Hello everyone!
I must confess this is my first time Journaling so I'm not quite sure how this is going to come out. Some time ago I tried to keep a journal on a notebook but I never knew what to write about - It was kind of an uninspired period of my life - however, I feel more motivated lately to write. Also, I think this place is awesome because we can help each other a lot and that is absolutely wonderful.
Currently, I'm studying in Chile to become an English Teacher so I'm always trying to improve my English skills. I have discovered that language learning is one of my greatest passions so I also started learning French, sadly I haven't had enough time to keep up with it so I basically just know how to greet someone, introduce myself and the word for cheese (very important, it's Fromage btw). The third language I'm interested in is German which is kind of strange because I speak it fluently but the thing is, unfortunately, I can't say the same about my writing skills.
I think sharing part of my story could be useful to someone and also I would like to know if someone lived something similar.
When I was a little girl I used to live in Germany, I even went to Kindergarten there but around the age of 6 my parents decided to move to Chile. I had learned both languages as a baby so Spanish wasn't a problem. Nevertheless, I encountered a problem that aroused from the curiosity of others and it was that they were always asking me to translate random words or, just asking me to speak and when I asked about what, the answer usually was "I don't know" or "whatever you want". I think for a 6-year-old girl that is kind of stressful and even traumatic, especially if your mother at home insists saying you should teach the other children. As a kid I rejected my German language because of that and though I kept talking in German with my father I'd always avoided books in German and preferred to speak Spanish with bilingual people. Therefore, nowadays although I can speak German fluently and even have a native pronunciation, my writing skills are very poor and my reading skills quite average compared to my Spanish and English. Can you believe I'm even more comfortable writing and reading in English than in German?
Nowadays, I'm trying to boost also my German skills but sometimes I still feel that kind of feeling that I had as a kid... has anyone lived or felt something similar?
I would really like to know from your experiences and really appreciate the feedback!!
Although I haven't experienced anything that relates to this specific scenario, I think anytime a child is pushed to do something they're not ready or wanting to do it can be at the least discouraging and at worst traumatic. I've listened to a lot of people's experience with math, many of them hate it. I loved math! I had an excellent teacher in high school that encouraged us to make it our own and apply it in ways that interested each individual. Language learning is similar: learning it in the context of your interests is fun, but rote memorization becomes a dreaded drudgery.
PS Based on your self reported English proficiency as intermediate, I was surprised to find you sound quite fluent. :) You could have fooled me into thinking you were a native speaker.
You have the best language priorities that I've ever seen! (1) My name, (2) where's the cheese? This is the right way to learn languages, without a doubt. You should definitely bump your English rating on this site up to advanced. You write beautifully. As for German... I suggest that what you need is balance. You've had a bad experience with German. The only thing that can balance that out is some good experiences. A holiday in Germany probably isn't on the cards right now, but could you find some German texts that you really enjoy? (Maybe an introduction to great German cheeses!) Or look for something really easy and non-stressful in German, like a nice series of kids' books or cartoons.
Hi! This was a great piece of writing. Something I can suggest for further improvement is to use a bigger variety of connective words. For example, instead of so, you can use, therefore and thus. Thus can be more formal but therefore is quite average. Furthermore, as it appears that your informal writing skills are very good, I would suggest practicing more formal writing that can also help you in your teaching career.
Thanks a lot for your nice comments, suggestions and feedback <3 I'm really grateful and happy that we can help each other!!