How I Learned English

By Kate Z.

First time I started learning English I was 11 years old. Then I was at 4th grade of a secondary school in Obninsk, Russia.

I don't remember my first English teacher. I suppose she didn't do a very good job. She taught us for several years but apparently we didn't know English after that.

In 7th grade I started working with a private teacher, coming once a week to her home for one-hour one on one lessons. That was very intense and efficient but I had to do a lot of homework and reading and formal writing. Most of the exercises were from that one text book everybody knew - it was very reliable but no fun. I was also reading abridged books like The Quadroon by Thomas Mayne Reid and had to write down all idioms and learn them by heart. At the time I wished I was reading something more modern - and something about teenage girls or boys.

When I was taking exit exam at high school I knew English good enough not to take any time to prepare when I got my assignment and English texts to translate - I went straight ahead with my translation and speech and got my straight A.

Then in college I had to take English again - but it was mostly translation of very technical books and articles. We didn't get to speak English at all. So after graduating I knew how to write in English and translate from it but speaking and understanding from listening English speakers was almost non-existent.

During my first job after graduation I attended one of those so called intensive English courses where we at last had fun: we played games, sang songs, did inventive exersises in small groups, tried on different roles - and adored our teacher. The effect was tremendous and I understood that was the way to learn a language. But it was hard to find good courses like that and expensive too - although I tried many. I remember one of the best pieces of advice I got at that time: If you don't remember a word (or don't know it in English) - don't stumble upon it, you can always rephrase the sentence, say it differently, using the words you know.