Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
English Language, a
multimedia language
learning history.
Student: Sônia Gomes
Course: Letras – Pucminas 3ª Período
Teacher: Rosana do Espírito Santo
November, 2009
Belo Horizonte
MG Brazil
My first contact with the English language started when I
entered elementary school and I was about twelve years old.
English and French were obligatory subjects and differently
from most of my colleagues I got impressed and enthusiastic
with both. I remembered that I used to be one of the top
students and for several times teachers congratulated me.
With respect of the methodology teachers used to teach us, it was reduced to a
few resources. In fact at that time they used a book and the blackboard. Lessons
were taught in a traditional manner but luckily I had great native teachers. And
what I still clearly remember was the repetitive exercises such as “what is your
name? or Where are you from? In spite of that tedious scenario I adored the
classes and the basic concepts I learned at that time turned to be very useful in
my whole life. You can’t believe, but I still remember my first English book cover.
And you can find an image of it in the end of this narrative.
Wen I finished high school I taught about going to New York to work as a
babysitter but my mother interfered and rejected my idea.
My basic knowledge of English helped me a lot at university and I was able to
translate the necessary topics assigned by the teachers. Later and again, English
made the difference in my career and I was hired to work with a Belgium manager
in a big iron ore company. He spoke five languages and obliged every worker to
learn English.
To perform my tasks at that company I had to restart to study English and a
private teacher was hired to teach the team. For almost ten years I learned
business English and I had the opportunity to practice writing and speaking in the
office. It is important to mention that the Belgium boss pushed me all the time by
setting tasks in English. He also advised me to apply for a Cambridge Certificate
and some time later I got my FCE.
I do not pretend to be melodramatic but that diploma represented the achievement
of something such as milestone. Since I got that diploma my interest in learning
more increased day by day and I did all my efforts to conciliate my responsibilities as a
professional, a wife and mother with extra English classes. Five years ago I decided to
come back to a regular English school and I enrolled the 2nd level of Advanced Course
at Cultura Inglesa.
By 2005 I decided to accomplish a dream that I had since I was a child. I made all the
arrangements by my own and I set off to Plymouth to study at Mayflower English College
http://www.maycoll.co.uk/ and there I got my first international diploma. It was a celebration
and I couldn’t believe my own when the plane reached Heathrow.
Time passed and last year, out of a sudden, an old event came to my mind and I
remember the time I studied Letras at UFMG, just for one semester and gave up, due to
private problems. It was May 2008, a week later I had that insight, I went to Pucminas to
enroll for a Literature Course. Luckily I succeeded. And now here I am, happy, doing
what I like most, studying subjects connected to language and English. I fell sorry to say
but SLA theories proved to be wrong in my case, because in spite of not being
younger, but a mature woman, I am still learning a lot of English. About my future plans,
maybe I will teach in a secondary school, do some revision or trying something else. I
don’t know for sure, but certainly it must be connected to English Language.
SONIA GOMES
THE END