Describe something you did to help learning another language You should say:
What you did
Where and when you did it Who you did it with
and explain why it was helpful
Sample:
While studying at university, we were required to learn another language, besides English, and I found I was left no choice but to take up Japanese. I was a slow learner, and had difficulty in learning at the very beginning. I came up with an idea of finding a partner who could help me to get through, and I made it. My classmate, Li, made it a rule for me to study with him every day, during which we did kinds of practice standing outside the library where it's lighted.
Li helped me find out I was weak in Japanese for I was not interested in it, and Iwas a bit afraid of speaking out the basic fifty sounds in Japanese, which equals to the twenty-six letters in English. Being not familiar with the basic sounds, I could not spell words, which I remembered by rote. Knowing my problem, he downloaded some pieces of Japanese songs, a bit easy ones, as he knew I liked singing. He carefully noted the strange words, and taught me part of a song each time, and I was left to learn by myself. Then he had me review what I learned at class, to correct my pronunciation and to check my spelling. It took about an hour to do that. Gradually, I found it's not so hard to speak Japanese, and I did well in my exercise. Then one day he took me to a class where I was made to watch an hour of TV series in Japanese, after which I would be given two or three sentences from it, and the next day, I had to practice with him. I kept on studying with him for half of term till I caught up with my classmates. I was grateful for his help.
Sample2
To learn a language well, as told by my teacher, I need to get myself exposed to as much native language as possible. For example, I can read materials,
watch or listen to programs in the language. I’m preparing for the IELTS exam, and I have to study English hard to get the score which enables me to be admitted to the ideal school I’ve applied for.
I’ve made it a rule to listen to BBC news everyday in the morning for an hour. Days ago, I bought a radio to listen to the broadcasting. It’s convenient to download various listening materials online, and to use a walkman or a phone to play them. I, however, think the best way for me to do that is to use a radio. For one thing, I can listen to the latest news daily. In this way, I can be informed of what’s going on around the world. For another, I can focus on listening by using a radio. With a walkman or a phone, I may listen to music stored instead. Every morning, I carry my radio while walking to classroom. On the first week, listening was quite hard, for I was not used to that. There are so many strange words in the program, and the speakers talk or read quite too fast for me to catch up. However, I feel I do better each day, with which I’m satisfied. At the very beginning, I could only get some words, and now I can understand several sentences in a passage. The variety of programs on BBC is really attractive, of which I’ll never get tired. Listening on radio helps me improve my listening and offers me a choice to know more about the colorful world.
PART 3: Discussion topics:
1. How do young people learn another language?
Well, young people will attend language class, listen to record, or watch TV programs. Sometimes, they may make friends with people speaking that language. Now, a growing number of youths prefer to study abroad, as it's believed, it's best to learn a language by living in the area where the language is spoken by local people.
2. How do old people learn another language?
Well, the ways for the old to learn another language are much limited. Some old people I know often learn through language books, and listen to the radio broadcasting English program. Some of them prefer to watch news report in TV. Also, some are active and they learn with their grandchildren. But, few of them make use of a walkman or computer to learn foreign language.
3. Is it easier for young people to learn another language than for old people?
Yes, it is, in most cases. It's well known that the best time for one to learn a language is the time before he's eleven, during which his brain develops and tends to acquire language better. Young people are more energetic, and they enjoy better memory than old people. Besides, they can make use of different means to learn a language. While compared with the young, old people enjoy more free time, especially when they've retired from their work.
4. What changes do learning new languages bring?
People can get to know better about places where the languages they've learned are spoken. For example, English is one of the common languages used around the world. By reading materials written in English or appreciating the movies from abroad, people can broaden their mind. Also, there will be
more job opportunities for people being able to speak foreign languages, like jobs related to international business and trading.