My choice of writing this blog in English instead of in Spanish, my mother tongue, is based on necessity. My English-speaking level has been a weakness I have since I have arrived to the US. Writing in English lets me practice and improve it.
Let me tell you a little story that my friends love to hear, and then they cannot stop laughing. After three months in the US, I started taking English lessons. As is usual in a first ESL class, I had to introduce myself. So on my turn, I said, “My name is Malena. Repeat. Malena”. When I was saying “Malena” the second time, the whole class including the teacher in unison with me repeated “Malena”. It got my attention but I thought they were being polite trying to pronounce my name correctly. Two hours later, I was at home and then I realized it was me who said “Repeat. Malena”. I gave them an order! What I really wanted to say was, “I will repeat, Malena”. I made that mistake because in Spanish I would have say “Repito, Malena”.
Besides this anecdote that only shows my first struggles with the language, I still encounter a lot of difficulties to be precise in a language I did not grow up with. I feel that something is missing in each conversation I have. I hope these writings help me to repair that.
Let me tell you a little story that my friends love to hear, and then they cannot stop laughing. After three months in the US, I started taking English lessons. As is usual in a first ESL class, I had to introduce myself. So on my turn, I said, “My name is Malena. Repeat. Malena”. When I was saying “Malena” the second time, the whole class including the teacher in unison with me repeated “Malena”. It got my attention but I thought they were being polite trying to pronounce my name correctly. Two hours later, I was at home and then I realized it was me who said “Repeat. Malena”. I gave them an order! What I really wanted to say was, “I will repeat, Malena”. I made that mistake because in Spanish I would have say “Repito, Malena”.
Besides this anecdote that only shows my first struggles with the language, I still encounter a lot of difficulties to be precise in a language I did not grow up with. I feel that something is missing in each conversation I have. I hope these writings help me to repair that.
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