Write & CorrectEnglish
Misteries of language learning
I was 15 when I first traveled abroad, and I had been taking English classes for 8 years when I went to England, in an exchange program. The first stop, after leaving Heathrow, was the level test at school - the Anglo Continental in Bournemouth, south shore. I was good at grammar, I had enough vocabulary, I was leveled "advanced". No English speaking up to that moment because I was in a big group of Brazilians, all very excited about the trip, chatting in our own language.
Then I was taken "home". I didn't even have to talk to the taxi driver, the group guide arranged everything. I was then left alone in front of the house. A really shy girl, an overly protected only child... I couldn't take one step towards the house. My mind was empty. All those years of studies made no difference at all. I simply didn't know what to say!
I was stuck there when my host father arrived home. He approached, asked who I was, I murmured "I live here", he laughed and replied some joke I could not understand, we got inside, I was introduced to Rachel, David then picked the phone and dialed the operator. I remember learning the expression "reverse call (to Brazil)", which meaning I had to infer by the situation. And I had to talk to the operator. And it was like a key had been turned inside my mind. In Brazil we have this saying "necessity makes the frog jump"...
After that tense moment I became a chatterbox and finally understood I had really been learning during the previous years. It's no overstatement to say it changed my life: it was the first time I was really proud of myself.
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Misteries
Mysteries
of language learning
Then I was taken "home". I didn't even have to talk to the taxi driver, the group guide arranged everything. I was then left alone in front of the house. A really shy girl, an overly protected only child... I couldn't take one step towards the house. My mind was empty. All those years of studies made no difference at all. I simply didn't know what to say!
I was stuck there when my host father arrived home. He approached, asked who I was, I murmured "I live here", he laughed and replied some joke I could not understand, we got inside, I was introduced to Rachel, David then picked the phone and dialed the operator. I remember learning the expression "reverse call (to Brazil)", which meaning I had to infer by the situation. And I had to talk to the operator. And it was like a key had been turned inside my mind. In Brazil we have this saying "necessity makes the frog jump"...
After that tense moment I became a chatterbox and finally understood I had really been learning during the previous years. It's no overstatement to say it changed my life: it was the first time I was really proud of myself.