English and Me

For Tao Yuran.



I will pause before answering this question.
"How long have you studied English?"
It is not just because I have studied English for very long time, but also I feel shame at the length of time studying English is not equal to the level I should be on, especially after working for SLI. On the other hand, using myself as an example works well to encourage students when they are frustrated with learning Chinese.

I have studied English for... 12 years in Taiwan, and I have lived in America for... 3 years.

Generally speaking, the difficult parts of English are the parts that we don't have in Mandarin Chinese.
For example, I have difficulty pronouncing several vowels and consonants and saying phrases with the correct intonation. Also, I can't distinguish "m" & "n". I discovered this problem after working in the lab. When students spell their names to me, and the names have either "m" or "n" in them, I will just stop keying in.
With grammar, the most difficult part is the tense. I am okay with simple past, present, and future tense because they are, of course, simple. But when it becomes a little bit complicated, for example, perfect tense, I will get lost easily. As for pronouns, I am still learning to use them correctly. If I don't pay attention, I will always use he or she wrong.
Therefore, if I am tired or in a bad mood, I will make a lot of mistakes with my English even though I have studied English for 15 years.