repetitive "ck" is for duck, "pl" is for plane, "fr" is for frog. To make matters worse, the charts began to get more and more difficult. After much practice, however, I tackled most of these sounds, some even without the thick accent. This was a big accomplishment for me because after this I could begin to do what I had always wanted. I could begin to
Professor Lyle Witt
English 101
12 October 2011
No Comprendo
For me, learning to read and write was quite an adventure. It started where most children begin—the infamous realm of kindergarten. Now you have to understand that prior to this I had never spoken English before. So as a five year old little Hispanic girl, I was faced with quite a predicament—learning to read and write in a language I could not speak or understand.
I still remember my first day of school. I remember approaching the classroom which was filled with chattering and laughter. I remember my teacher trying to communicate with me. As I tried to recall the English I heard in my cartoons and Disney movies, I understood only about forty percent of what she said. I was excited to begin this new experience of school, but wasn't quite sure how to deal with it all. It …show more content…
I found it impossible to make the sounds my teacher indicated went along with a certain letter. Although, I was very much entertained by the faces she made while over-enunciating for my benefit. Also, the concept of a silent letter just wasn't clicking in my head. If a letter was silent, why did they bother putting it in the word in the first place? I found some hope when vowels and consonants were introduced and was excited that I could remember the difference between them. Sadly, my excitement did not last long, for soon after that we learned the "special sounds". You know? That little chart you went over every morning? I became so annoyed by the repetitive "ck" is for duck, "pl" is for plane, "fr" is for frog. To make matters worse, the charts began to get more and more difficult. After much practice, however, I tackled most of these sounds, some even without the thick accent. This was a big accomplishment for me because after this I could begin to do what I had always wanted. I could begin to