How I learnt English

I was born in a village 100 miles away from the super city, Colombo. Though my parents were teachers, they very not keen in English. They had a very good vocabulary which I could never catch up. in Grade 7 a monstrous English teacher came to our class. though I could read and write some words, I was totally lost in understanding grammar and dictation. in grade 8 I only got 32 marks for English which made the class teacher a demon and a reason to beat me and humiliate me infront of all of grade 8 students. I remember how i cried begging him not to hit me. By grade 9, the harassment of the English class teacher made me a neurosis patient. Upto grade 11 i was admitted to the hospital due to shock and fear to the class teacher. I couldn’t catch up Maths and English both. But I was excellent in Sinhala, Science and all other subjects. I got all island 1st in Sinhala essay writing several times. I did sports and went upto all island level with master track. I got a ‘c’ pass for English at the O/L cos I parroted essays and letters using past papers. Otherwise I didnt have any knowledge on grammar. Situation was same even by grade 13. I knew very little in English. But there was a small change after finishing school. I began to read English books, not heavy books but cheap and simple love stories which motivated me to read and find meanings. After that most things were changed. In GELT (pre- university English training) I began to understand basics in English language. at University we had a huge library. Most of law books were in English. Though I was not very good in writing, I tried to read some books and understand. But even at that time I couldn’t talk in English.

There was a change to the direction of my life again. I learnt about internet and began to chat. To be honest, chatting was my teacher which gave me a super help to communicate with people in English. But still I was too shy and could talk in English with anyone. Life went on. I used internet a lot. With the nature of my career, I had to draft letters. I followed a same letter format but developed it with changes needed. Day by day, the English speaking ability and writing ability was improved. Today I have come to a level which I can manage English language. But still I improve myself. Now I learn English from the basic level again and most importantly I learn to teach English in the most accurate way. Cos, I have experienced the bitterness of confusion in teaching English in Sri Lanka, and during last 5 years I saw how my daughter struggle in learning English. My real victory is not learning English speaking or writing but learning the weaknesses most kids go trough with the various systems used in different classes and difficulties they face in managing the language. I am proud cos I could help my daughter to learn basics in a systematic way. I never forget how I suffered because of the English teacher for 5 years. How I prayed him to come to the class even few minutes delayed. How I tried to be motivated to go school by buying small items each week. I dont want my daughter to go through the same hell ever.
I will share what my observations of my daughter’s learning English and the successful method I use to improve her knowledge.