Li

Keith Li

Dr. Peters

ENG 133

25 January 2018

"Knowing, Famille, And The End"

Language, as a mediator between people and communities, is essential to the

development of our society. As for individuals, Iit is a skill that can be mastered and used

frequently; it is as for a group, language isalso a bridge for individuals who are willing to

exchange ideas. Growing up in China, I thought of language as a simple skill for communication.

Therefore, the idea that language can become something more powerful However, this concept

of language did not “come” to me until I decided to come to the States for high school. Once I Commented [MOU1]: What was your
prior view of language? Where did you go
started my freshman year of in high school in Colorado, I noticed the how importancet it is of
to school before high school and what
beingto be fluent in one language, and in this case, English. I thought about thisThis realization language did you grow up speaking if not
English?
“revisited” me several times often throughout my freshmen yearhigh school career.

and traced back to when I first started learning English and realizing language is more

powerful than just a communication skill.

When I was a kid, I often played alone at home. During these times, I loved making up
Commented [MOU2]: I really like this
story plots for all the Lego figures on the couch in the living room. I would stare at the foreign
moment of representing the child’s
words printed on the packages and try to pronounce them like it was my native language; imaginative play. You might extend this
description further, give us a richer and
suddenly, my Indiana Jones became who he is, the hero who runs away with his treasure. more elaborate sense of the adventures
you created with this character.
Li

When I was old enough for kindergarten, I attended an English tutoring institute on the

weekends because my parents were busy. My parents were working everyday, so they sent me to

an English tutoring institute close to our house where I learned English and met other kids that

were about the same age as me. I would go there in the morning, and get picked up in the

afternoon all happy and excited to play with my Lego figures. LeIt arning English started as just Commented [MOU3]: Return us to the
imagined world of the previous
a fun thing to do for me, but by the time I went to elementary school, I became one of the few
paragraph
who is finished the institutecourse, and it helped me to excel in my elementary school, and I was Commented [MOU4]: What is “it”?

pleased, confident, and happy.. I also made a this group of friends that I grew up learning Commented [MOU5]: What do you
remember about them? Did they also
English with. As I reflect on my time of learning English, I realized that English is more than just
finish the tutoring program? Did your
a tool to earn exceptional grades, but a way to connect one to another and the friends I made friendship mostly take place in the
English you were learning or in another
were more valuable than the knowledge. Grades are temporary achievements, but friends are language?

those who can provide me with continuous joy and passion. Without the English learning

experience, I would not be able to connect with those who did not go to the same elementary

school and we would never meet each other. Therefore, a language not only provides us with a

tool to communicate, but gathers individuals into groups with a shared interest and connect

people in such simple and elegant ways. Commented [MOU6]: Terrific reflection

During elementary school, Those years of English learning helped me to excel in my Formatted: Indent: First line: 0"
elementary school, and I was pleased, confident, and happy.

As I look back on my time of learning English, the friends I made were more important, and Commented [MOU7]: More important
than what?
realizing that English is more than just a tool to earn exceptional grades, but a way to connect

one to another. Grades are temporary achievements, but friends are those who can provide me

with continuous joy and passion. Without the English learning experience, I would not be able to

connect with those who do not go to the same school as I did, and we would never meet each
Li

other. A language not only provides us with a tool to communicate, but gathers individuals into

groups with a shared interest and connect people in such simple and elegant ways. Commented [MOU8]: Terrific reflection

I thought that this is what English is able to provide me: good grades and joyous experiences at

school, and I believed that "I like English because I know something that others do not";

however, everybody knows English in America. During middle school, I was unable to study Commented [MOU9]: You indicate an
important turn here towards a realization
under the middle school system in China, so I decided to quit and attend a private high school in
that your English fluency was no longer
Colorado. The learning environment is fantastic, but I have never felt as confident as I used to be exceptional once you came to the U.S.
but you don’t offer an extended
in China, simply because I was not able to communicate as fluently as the native speakers.The reflection on that realization. You only
hint at it with this one sentence. Can you
frustration had prompted me to change the reality that I was facing. Therefore, instead of playing elaborate on the significance of coming
to a place where “everybody knows
Super Smash Bros with my Chinese friends, I went out of my comfort zone and joined the school
English”?
climbing team. I spent more time with the native speakers through a fun sport but at the end of

the day, my English is still at the average level; so I wondered “when can I claim that I know Formatted: Font: Italic
English?” and this bafflement reminded me that time in the mall with my mother when I was six

years old.

Once I was at a mall with my mother when I was in first gradehen I was six years old. Commented [MOU10]: What’s the
transition here to this anecdote about
We got off from the elevator to the third floor. There was nothing to buy, so I was just following
“knowing” French? It’s an abrupt turn
my mother. She was not holding my hand, she probably thought I was old enough to walk by from the previous paragraph

myself. We were looking at some hand-blown, glass vases, and I saw a lady in blue walking

toward us, she said, "Hey, Jin!" "Oh my gosh! It been so long!", my mother said. Then the lady

turned to me, asking who I was, and my mom introduced me, she looked proud of me. Then the

lady's French boyfriend introduced himself to me, and in English I said, "I know French,

famille!" They all laughed.

Li

Obviously, I did not know French, but what does a six-year-old kid know? To me, it is Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5"
hard to distinguish between what it means to know a language and to master a language, and the Formatted: Font: Italic
end product of mastering one language.

I still cannot believe that that incident is still “happening” after I attend college. People

comment that I am fluent in English, but I still cannot distinctively pronounce enunciate “"Raf"

of Raf Simmons and "Ralph" of Ralph Laurensun” and “son” correctly; nor can I write an essay

with fluid fluent language and clearly develop ideas. It is not to say that I am doubting my own

English proficiency but to simply face the reality, I still struggle with many aspects of the

English language.

It is quite ironic to discuss one’s literacy in language since language is simple to “know”,

yet complicated for one to master. “When is the “end” to the study of a single language?”, I ask

myself. Well, I am afraid there is not an end, but an ongoing process, where “knowing” one is

the entry, and “using” it is the end. This is the fascinating element of language where the process

meets the “end”, serving us to form groups in various sizes.

I like your theme that mastery of a language entails always being in the process of

learning and interacting with others. There is a significant turn in the essay towards the end of

page two that you introduce but leave unexplored. I marked it in my marginal comments above

at your word “however.” Consider reflecting more carefully on that moment where you came to

discover that your special language ability was now commonplace once you moved to the U.S.

In terms of your paragraph development, you use many short paragraphs, some of which

need further development (e.g., the second paragraph), while others need to be combined with

each other because together they develop a single idea.

Li

GRADE: C+