February 23th, 2019

Sergio Estrada Castellon

Reading and writing II
Saturday shift, fifth year

Path to Perfection

“I learned nothing in my English classes!” when I finished my first English

course, I thought I could talk with others foreign. It is well known that English is
a universal language which offers the opportunity to communicate in most
countries of the world. It is well known that English is a universal language
which offers the opportunity to communicate in most countries of the world,
however each country has variation of forms of expression, idioms, accents,
etc. We can finish many courses in English and learn everything that is taught in
the courses, but we will have limitations to communicate in different
environments of life if we do not try to have a broad vocabulary. It is important to
practice different techniques if you want to expand your vocabulary.

Let me tell you a frustrating personal story about the difference in the
same language. One day, I took a bus to Leon and sat next to a foreigner. I
wanted to talk to him to practice my English so I kindly greet him and ask him
some questions to break the ice. When he started talking, I had trouble
understanding him and I got confused by some words he said. After a few
minutes, I told him that he cannot understand certain things, so he told me that
he was English and that he understood my situation. He explained that there
are differences between the English of England and the United States when
referring to the same thing.

So, what can we do to not experience these situations of disorientation in

the language and feel frustrated? First, you must begin to immerse yourself with
the language, that is, begin to use English in your daily life, in what you do, in
what you like, etc. For example, you can chat with certain friends in English, you
can use the expressions you like in English. Also, in the activities you practice
you can learn English around it. At end, what counts is that you feel the
language as your own.
 Second, you must watch television programs in English. For example,
seeing news in English can be very useful since there is an interview with
people from different places and professionals explaining some specific topic.
Another example would be watching movies or series in English, trying not to
see the subtitles to link the application of the words more than their specific
meaning. In addition, there are channels that have the option to change the
language which would be very useful if you have a favorite program in Spanish,
and so you can see it in English to practice. Thus, you will be able to learn
multiple expressions, vocabularies, accents and without feeling that you are
practicing.

Another technique that helps expand the vocabulary is to listen to music

in English. There are hundreds of songs in English of different genre, rhythms,
compositions, etc. which we can choose the one of our preference. By listening
to music in English and getting the lyrics of each song, we can reach the goal of
expanding the vocabulary because there are different colloquial expressions,
contractions, metaphorical language which are not taught in English
classrooms. Therefore, it is an excellent technique to improve communication
skills regarding vocabulary.

Finally, the classic technique for learning vocabulary is to read any

written material. Through reading, we can know new words, the correct way to
write them and the application in a reading. We can read from a simple
magazine to a thesis of some specialty that interests us in order to link to our
interests and feel motivated in the process. Reading improves many mental
capacities of people, and when we speak of languages, it is a very effective
technique in questions of acquiring new vocabulary.

We must always take into account that it is important to keep in touch

with the language you want to learn, look for new techniques that can be
adapted to your circumstances. It will not always be possible to achieve
absolute mastery of another language, but you can reach levels of excellence
where skills to communicate with other people from different countries are
perfected. The key is perseverance.