How I Learned English

Today, many people in the world speak multiple languages. Some of these people studied different languages in their native country, but others started learning new languages after they immigrated to their new countries. Today, English is an international language of communication. Also, it is a language of new technology. English is the language which is taught and spoken in many countries of the world. Despite how prevalent English is, I didn’t feel the need to learn it until I moved to the USA.

A little bit about me; I am from Moldova, a small and beautiful country in southeast Europe, located between Ukraine and Romania. Moldova is a multinational country where Rumanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Polish and Romanies live. Generally speaking, the people from Moldova are friendly and hospitable. The state language is Romanian, but a lot of the people speak Russian in Moldovan cities. In Moldova, in addition to Romanian and Russian, the students study either English, French or Spanish in school. Like many other people from Moldova, I speak several languages: Romanian, Russian, French and as of recently, English. I speak Romanian because it is my native language. I speak Russian because my country – between 1940-1991 – was a part of the Soviet Union. During that time the Russian language was required to be taught in schools. I speak French, as the school I attended taught it as the main foreign language. Now, I also speak English because I chose to learn it as an American citizen.

I moved from Moldova to the USA 12 years ago. I lived in Missoula, Montana for 10 years. I had a long and difficult adaptation period because I didn’t know English, American traditions or customs. After a short period of time, I started to learn different English words using a dictionary. Also, I started going to the Greek Orthodox Church every Sunday, and I met people from different countries there. Those were my first steps to learn English. After two years, I began to speak a little bit of English. Six years ago, I started going to ESL school in Missoula where I learned to read, to write and to use English grammar. All this time, I had a language barrier because I had a fear of not pronouncing words correctly.

Around two years ago, I moved to Seattle where I started studying English in Zoom classes. My teacher was Dee Bart, who helped me get over my language barrier. I worked hard. Every day, I read news and different articles written in English. Also, I watched various documentaries with English subtitles. Shortly thereafter, I began speaking English.

In retrospect, my motivation to learn English came from my experience. Once I moved to the USA, where people from different countries of the world live, I realized that English is the language of their communication. Also, I felt accepted and welcomed, and out of respect for the country I wanted to not only learn the language, but also speak it. Eventually, my goal to speak English fluently became a reality.