Ms.

Caruso

English 1101


Literacy Memoir

Hi my name is number 18. When I was only 5 years old I started preschool

in Switzerland. I never learned how to read or write back then, but I started to learn

the alphabet and key words (all in German). Once I got to kindergarten we started to

learn how to read and write. Separately at home my mom would try and teach me

how to spell, how to read, and how to write in English as well. But aIter a couple oI

months she stopped because she did not want to conIuse me with the German

grammar and the English grammar. I studied in the German language Ior 13 years,

and it is Iar more diIIicult than the English language. In 6
th
grade I wrote a story in

German and my teacher hated it, because I was getting some concepts Irom the

German language conIused with the English concepts. She tore my paper apart and

she made me rewrite my entire story again, Irom that point on I hated to write. It was

a terrible experience Ior me as a small kid, I never wanted to write again. In 7
th
grade

I started taking English classes in school, I was a lot better at it, because I already

spoke Iluent English and the other kids did not. I also already knew how to read and

write in English, but my grammar was very poor, and I needed more structure in my

sentences. The English course required me to read and also write in English so that`s

how I got better. The course went Irom 7
th
grade up until 9
th
grade. I went through a

negative experience during this time, because my teacher expected me to write perIect

English and make no mistakes at all (because I am American), but I never really

learned how to write in proper English , the only preparation I had was my mom that

thought me a little bit. When I turned 15 I moved to the United States and started my

American English schooling, it was not diIIicult to pick up because my mom helped

me to get used to it, and she thought me how to read and write in English as I started

to get older (also the English courses helped). I was scared to move to a diIIerent

country and did not know what to expect at all. I spoke English very well but my

grammar was not perIect (still isn`t). The whole environment was diIIerent, the

culture was diIIerent, but I stayed the same.

I took English 2 when I started at my high school; it was all right but yet a

little bit challenging Ior me. I had to adapt to the new language and use a diIIerent

part oI my brain. I struggled a lot at the beginning, as I was adapting to the new

school and meting new people, so school was the last thing on my mind. I was Ialling

behind and I s getting scared that I would not do well. But then I started to pick up on

stuII and the work was not hard anymore. My teacher was very supportive about my

situation and she helped me very much through out the entire year I was in her class.

As a sophomore everyone is required to take a writing test, my teacher helped me

prepare myselI very well Ior it and I passed the test with a 5 out oI 6 rating. This was

a very positive experience I had about writing because I was not very good at it and as

I practiced I got a lot better.

In my junior year oI high school I took the course English 3. It was Iairly

easier than English 2 because I was a lot better at reading and writing. I had to write

my junior exit paper in that class. The exit paper is something every junior has to

write, it is a requirement to graduate high school. As I was writing my paper I needed

help. I asked teachers, Iriends and Iamily members they all helped me out, and it

made writing a lot more Iun, enjoyable and easier to write. It was a 8-10 page paper

about a topic picked by me. ( I picked ' The beneIits oI a Gluten- Free Diet ) I am on

a gluten Iree diet, due to my allergy, and that is why I picked that topic. I received a

93 percent on the paper, which made me very happy! It was the best paper I have ever

written in English. This class helped me out the most oI all, just because the

graduation project was so big and it aIIected my grade so much in that class. I put

myselI to work and I achieved what I wanted, an A. It was stressIul, but I passed the

course and I worked hard.

In my senior year oI high school I took an honors English course, because I

Ielt like it would be better to take a more challenging class. I loved my teacher,

he was the best one I had in high school. We read 5 books and they were quiet

interesting, BeowulI and Sir Gawin and the green knight were the most interesting

ones we read. Maybe because they are poems written in a book Iormat. They were

easy to understand, had a good story, and was not very long. I learned how to

appreciate reading more, I do not like to read very much at all, but the books we read

in class were good and got me more interested in reading.

As a kid I used to like to write about me growing up to become a proIessional

soccer player. I play soccer and my dream is to become a pro. I used to write that I

would travel around the world and play diIIerent teams Irom diIIerent countries.

Another thing I used to love to write about was my Iamily. In school I would always

write about my Iamily always being together and having Iun. Go to church together

on Sunday mornings, watching movies together on Sunday nights and going to my

soccer games. I usually never reread my stuII, just because I never Ielt the need to do

so, but now that I am a college student I will look over my writing. It will deIinitely

help me in the long run.

Writing would be easier for me if I would have started American

schooling as a child, and not getting confused with the German language

sometimes. This semester has a lot in stock Ior me, in the sense that it will be

challenging. I know it wont be easy, and I have to be prepared to learn new things. I

am a little bit scared that I wont do well in the class. Because I am pretty good at

writing but I don`t know iI I am college good yet. But I am also interested in the class,

because I do like English, so it will not be as bad. Now I am read to take on English

1101 in Ms. Carusos class, I`m ready to learn now things, Change my way oI

thinking, and hope to have Iun.